Germaine Greer: 'Why can't Britain have roads like the French?'

[st13phil]

In the her article, Greer observes

In 2010, the Highways Agency set out its "strategic plan for the next five years", a preposterous assemblage of pseudo-inspirational guff, announcing a new "stretching vision" to be "the world's leading road operator".

It's worth reading the rest of the article as it raises some interesting points about accountability and performance of the HA.

So, rather than just post a rant about the state of the roads, the number of potholes, etc., what constructive suggestions can we come up with to encourage the HA to improve things?

 

[rsvgreg]

Design and Publicise a service (perhaps web based) that encourages and welcomes input from drivers/riders about pot holes and other hazards. It could use Google Map type tech' to help pinpoint problems and alert HA to problems sooner. It could get out of hand I guess, but I for one would gladly offer my detials (with suitable safeguards in palce) to help other aviod accidents and damage.

Many years ago I lost an Alloy and a new tyre on a Ford XR2 (showing my age) to a pothole in the dark,filled with rain. No one wanted to know, not the police or the HA.

Now I always take note of an officer's badge number whatever I think of his/her service, so imagine the same officers surprise when two days later I pull up at the scene of same (now even larger) pot hole as he is waiting for an ambulance to attend a biker who has been thrown from his bike by the same hole (he saw it too late to aviod it as he was being overtaken by a van- which stopped thinking he had hit him). I reminded the same officer of our chat and his off hand response and followed it up with a short note the County Chief Inspector.

The Local County council paid for my tyre and wheel in full and the Chief wrote a grovelling letter pointing out how busy his boys were setting up speed traps on country lanes.

Back to the topic in hand, I hope that was constructive?