Maintenance of the Road Network
With the motorways and highways throughout the UK full to capacity on a daily basis, it is extremely important that the condition of roads is maintained in order to provide a smooth journey and reduce any possible accidents that may arise from debris, motorbike indicators being great examples, interfering with your drive. The maintenance of the roads cost the government and local authorities millions of pounds a year yet despite this many of us can easily think of roads in our local areas that are notorious for potholes or deep gauges in the surface of the road. Bad road conditions can not only be dangerous to the driver and passengers of vehicles, but also to the vehicles themselves; we are all familiar with the horrible thud that can come from the wheel of your car hitting a pothole.
When accidents happen on the roads one of the first things that is done, after tending to any injured persons, is for the road to be swept and cleared up so that it can be reopened for other motorists to use. Accidents and vehicle breakdowns can cause long delays and large queues so it is important to the highway management teams that they respond quickly and get the traffic moving again as quickly as possible. If you are unlucky enough to suffer a breakdown whilst on a motorway you are advised to get your vehicle over on to the hard shoulder, if possible, and call for help using either your telephone or one of the emergency telephones that are situated at regular intervals along the roads.
Reporting unfit roads
Unfortunately due to the costs involved with maintaining roads there are many throughout the country that need work done to them and can be a nuisance to drivers; some may be littered with rubbish and motorbike indicators, whilst others may have gotten worse over time with exposure to bad weather. If you spot damage to a road that could cause accidents or damage to vehicles that use the road then you need to contact your local authority to log a complaint about it. This should mean that the road is repaired in a timely manner, however if the damage remains then you may need to be more persistent and log a further complaint until the work is carried out.
If you happen to be involved in an incident where your vehicle causes damage to a public road then you will be relieved to hear that this is generally covered under all insurance policies however it will be added to the cost of the claim and the claim will need to be disclosed when obtaining quotes from other insurers.