Potholes - the road to the future.

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I do wonder whether the heavier cars get and bigger the wheels, this is getting a bigger problem with more wheel damage.
I have a little MY05 Suzuki Ignis which weighs under a ton and has 15" alloys. I've been through some hidden deep pot holes before and it felt like it smashed through the wheels. When I get out and check, I find no damage to the wheels to my surprise.

I would think so. In a 2 ton car, you've got around half a ton on each wheel going down that pothole whereas it's half that in your Suzuki.

If you don't have much rubber to absorb the damage, the wheel must take the brunt.
 
In Skandi countries, once the snow melts they have gangs of municipal workers out doing something we in this country long ago deemed demeaning to folk.... its called.... sweeping the streets!!!

As has already been mentioned, poor materials and process are part of the problem, but all the gravel and grit that builds up on the highway gets pressed into the road surface by (increasingly) heavier vehicles, which causes the road surface to break up. The 'cold weather' excuse is utter rubbish, freeze-thaw is a glacial process and happens at glacial speed, not over one winter. Hence why the Scandinavians place great importance in cleaning this debris up as soon as the snow starts to melt in April. Of course, roads do get undermined and subside by wet weather following dry seasons, but in general debris on the road is the start of the problem.

If you have a tiled floor at home, empty a bag of pea gravel on it and walk around on it for a month, then sweep it up and look at your floor tiles, even foot traffic will noticeably degrade your floor tiles in that short space of time. Add 10000 cars/vans/trucks a day (by the hour in some places) its not hard to see where the problem starts.
 
My wife manages to hit every single one .........

Just had new front tyres and alignment done on Thursday - this am she hit a massive pothole so - another £100 for alignment coming up!
 
In Skandi countries, once the snow melts they have gangs of municipal workers out doing something we in this country long ago deemed demeaning to folk.... its called.... sweeping the streets!!!

...............

Anyone on the dole should have to do it.......
 

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