More potholes than ever..............

[verytalldave]

The last few weeks of ice/snow/salt have taken their toll on the roads in my area. Even roads like the M25/M2 and 'A' roads are getting badly affected.
Shows up the YEARS of neglect the government have lavished on our highways. Particularily bad areas are on roundabout entry and exits and old repairs that have disintegrated.
I would like to know exactly how little of my £200+ a year road tax ACTUALLY gets spent on the roads.
Judging from their condition today I would guess about 27p.

 

[st4]

We pay about 5 fold over for our roads through VED and fuel duty said some senior EU politician. its an outrage

 

[CE230]

I would like to know exactly how little of my £200+ a year road tax ACTUALLY gets spent on the roads.

From inception road tax was never intended for road maintenance so the answer to your question is £0.00 exactly.

 

[whitenemesis]

With the huge amount of standing water around at the moment (another indicator of no/poor maintenance, this time of the drainage systems!) spotting the potholes is very difficult. I find myself weaving to and fro, whenever safe to do so, just be sure of not loosing a wheel down some cavernous hole!

 

[verytalldave]

With the huge amount of standing water around at the moment (another indicator of no/poor maintenance, this time of the drainage systems!) spotting the potholes is very difficult. I find myself weaving to and fro, whenever safe to do so, just be sure of not loosing a wheel down some cavernous hole!

I could have written that.
Reminds me of the back roads in Malta 30 years ago.

 

[whitenemesis]

I could have written that.
Reminds me of the back roads in Malta 30 years ago.

Maltese roads are not much better, even now! The converted 2nd WW troop carriers that pass as busses are just about managing to keep wheels / axles im place

 

[alanf]

All the old buses are coming off the road due to EU legislastion now they are a member. I go there 4 or 5 times a year the roads are as shocking as the drivers. Up until the 14th i think they had 22 fatalities this year including 3 that weekend which bearing in mind the island is 16 miles long or their abouts is a lot. Back to the OP the roads up here are suffering and ive also noticed a lot of the pavements have got frost heave as well.

Alan

 

[andy_k]

From inception road tax was never intended for road maintenance so the answer to your question is £0.00 exactly.

not strictly true....

In the 1909 budget David Lloyd George (at that time chancellor of the exchequer) announced that the road building system would be self funding, so from 1910 onwards the VED revenue was used to build the roads. There were more duties/taxes added in 1920 but once again, revenue was supposeddly dedicated tobuilding and maintaining roads.

this all ended in 1936/37 (Stanley Bladwin's Tory government) when the Finance act placed the revenue into the public purse, in 1955 the Road Fund was abolished by yet another Tory government (Anthony Eden this time).

I think that's pretty accurate - we looked into it a while back

 

[jonnyboy]

i drove up the m40 on 27th, like a good driver i went to pull over from overtaking in the outside lane, as i was halfway across the lane i hit a crater never mind a ****** pothole.

Good job I was in the Navara, I dread to think what would have happened otherwise....