Van drivers spend £1.1 billion repairing pothole damage each year
Van drivers are being hit hard in the pocket as the result of potholes on UK roads, according to research by Mercedes vans!
Pothole damages
A survey conducted by Mercedes vans of in excess of 2000 van owners discovered that potholes cause £500 worth of damage to each vehicle on a yearly basis. With a total of 4.2 million vans on the UK's roads, that makes the total estimated cost of repairing vans as a result of pothole damage at a staggering £1.1 billion.
One pothole fixed every 21 seconds
The Local Government Association has claimed that councils are fixing a pothole every 21 seconds, however there is a £9.3 billion backlog as a result of spending cuts. Potholes are usually caused as a result of water getting into the surface of the road, then the water freezing and causing gaps in the asphalt.
From 2020 VED (road tax) funding will be ring-fenced for the improvement and maintenance of roads for the first time since the 1930s. The UK's road network also received a boost of £30 billion as part of the Budget 2018 spending review, with the majority of that money going towards improvement of motorways and major A roads. Councils will receive £420 million for fixing potholes on A and B roads.
Roads in a poor or very poor condition
A quarter of van drivers surveyed by Mercedes vans believe that the UK's roads are in a 'poor' or 'very poor' condition. It's not just the disappointing condition of the roads that is impacting on their lives, with the large majority (90 percent) saying that parking is also a significant problem for them.
More than half of van drivers surveyed by Mercedes vans said that parking spaces were too small, whilst other frustrations for van drivers included inflexible parking bays and an increasing number of areas which are 'permit holder only'.
Poor quality roads and a lack of van-friendly parking has been linked to the mental health of van drivers, with more than a third (37 percent) of those surveyed by Mercedes vans saying that they experience stress on a regular basis while at work, with 15 percent experiencing depression and 21 percent anxiety.
Mercedes-Benz vans on finance
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