Gone To Pot: When Will All Our Roads Be Safe And Ridable?

What are local councils doing about this dangerous state of disrepair?

- James Shrubsall

The government’s pothole policy was criticised last week following the death of 83-year-old Roger Hamer, who was thrown from his bike after hitting a pothole and dying a month later from his injuries, which included a severe brain injury.

In a letter to transport secretary Chris Grayling, the assistant coroner for Greater Manchester North, Peter Sigee, said that a new ‘light-touch’ policy on deciding which holes to tackle “will increase the risk of future deaths, in particular to cyclists”.

The new guidance dictates that local authorities should decide which potholes to consider filling based foremost on dimensions; there is no guidance on what those dimensions should be, so councils will set their own parameters.

Can I have that in a nutshell?