AN ANALYSIS of the different times taken by councils to repair potholes has underlined the need for a national pothole definition, it also raises the question of when is a pothole not a pothole and if it is a pothole when is it large enough to warrant repair?
The analysis, undertaken by the RAC Foundation, found that Cumbria, Flintshire and South Lanarkshire councils aim to act ‘immediately’ to repair potholes that pose the greatest risk to road safety.
Harrow Council sets a target repair time of half an hour, while a further 16 councils aim to patch things up within an hour, and five within 90 minutes. The most common response time to the most urgent problems is two hours, with 79 councils looking to patch up the road within this timescale.
The RAC Foundation found that while 37 local highway authorities said they would investigate further when a pothole was between 20-30mm deep, 26 said the depth had to be at least 50mm or more.
