roads in bad condition? - which areas worse?

[Rebuilda]

I live near Bolton, the roads round here are absolutely dire. hi/low manholes, potholes, missing lumps of tarmac on roads that are barely tarmac covered cobbles, even the M62 has warning signs for uneven road surfaces...
Some potholes are bad enough to loosen teeth.
Manchester has bad spots too, some really bad lumps and bumps even in the middle of town, most caused by C Ontractor and his partners Bodgthat and Leggit not filling in holes/pipeworks to a satisfactory standard.
(rant off)

[A2Z]

Try the A5036 - Liverpool Dock Road. It is a terrible stretch of road, almost like Braille for blind drivers.

[RDE]

Southampton, southampton and southampton. Truely appalling roads.

[8Ace]

Buckinghamshire. South Bucks to be specific (where I live) is astonishingly bad, some roads are like a farm track and I genuinely worry for the state of the suspension when I travel over them. Loads of bumpy and broken road surfaces at the apexes of bends and on the downhill approach to a T junction for example.

Wiltshire on the other hand seems rather nice. Admitedly I've not driven widely there but on a (very) scenic route from Castle Combe to Bournemouth I was left witha deep love of the properties of smoooth tarmac.

[cowellsj]

8Ace said:

Buckinghamshire. South Bucks to be specific (where I live) is astonishingly bad, some roads are like a farm track and I genuinely worry for the state of the suspension when I travel over them. Loads of bumpy and broken road surfaces at the apexes of bends and on the downhill approach to a T junction for example.

Wiltshire on the other hand seems rather nice. Admitedly I've not driven widely there but on a (very) scenic route from Castle Combe to Bournemouth I was left witha deep love of the properties of smoooth tarmac.

i live in Bucks and there are some crap roads down south, the A40 around Denham is pretty bad, but i reckon hertfordshire is worse, the back roads round tring and berkhampstead are pretty ropey, it feels a bit like the forgotten corner of herts which never gets inspected.

[Rebuilda]

I am going to volunteer to take one of the road inspectors out in my kit car, see if i can shatter a couple of his/her vertebrae, which is what it feels like after driving to bolton and back.
lost count of how much rubber i have pulled from the wheel arch edge where the suspension has banged hard over a dropped manhole.

[TripleS]

Pah, Scarborough has got to be the clear winner.

They can't afford to put it right though, after all the money's gone on re-jigging their favourite junctions and adding more traffic lights.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[flattotheboards]

you should see the roads around north lincolnshire around sandtoft and wroot.like an off road bike track.

[roadieblues]

With all due respect guys I have been around some in the UK but I have seen nowhere roads half as bad as ours. Here in Malta when it rains there are potholes that swallow a whole wheel. Anyone who has been here can vouch for that. Yesterday a colleage at work had the shock absorber mount break and the shock piercing through the bonnet, when hitting a hole. Hitting a hole and bending an alloy or bursting a tyre is something. But breaking a suspension is OMG.

[Rebuilda]

I have been told they are bad... but you get all the old fords to play with ... and only four days rain a year ... so unfair

[roadieblues]

Rebuilda said:

I have been told they are bad... but you get all the old fords to play with ... and only four days rain a year ... so unfair

Yep you can see a lot of them Mk1 escorts running around. A friend of mine has a cosworth powered one with 500Bhp in it(dyno tested and proven). Lets say he can inflict some real damage on the road......

.....and surely not to be driven on those 4 days for sure.

[A2Z]

roadieblues said:

With all due respect guys I have been around some in the UK but I have seen nowhere roads half as bad as ours. Here in Malta when it rains there are potholes that swallow a whole wheel. Anyone who has been here can vouch for that. Yesterday a colleage at work had the shock absorber mount break and the shock piercing through the bonnet, when hitting a hole. Hitting a hole and bending an alloy or bursting a tyre is something. But breaking a suspension is OMG.

Hi Mate,

Can certainly vouch for this. Wife is Maltese and was over at Christmas to see the inlaws. Siser in law took her micra down a crater (beyond a pot hole), blew a tyre and buckled a wheel. On any journey you see at least 3 roadside punctures being repaired.

Seems as if you are doing a Spain and the EU cash is coming through for new roads, the one at Hal-Far is like silk in comparison.

[madrob6]

North Devon has awful roads, every road whether in town or out of it is littered with potholes or just poorly bodged together from previous road works. Then you've got the joy of large rocks falling out of hedges and cutting the sidewall on your tyres (bitter because that caused my car to fail it's MOT after I forked out for road tax)

[marlinmunro]

Its got to be Kirklees in West Yorkshire, popped a tyre just before Christmas on a sunk man hole. Actually the drain covers are stolen by someone. The council replace with less value plastic but the profile is much lower so you get a 3" drop. The rest of the roads are like a third world country, plenty of money for speed cameras

[whitney44]

I'm in North Staffs but the roads are like somewhere in the 3rd world. For £40bn a year in motoring taxes we get a raw deal.........

[wannabemedic]

Malvern Hills are awful, there are gaping holes almost everywhere.

I say everyone file for compensation, they had their chance to mend them

[Firkin Dogbolter]

There is a stretch of road in Ewell, Surrey which is getting really bad now. It runs along the Longmead Industrial Estate and the school. I fear for my suspension twice daily now.

[tomhindley]

Tameside near manchester has a bad reputation. I've been round there recently and it's just pot holes and puddles. My car was aquaplaning more than a freakin' hovercraft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[selwonk]

tomhindley said:

Tameside near manchester has a bad reputation. I've been round there recently and it's just pot holes and puddles. My car was aquaplaning more than a freakin' hovercraft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep. I live around there and it's a bl00dy disgrace quite frankly

Disgusted of Tameside

[2802th]

The A23 from Brighton to London has appalling potholes on the Handcross hill section. So bad my wife hit one at 50mph instant blow out of tyre and buckled BBS split rim cost £700 quid to fix. Highways agency deny responsibility. Does anyone on here know of a genuine lawyer who specialises in this sort of thing?

Tim