"biker, 43, dies after hitting pothole"
"biker, 43, dies after hitting pothole"
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Biker9090

Original Poster:

1,767 posts

61 months

More sad news due (at least in part) to the ever worsening state of our "roads".

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/stoke-trent-biker-43-die...

It'll be interesting to see how far the recent S56 result will go...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gjqxjqqdlo




carinaman

24,445 posts

196 months

Not good.

Remal

25,077 posts

258 months

you only hear about cyclist and electric scooter riders and potholes in mainstream media and news. I been wondering myself with the weather getting better about us lot. I know this happened Sept 25 but still not good, as the roads around the south west are often very bad and getting worse, I gather they are like this throughout the land

carinaman

24,445 posts

196 months

They think potholes in hatched areas aren't as important. On my birthday in 2024 I may've picked up something from a hatched area that punctured my rear tyre. I noticed a bit of instability exiting a roundabout having just done several miles on an NSL dual carriageway.

I am considering carrying an aerosol of flouro coloured paint to highlight potholes, but on the pleasure roads I use there's often nowhere suitable to stop without becoming a hazard. I've at least one can of white somewhere.

NITO

1,308 posts

230 months

I haven't ventured out on the bike in a while, I drive around in my truck and look at the state of the roads and some of the massive potholes and keep thinking how they could quite easily be fatal on a bike, not to mention the destruction they can cause.

It is almost becoming a national emergency for the more vulnerable road users. At the current rate of taxation it is insanity that the infrastructure is in such a state. I have never known it this bad, the response times are hopeless with more and more appearing everyday, this is in the south east. RIP to the poor biker, I can't imagine how the family must feel.

Edited by NITO on Sunday 29th March 22:06

carinaman

24,445 posts

196 months

NITO said:
I haven't ventured put on the bike in a while, I drive around in my truck and look at the state of the roads and some of the massive potholes and keep thinking how they could quite easily be fatal on a bike, not to mention the destruction they can cause.
I used the A30 a few weeks ago. I got past an artic in the NS lane and was moving over back to the NS lane and just the other side of the lane divider lines where was a rectangular defect as long and wide as an shoe box for adult sized shoes. It looked 20mm to 30mm deep.

magpie215

4,926 posts

213 months



Local to me....its not the worst either

croyde

25,615 posts

254 months

The roads are so bad now that I'm glad that I got rid of the sports car and the motorbike and now float about in a bouncy Dacia.

Awful about the guy that died.

I've hit a few that have nearly made me come off. It's a fekin joke frown

Biker9090

Original Poster:

1,767 posts

61 months

I had one or two moments today. Mixture of both potholes and subsurface failure.

Caught these two on the way home and reported them (seemingly first reported in January!).




WindyCommon

3,702 posts

263 months

Related observation. Driving my car on a narrow-ish country road yesterday I was passed by a rider on a sportsbike. He could have passed me more decisively (faster) and he definitely should have passed me wider. As it was he crept past quite close to the side of my car. A huge pothole came into view on my side; I had no room to steer around it (only needed 50cm) so was forced to make an emergency stop. A non-biking driver with less motorbike awareness may not have made the same decision.

I made a note to myself to make sure (especially while the pothole situation is so bad) to pass cars as quickly as possible and to leave them room where road width permits.

SS427 Camaro

7,965 posts

194 months

Dreadful news. My deepest sympathies go out to Andy’s family and friends.
If it wasn’t enough trying to look out for all of the car / van / lorry drivers who want to kill us, we now have the rapidly growing number of pot holes to contend with. There are 2 bad ones local to me in the south east that I will be reporting tomorrow.

StuntCock

193 posts

207 months

Very sad, and very avoidable. The road requiring repair seems to have been reported but not acted upon, which must place blood on the hands of the council / highways responsible.

Regardless of politics, we have a previously good road infrastructure that is failing due to lack of maintenance, and the problem is growing.

Our parents might have said ‘a stitch, in time, saves nine’. Those stitches need doing now before more people sadly loose their lives.

RIP to the rider.

Biker 1

8,406 posts

143 months

RIP the biker.
I hit a pothole on my bike some 10 years ago. Buckled the front wheel which needed replacing, including all new brake disk bolts as apparently they stretch when installed so can't be reused.
Including new tyre came to something like £700(!!!)
This weekend I rode on the A26 near crowborough - several miles of what was once a straight bit of NSL with decent surface has turned into a total moonscape now with temporary 40 signs. I'm astonished how rapidly this piece of road has deteriorated....

warnie

1,385 posts

223 months

I can't see an end to it for a good many years yet.

Our public services have been underfunded since the financial crash in 2008. Over the past few years it's really showing everywhere we look.

Yes there's been a few councils that have made bad financial decisions, but that's the few, not the many imo. Government's can't keep cutting the councils budget asking for more and more cost savings each year as our roads will never improve.

Unfortunately it's not going to change soon, as there is no money no matter who is in charge.

If your lucky enough to live near the Welsh boarder then you can enjoy those roads until they suffer the same fate..

I'll just be slowing down around blind corners etc doing the best I can to not spoil the ride completely.




HalfManHalfJaffaCake

92 posts

74 months

magpie215 said:


Local to me....its not the worst either
Ah, Faraday Way in Blackpool. I drive over that one in a bus quite regularly - 5mph is the fastest I can go.
We run services out to Preston through the villages - brand new buses are being shaken to pieces, we had one last week where a vertical handrail had snapped probably due to the bodywork flexing.

Biker9090

Original Poster:

1,767 posts

61 months

I see Oxfordshire area completely ignoring the problem and wasting another eight fking million!

https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/surface-treatment-...

gareth_r

6,569 posts

261 months

I know that the "Asphalt Industry Alliance" has a bit of a vested interest but still...

ITV - Cost of pothole repairs across the South West hits record levels, says report
A report has revealed the cost of repairing potholes across the South West is at a record high. After months of heavy rain, the repair cost has soared to £2.9 billion according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which represents road-makers.

And that's just SW England. eek

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2026-03-17/co...

Still, as we swerve, bounce, and crash from pothole to pothole to A&E, we can all be comforted by the knowledge that "they" are so concerned about our safety that they made the motorcycle licence really difficult and expensive to acquire. I look forward to the opportunity to make further contributions to road safety by travelling at the new 40mph National Speed Limit.

I'm sure that cyclists are just as grateful for the opportunity to save the planet and the NHS by safely supporting the Government's Active Travel campaign.

Edited by gareth_r on Monday 30th March 12:51

cirian75

5,283 posts

257 months

Looks like you need an adventure or dual sport just to able ride on UK roads.

Bob_Defly

5,374 posts

255 months

Biker9090 said:
That needs the whole lot tearing up and starting again.

8IKERDAVE

2,684 posts

237 months

Only a matter of time and I'm sure he won't be the last we hear of this year cry

I liken our roads to running a 20 year old car. You hear a noise - ignore. You hear another noise - ignore. Before you know it your car is falling to pieces and you can't afford to fix it.

I think what really rubs buckets full of salt into the wombs is the fact that you can't do more than 5 miles without coming across a set of temporary roadworks. Yet it seems none of these workmen are fixing the fking roads!