Aston Martin"s Ò£1.2m...
Aston Martin"s Ò£1.2m supercar is clearly still camera shy...but that didn"t stop the firm giving Paris show visitors a surprise sneak preview of the model!
That’s the shock...
That’s the shock finding of research by tyre specialist Kwik-Fit. It discovered that each time a wheel crashes into the broken tarmac blighting the UK’s highways, drivers have to pay an average ?95 – nearly twice as much as it would cost to fill the hole.
Lives are also being put at risk, according to Kwik-Fit’s David White. He said: “Hitting potholes can cause dangerous blow-outs, damage steering and even break shock absorbers. The forces involved are similar to striking a kerb at speed.”
As traffic levels increase – they rose 10 per cent between 1999 and 2005 alone – local authorities are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with maintenance. And as growing numbers of cars are fitted with alloys – which are softer than steel wheels – and vul-
nerable low-profile tyres, the cost of fixing the damage is spiralling.
According to motoring campaigner www.potholes.co.uk the issue is ex-acerbated by a confusing nationwide policy on road repairs. It claims that while most areas class a dip of 20mm as a pothole, in Devon the tolerance is 40mm, and in Lincolnshire it’s 50mm.
There are also variations in highway inspection. Most UK regions are obliged to undertake an assessment once a year. Only Birmingham City Council carries out monthly checks.
Despite this, car owners in the Midlands are paying out the most in garage bills. One in four drivers in central England has suffered damage in the last five years, and in the past 12 months they shelled out a massive ?37million – that’s ?8million more than even the congested South-East region. Scotland was the area with the least damage, although motorists there still had to find ?6million.