How the Netherlands Eradicated the Pothole
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One of the biggest problems we have in the UK is potholes , there are too many of them and they are not being repaired
Then why do the Dutch, who have similar weather to ours have none , their roads are almost perfect ?
One reason is because they pay a premium in road tax if their car is heavy , such as an EV , which they have gone almost completely over to
So the larger and heavier cars that cause more damage to the roads have to pay more, and this is used for repairs
The second reason is because the Netherlands is extensively surfaced with porous asphalt, which is not used in Britain
It is silky smooth and their roads last 12 years before any repairs are needed
It beggars belief the UK are not doing the same, they just let our roads disintegrate and make excuses
I could not find a link to read this story as the only two available are the
telegraph which requires you sign up and yahoo links don't stay up for long

The standard of our roads in the UK is atrocious and nobody in a position to change things will take accountability

Google tells me - The use of porous asphalts in the UK is rare with the exception of minor roads and car parks and there is currently no national guidance available to highway authorities. Why not ????

I saw this on Yahoo earlier
One of the reasons our roads are so bad has to be the quality of the materials used when repairs are undertaken. Sadly I would also question how qualified the workmen are too? Perhaps these workmen aren't given the correct training? I certainly don't think they are given the correct materials to make a permanent and decent repair and maybe not even sufficient time to carry them out.
Out here in the countryside some of our roads are like a fairground ride. There are certainly roads round here that we avoid like the plague and we are well aware that they will never be repaired.

tumblespots I agree with you. The various councils in the UK are responsible for employing "cowboy" workmen who don't care one bit if their work needs replacing/repairing again. Blame the management for this unnecessary mess.

Really interesting to read this, again it seems in the UK we are being sold inferior products/services but still paying a lot for it.

Surely the Netherlands has a low density of cars as its famous for its extensive use of bicycles above car use and giving bicycles much greater priority on the roads? Even when the Dutch have cars they don't tend to use them that much compared to here in the UK. I remember watching a video about a dutch cyclist and it was late in the year and he was going to use his car for the third time that year for a longer trip with his family. The discussion was he hoped he could remember how to drive. It was a big Volvo estate car and that was because he had to get about 6 bicycles in the back of it in addition to his wife and 4 children. I could have remembered wrongly all the details but it was something like that. Surely lack of potholes is one of the huge benefits of a country with cycling as the normal transport method for local travelling. Surely road surfaces would last much, much longer with use of bicycles. Dutch bikes tend to be comfort bikes with thick tyres too so even less weight on the road than racing bicycles for example.
The Netherlands is facing near extinction with rising sea levels because they lack hills and protection from the seas so its not all great news for the Netherlands, their costs to protect themselves from rising sea levels are going to be huge and ultimately the sea will eliminate the Netherlands perhaps within 100 years. The so called 30 year projection from now with worst case scenario shows a huge amount of the Netherlands lost. I think quite a lot of the Netherlands is already under sea level but protected by a higher coastline so once the water gets through there is no stopping it.

UK roads are shocking but they’re never repaired correctly. It’s just a quick fix and go again, they never do the jobs properly

I don't drive but feel sorry for people who do because they pay through the nose for sub standard services.

MelissaLee1 Where I am even some of the pavements are a mess and all over the place. I'm not sure how pavements get into such a mess when they don't have heavy vehicles on them but somehow they do I guess its where workman have accessed underground pipes and done a terrible job of refilling the pavement afterwards.

BonzoBanana Nor can you walk two aside and have a chat.The pavements are smaller and there are cars half parked on one side and extended houses with overgrown bushes on the other.When I go out with my mum ,one of us has to always walk behind like a old Turkish woman.

MelissaLee1 I think the Neanderthals are the councils M , they can't even start a fire , but know how to burn taxpayers money

I used to think the U.K. was bad but I’ve been to countries where it is far worse. We can still certainly do better

Well, it seems the UK scientists have developed a self healing pothole asphalt , lets hope it works
www.computerweekly.com/news/366618567/Google-AI-paves-the-way-for-self-healing-potholes
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