A LOCAL authority in Scotland wants to redefine the depth of a pothole from 40mm to 60mm in a bid to save £120,000 on repairing roads and compensating road users after vehicles suffer damage as a result of poorly maintained carriageways.

The suggestion, by cash-strapped Perth and Kinross council, can be found in a 186-page document published yesterday, which details areas where it can save money.

In the document, written by the council’s head of finance, a potential money saving solution to spending money on road repairs is identified as being to ‘increase the intervention level for defect repairs e.g. from 40mm in road to 60mm and thus reduce the level of reactive repairs carried out. This will require a change in the current policy.’

The suggestion looks like a short term way of cutting spending – something tacitly recognised by Perth and Kinross council in its acknowledgement that redefining what it classes as a pothole could incur greater repair costs.

The council does not acknowledge how dangerous its proposal could be for motorcyclists but does admit that allowing roads to deteriorate could pose increased danger to those with sight problems and mobility issues.

The potential move has been criticised by the RAC, who said that deeper potholes would end up costing more to repair and be more dangerous to road users.

Speaking about the potential move, the BMF said: ‘We sincerely hope this does not happen and that other councils in the UK don’t consider similar cost cutting strategies that could endanger all road users.’

Image from Wikipedia under license from Creative Commons.

• Sign up for Visordown’s weekly newsletter, Bugsplat, to get the best motorcycle news, road tests and features plus exclusive competitions and offers direct to your inbox. Register as a Visordown member here and tick the box for Bugsplat in your newsletter settings here.