Nearly one-fifth of British motorists would be willing to stump up more council tax if the money was dedicated to road repairs, new research claims.
In a “nationally representative" survey commissioned by road material manufacturer Roadmender Asphalt, 19% of those who took part said they would support their council tax bill increasing by 10% in order to facilitate increased road maintenance. If that’s extrapolated across the whole of England, it could mean up to £2.5 billion of additional pothole funding.
Local authorities have come under increased financial strain. Last month, the BBC reported nearly 150 local authorities faced effective bankruptcy, with a combined budget shortfall of at least £3.2bn. Although the government pledged to invest £500 million a year over five years to tackle potholes, many industry figures say this isn’t enough to make up for years of underfunding.
The RAC says it received 1766 call-outs during the coronavirus lockdown due to vehicles being damaged by failing road surfaces.
Further statistics outlined in the new study claim that 65% of those surveyed would no longer feel comfortable commuting to work via public transport, and 32% claim driving is the most stressful part of their day due to the poor quality of local roads.
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Potholes: how much they cost the UK and how they are fixed
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How will the government collect emission based VED or road tax as its generally called when in a few years we all drive 2 tonne EVs that are exempt.
Simple.
When as you suggest there are two ton Tax exempt on the road, all the Government will do is start bumping up what you pay to charge, I'm sure they'll think of loads of ways to charge for it.
Four fifths of Brits want the Billions of TAX £££
The roads are in an appalling state because they are constantly dug up and then not put back to a condition that will last. Most of the poor surface are due to utility companies digging up the roads, the other reason is the appalling practice of dressing the road surface with tar and chippings which just make the surface worst witching a short time (if you lay wall paper over a rough surface, once it dries, what’s underneath will soon show through).
How about the ironworks are raised when a new surface in layer, instead of them ending up an inch lower. How about the drains and ditches are cleared so the roads dont flood and end up with the surface breaking up due to water damage. How about the roads are swept before laying tarmac, so it doesn’t delaminate when water gets under it. How about the roads are made wider so the drains aren’t in the road for trucks to drive over and pound into submission. When are the trees and hedges going to be cut back so trucks aren’t having to drive on the centre line.
One day someone who sees all these issues and does something about them, then and only them will the UK have great roads instead of what we've got now (some resemble a potholed dirt Track I’ve travelled on in poorer parts of the world).
@ A88A
Well said A88A!
Not only are they (mostly) not bothering to repair.....even when they do its a sub-standard job which needs doing again within 6 months -criminal waste of our money....and dont even get me started on those 'elephant trunk' road repair trucks which spray tar and grit over pot holes including the dirt in them, These are of course instantly lifted as soon a s the next heavy vehicle runs over it!
What about hugely expensive solar powered junction/slow down signs where the trees and bushes have been allowed to block all light from the solar panel.....road signs covered in so much green slime they are unreadable and no longer reflective. Road works/road closed signs abandoned in hedgerows rather than collected up when the work is done (perfect for the criminal fraternity to 'close a road' with while they steal cabling!!!)
Its an endless party of incompetance which we are funding.
That means that 80% would not (pay more tax)
So on that basis the government is doing the right thing in not fixing our roads. Besides most of the population now drives go anywhere SUVs which don't actually need roads and can safely mount pavements navigate potholes and ignore speed bumps.
That said the govenment needs to be a bit more intelligent in collecting tax from motorists. Forget exhaust emissions, the tax needs to be proportional to fuel used or vehicle weight both of which affect wear and tear of our roads. The idea of allowing two tonne EVs to pay no tax is quite absurd.