Thursday 20th April 2006

Road conditions improve: official

DfT stats show fewer road defects

---

They're getting better, we're told

Our roads are getting better, according to the latest set of Government stats.

The National Road Maintenance Condition Survey for 2005, released yesterday by the Department for Transport, shows a decrease in the defects index from 112.5 in 2000 to 93.5 in 2005, following the trend over the last six years. The index was set at 100 in 1977, and the figures are given a 90 per cent confidence limit.

Within that overall figure, the pattern varies across different types of roads. Main roads in built-up areas showed the greatest improvement while rural roads -- the biggest category -- improved the least. The pattern of road defect is clearly delineated between rural and urban roads too, with 'whole carriageway major deterioration' the biggest category of defect for urban roads, while 'edge deterioration' and 'wheel track rutting' share the honours out in the country.

The survey also shows the amount of money spent on road maintenance, and the two graphs – money spent versus road defects -- are mirror images of each other. The more that's spent, the better the roads become. Obvious maybe, but it's useful to have it confirmed.

You want to know more about the roads? Check out the report: link below.

• National Road Maintenance Condition Survey: 2005

[talisimo]

Ah yes another government survey thats a white wash. They obviously never visited South Yorkshire , things around here have got much worse scince the Romans left!!

[dougc]

Obviously nobody has thought to visit my neck of the woods for any sort of research.

The state of the roads in my area is becoming a joke. I can think of at least 5 places within half a mile of my house where there are pot holes deep enough to damage the suspension of a car and these aren't back roads and residential streets, these are main thoroughfares.

The local decision makers are quite happy to throw hundreds of thousands of pounds at resurfacing and enlarging pavements, further restricting traffic flow on already crowded roads and carpeting the city centre with expensive block paving whilst conveniently ignoring the shocking and in many cases downright dangerous state of the roads surfaces.

[Marki]

I have a MINI Cooper S and live in Germany i am very hapy with the way the car drives , however just after i got it i came back to England to visit family in Hastings Sussex.

If i lived in England i would not have brought the MINI , on English roads it tramlines all over the place is constantly crashing into bumps and pot holes yet here it feels fine , English roads are in a terrible state of repair