Need to report a POTHOLE? Government-backed App makes it easy

Tue, 24 Dec 2013

There can’t be many motorists in the UK who haven’t fallen foul of our pitted and potholed roads (one of the Cars UK team had a £1500 suspension re-build bill last year), so anything we can do to point out what needs doing is a bonus. So the news that the government is backing an App to report potholes in the UK to the tune of £30,000 is good news (assuming the reported potholes get acted on).

The ‘Fill That Hole’ website has been set up by Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC) to help their members report potholes (which can be dangerous as well as costly for cyclists), and their iPhone App, which sends local authorities up-to-date information on the latest potholes has been a great success.

But now, with £30k in backing from the government, the Fill That Pothole website is getting a revamp and an Android version of the App is being built (and should be ready for download by February 2014) to give much better coverage for Smartphone users.

Roads Minister Robert Goodwill said:

The Government is serious about tackling potholes. At best they are an irritation but at worst they can damage vehicles and pose a serious danger to cyclists. That is why we want people to tell councils where to find them so they can fill them in. This app means more people are going to be able to report potholes more easily.

Filling potholes in quickly is only one half of the story. Research has also shown a long-term approach to road maintenance, rather than patch and mend, can save councils and taxpayers money and potentially save lives thanks to better road conditions.

Despite all our moans about the state of our roads, the government has stumped up £3 billion for local authorities to tackle the problem for the period 2011 to 2015, which should go some way to tackling the issue.

If nothing else, reporting of the potholes with the CTC App will mean local authorities are aware of the problem and, ultimately, liable if they don’t act.

By Cars UK