01/07/2011
Warning: Poor road maintenance ahead
There are so many potholes on Britain’s roads at the moment that price comparison website Confused.com is petitioning the Department for Transport to introduce a pothole warning sign to be used across the country.
The company has commissioned a common red-bordered triangular sign, and in the centre it has chosen to place the image of a car with one wheel down a hole.
Confused.com decided that enough was enough when it realised, after doing some research, that even if councils had sufficient budgets for road maintenance it would take them about 11 years to fill all of the potholes and generally repair damaged areas of road.
The price comparison company’s chief marketing officer stated, “Although repairing these roads is obviously the long term solution, something needs to be done now.
“Currently the UK’s road signs include warnings for wild horses, wild animals, cattle and even toads but potholes aren’t considered worthy enough. A pothole road sign is a vital step in preventing accidents and reducing insurance claims.”
The AA however, is not so taken with the idea. A spokesperson explained, “It costs up to £100 to put up a sign but £50-£60 to fix a pothole.”
Hmm, now we don’t know what to think. Generally we like the idea of a pothole sign, but money-wise it doesn’t look so appealing.
Well, if you like the scheme, you can always sign the petition. We’re going to mull it over some more.
The company has commissioned a common red-bordered triangular sign, and in the centre it has chosen to place the image of a car with one wheel down a hole.
Confused.com decided that enough was enough when it realised, after doing some research, that even if councils had sufficient budgets for road maintenance it would take them about 11 years to fill all of the potholes and generally repair damaged areas of road.The price comparison company’s chief marketing officer stated, “Although repairing these roads is obviously the long term solution, something needs to be done now.
“Currently the UK’s road signs include warnings for wild horses, wild animals, cattle and even toads but potholes aren’t considered worthy enough. A pothole road sign is a vital step in preventing accidents and reducing insurance claims.”
The AA however, is not so taken with the idea. A spokesperson explained, “It costs up to £100 to put up a sign but £50-£60 to fix a pothole.”
Hmm, now we don’t know what to think. Generally we like the idea of a pothole sign, but money-wise it doesn’t look so appealing.
Well, if you like the scheme, you can always sign the petition. We’re going to mull it over some more.
Image by Mike Willis via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Department for Transport, potholes, repair, road, sign, wheel
11/03/2011
A slur on Slough – surely not
It’s hard not to feel for the good folk of Slough. For a long time the town has been inextricably linked in the minds of most Brits with one of the most famous poems in the British language.
Call me ignorant or a foolhardy romantic but when I think of poetry I usually think of quaint conceits and flowery language but late poet laureate Sir John Betjeman certainly didn’t have these things in mind when he composed his ode to the town.
His poem begins, “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!/ It isn't fit for humans now,/ There isn't grass to graze a cow./ Swarm over, Death!”
Oh well, at least there’s a reference in Shakespeare to cheer the town up – or not, with it’s single reference describing it as a “mire”. Not quite like being compared to a summer’s day that.
And things have hardly got better recently with the release of a study which shows Slough to be in the bottom five of the list of the UK’s car friendliest towns.
And there is bad news cheap car insurance hopefuls in the town. The same survey revealed that Slough was also in the bottom five for vehicle theft.
But before I drop another news bomb on the town, I think I should let it speak for itself.
A local councilor comments, "It is a shame a survey like this concentrates only on issues which involve the expenses incurred by car drivers rather than the whole experience of driving.
"In Slough we have invested time and money in our road network ensuring the road surface is of a high quality, potholes are filled quickly and our roads are safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists."
Call me ignorant or a foolhardy romantic but when I think of poetry I usually think of quaint conceits and flowery language but late poet laureate Sir John Betjeman certainly didn’t have these things in mind when he composed his ode to the town.
His poem begins, “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!/ It isn't fit for humans now,/ There isn't grass to graze a cow./ Swarm over, Death!”
Oh well, at least there’s a reference in Shakespeare to cheer the town up – or not, with it’s single reference describing it as a “mire”. Not quite like being compared to a summer’s day that.
And things have hardly got better recently with the release of a study which shows Slough to be in the bottom five of the list of the UK’s car friendliest towns.
And there is bad news cheap car insurance hopefuls in the town. The same survey revealed that Slough was also in the bottom five for vehicle theft.
But before I drop another news bomb on the town, I think I should let it speak for itself.
A local councilor comments, "It is a shame a survey like this concentrates only on issues which involve the expenses incurred by car drivers rather than the whole experience of driving.
"In Slough we have invested time and money in our road network ensuring the road surface is of a high quality, potholes are filled quickly and our roads are safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists."
Image © osde8info via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cheap car insurance, potholes, road network
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