MAG UK research showed that every year four motorcyclists die as a result of poor road maintenance and a further 70 per year suffer life-changing injuries in incidents where road surface defects are a contributory factor.

The British Motorcycle Action Group(MAG) – a member of FEMA – renews its campaigning to end the problem of crumbling road surfaces. The Resurface Our Roads campaign is supporting a government petition calling for increased funding. MAG will also highlight the dangers faced by motorcyclists and shortcomings of local authority responses.

The petition (deadline 20 September 2023) calls for increased funding for road repair and resurfacing. The petition states:

• The Government takes billions a year from road users. We deserve better investment in road maintenance, not simply waiting for potholes to appear then filling them.
• Many roads need resurfacing to provide better, safer conditions for all road users. The Government should increase funding for this.
• Road surfaces in many areas are a disgrace and not becoming of a supposedly developed leading world economy.
• Potholes are an obvious danger to all road users, but our roads need much more than the sticking plaster of pothole repair, much of which takes an age to be undertaken.
• Nor is it simply about safety; there is a total lack of civic pride. Improving roads could help improve wellbeing by reducing stress. Invest more of the billions of pounds of revenue taken from road users into road infrastructure.

For motorcyclists, the risks go far beyond the cost and inconvenience of damaged wheels and suspension. MAG research conducted in 2020 showed that every year, over 70 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured in incidents where road surface defects are a contributory factor. Safe road infrastructure is one of the key pillars of the Safe System approach to road safety.

MAG’s Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, said: “Potholes are an emotive subject for riders. A simple request for stories of pothole related crashes on MAG’s social media attracted a response rate higher by an order of magnitude than other posts. Potholes have always been in the top five issues that get raised by our membership. The recent announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt of an extra £200 million to tackle the issue is laughable when taken in the context of the £14 billion backlog of repairs reported by the Asphalt Industry Alliance in their 2023 ALARM report.”

MAG is also calling on their members to ask their Members of Parliament to sign the petition and make sure that they do all they can to allocate funds in this area. “Bikers are voters and now is the time to make our voice heard”, says MAG.

Source: MAG

Pothole photographs courtesy of whitedalton.co.uk

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