When will the HSE start acting against County Councils whom are no longer providing safe roads eg deep pot holes left for weeks, lack of markings etc.

Never

The UK's leading example of Ron's point is probably Ashford in Kent.

http://www.guardian.co.u...oad-design-town-planning

See #2 above or are you moving the goal posts?

Personally I like to know where one road finishes another begins but if research shows that we have been wasting our money on road markings for 50 plus years then so be it. Can the Govt rustle up some further data showing pot holes also make things safer aswell ?

As for changing the goal posts why arent the HSE responsible under Sec 3 HSWA 74 for Highways ?

Whilst the concept of "shared spaces" is alleged to work well in town centres, this clearly wouldn't work for the (majority) of roads that are not within a town.

With the average level of competence of the UK motorist (perceived by myself to be very low) I'd be a little nervous driving on an unmarked road regarding an oncoming driver on their mobile / doing their makeup / having a conversation with someone in the back / etc. not paying attention and driving in the middle of the road!

Quite correct.

I kind of get bjc point that local authorities/highways agency are responsible for repairing roads this is part of their work activity so if they fail to do so then there could be a section 3 offence. However they don't have to ensure that no injury occurs only that they do what is reasonably practicable to prevent. It would be imposable to prevent any pot holes etc completely. Councils, Highways agency etc have programs of inspection and repair so perhaps they are complying with HASAW requirements after all!

I wonder if the Safety Camera Partnerships would help by photographing these lethal defects perhaps adopting the slogan "Think Pothole"

Thats right they dont but the legislation allows them to do so.


Perhaps it wouldnt be politically expedient to take the Highways bunch to Court for placing people on 2 wheels in extreme danger.

End of.

absolutely.

(1)It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Can you reference an exclusion for Councils ?

But if you are not careful a council solution could be:-

Reduce speed limit on all roads with pot holes to 5 MPH and class potholes as a safety initiative (like sleeping police men). Anyone thereafter having an accident or damaging a vehicle was obviously speeding and will be fined. Thus a monetary drain is now turned into a money generating scheme (same as speed cameras – sorry I mean safety cameras).

Realistically even if The HSE could or had a mind to, the council could never realistically detect a new pot hole the instant it is created or realistically fix one the moment it was noted. What would you want, the council fined for not doing something impossible, which would result in higher council tax for everyone. The only group to gain would be the government; it would be almost like a new tax.

Thank goodness someone realises they can be prosecuted. The lame arguments re poor Councils dont wash with me unless of course private companies can role out that excuse.

I reported a dangerous large pot hole to my council twice months ago and its still there. The law needs to be equitable as if I dont bring my wheelie bin in on time they are the first to fine..

If the requirements of HASAWA Section 3 did apply to local authorities regarding the condition of public highways (and the Highways Agency regarding motorways) remember that the requirements are tempered by "so far as is reasonably practicable". It seems that some people overlook or misunderstand this phrase whenever Sections 2 and 3 of HASAWA are discussed.

In any event it's simply not practicable for highway authorities to tackle every pothole which develops in the surfaces of their highways, just as it's not practicable to salt/grit each and every highway and pavement during freezing weather conditions.

I'm not suggesting that potholes are acceptable - far from it. Deeper ones pose a risk to vehicles and especially to cyclists, while potholes generally create extra costs for vehicle owners in terms of repairs and replacements of tyres and suspension systems, etc.

One challenge for highway authorities is to have effective arrangements to enable the deeper (i.e. more hazardous) potholes to be identified and receive priority for repair as and when resources allow this. Another snag is that some potholes which are identified to be shallow and are classed as low priority for repair can deteroriate quite rapidly.

Another aspect of potholes is to consider what causes them to occur and develop: In some cases I understand that they arise from poor reinstatement of highway surfaces after they've been dug up to allow repairs of services beneath them. In some instances the problem doesn't become evident until winter weather arrives and water which has penetrated the highway surfaces freezes and expands upwards. Also, haven't various studies found that the tyres of heavy goods vehicles, especially the heavier ones, cause the most damage to highway surfaces?

Can't help thinking its a provocative thread from the start, for the sake of it

With snow and ice currently affecting or due to affect various parts of the UK it won't be long before "council bashing" as an established national pursuit enters its peak season of the year with the usual litany of grumbles from journalists and others about which roads and pavements either haven't been salted/gritted at all or as quickly as expected. Oh well, perhaps it'll make a change from grumbles about potholes! :-)

I don’t know whether S3 applies or not (on the face of it, it appears it should) but I am not aware of a prosecution for such, although there are clearly numerous civil claims for damage.

The thing is that whether people like it or not, LAs have limited/finite resources and they are being continually squeezed by reduced funding from central government and the political will in many areas to limit or cap Council Tax.

Unless you happen to live in an area served by a unitary authority, it is highly unlikely that the council responsible for your refuse collection (and hence any ‘fines’ for bins being left out) is the same authority responsible for your roads and any potholes.

In general I would suggest that those Councils with responsibility for highways will almost certainly have a proactive inspection programme for inspecting and maintaining roads in a reasonably safe condition. However, anyone who thinks that any Council ‘s highways network can reasonably be ‘pothole free’ all of the time is frankly living in cloud cuckoo land.

I have hit 2 in the last 2 years and it has cost me a tyre on both occasions. It is frustrating, I wasn’t too happy about it (the days of getting a tyre for a £10 are long gone) but I am also realistic and pragmatic.

You can and should report potholes to your highways authority, and in my experience they are quick to react to this. There are a number of ways to do this, including contacting your highways authority directly or:

http://local.direct.gov.....jsp?LGSL=557&LGIL=0
https://www.gov.uk/report-pothole
http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/hazards/report