Heavy vehicles are to blame.

Scary isn’t it…….some of them simply do not have a clue!

You are biased in your opinion, it's well known the vehicles that cause the most damage are trucks, by a factor of about 10000 not EVs or any other large car or van all new cars are larger and heavier than previous models because safety standards require a certain strength in a crash.

Comparing similar models, a Ford Mondeo weighs around 100kgs less than a similar Tesla Model 3, popular hybrids weigh roughly the same as the equivalent EV.

Another statistic the hate EV brigade repeat is that EVs catch fire, some do but a petrol or diesel car is 100 times more likely to catch fire

David49

You are biased in your opinion

As are you.
The councillor didn’t mention lorries or trucks or even buses. They are obviously heavier and cause the most damage. You only have to look at the road by a bus stop, or where lorries pull up to do deliveries.

EVs are heavier, and saying more people should get them also ignores the fact that they are expensive and beyond the reach of many people.

It's is accepted by most that its Trucks that cause the most damage to roads damage by trucks is at least 1000 times more than passenger cars, some estimates are much higher. Because modern roads are built strong enough to carry trucks there is no affect at all by cars.. a typical EVis about 100kg heavier than the equivalent than the petrol equavalent, a similar hybrid is the same weight.

Currently EVs are not for everyone, if you are happy polluting the environment carry on driving your petrol car. Most EVs are charged at home using off peak wind power, ours runs on 95% off peak power and costs about £5 for 240 miles that 1/10 of petrol cost.
Just like all progress the luddites are on the loosing side, EVs are the future for passenger cars and light commercial

As the technology grows and time passes I expect EVs will get cheaper.

What we need to make this happen is a way of charging them at home if you only have on street parking.

In my daughter's town they won't let her cut a gutter, won't let her have a cable vover and won't put in lamp-post or kerb charging.

This is what needs to change.

It is certainly lorries though making potholes on the whole. If the additional weight of EVs is 100kg and a person weighs 70 to 90kg it's not as much as it sounds really.

Hmm David. I wonder if you have considered the possibility that some of us " Luddites "are driving ( possibly old) petrol powered cars, not because we are " happy polluting the environment" but because we do not have funds to replace it with a more modern, expensive, EV.

Chocolatelovinggran

Hmm David. I wonder if you have considered the possibility that some of us " Luddites "are driving ( possibly old) petrol powered cars, not because we are " happy polluting the environment" but because we do not have funds to replace it with a more modern, expensive, EV.

When EVs first came up on GN, I felt the same. We were lectured on a regular basis, but though we wanted to help the environment, EV’s were way out of our price range.

We want and / or need the goods, so they need to be transported. I wonder how many passenger cars it would take to carry the load of one average HGV. and how the road damage they caused would compare.

I'm not sure what the answer is or what I trying to say, except that it isn't black and white!

Because resurfacing and filling of potholes is now carried out by private contractors the lowest tender is accepted by Councils and the cheapest materials are used.

Pay cheap, pay twice.

Allira

Because resurfacing and filling of potholes is now carried out by private contractors the lowest tender is accepted by Councils and the cheapest materials are used.

Pay cheap, pay twice.

Nice little earner for the contractors. 😉

I wonder why more freight isn,t. carried by trains.I understand that some parts are poorly served by rail but it would save the roads and the environment if trains could ,as they used to say,take the strain

paddyann54

I wonder why more freight isn,t. carried by trains.I understand that some parts are poorly served by rail but it would save the roads and the environment if trains could ,as they used to say,take the strain

What a pity they shut down all those branch lines all those years ago.

Indeed, Mollygo. I do not make assumptions about the income of my fellow GNetters: from posts, I understand that we have a wide range of incomes, some much greater than mine, and some significantly less than mine.
However, those of us with modest means might be adopting an even more eco- polished halo by taking the bus.

We, e had several of them reopened and more in the pipeline.That must be a possibility in other areas? A better way to spend a fortune than HS2

Chocolatelovinggran

The upsurge of “older” people (with bus passes) I meet on the bus currently is nothing to do with a halo. Rather it’s to do with the cost/scarcity of fuel at the moment.

Some rather disgruntled students at the third stop out of town had to wait for the next bus this afternoon because the bus I was on was packed with fuel saving pensioners.

We don’t build our roads as robustly as some other countries including decent drainage, neither do we maintain them. We are reactive, patching potholes after the event, often badly.

paddyann54

We, e had several of them reopened and more in the pipeline.That must be a possibility in other areas? A better way to spend a fortune than HS2

I agree.
It would get more cars off the roads if more people commute by train.

Regarding the OP about heavier vehicles damaging roads, and the debate about EVs, here's a possible solution. Fit them with air suspension. Due to the way it works, it causes less wear and tear. This would help preserve the roads and save money on repairs. Obviously the effects would be gradual but every bit helps, as they say.

The reason I suggested this is because of the comment about trucks causing the most damage. True, but heavy goods vehicles that have road-friendly suspension (RFS), which is most air suspension systems, actually pay a reduced rate of vehicle excise duty because they cause less damage to the roads. So it's acknowledged by the authorities that air suspension causes less wear and tear to roads. So fitting air suspension to EVs, and heavier vehicles in general, would cause less damage.

Some cars already have it so presumably, apart from a comfier ride, they are better for the roads.

The Chelsea Tractors favoured by Yummy Mummies (largely for posing purposes) must contribute substantially to the increasing pothole problem.

No-one needs a 'tank' like that for the school run.

We have returned from France to England after twenty years and I have bought a second hand EV for a very reasonable price. The charging infrastructure in the town is excellent. The roads are in poor condition and full of potholes, but it looks more like long term lack of proper repair to me and the same applies to pavements which are in a dreadful state.
The condition of the roads is far worse than in France.
There isn't any hard evidence of additional damage by EVs in all the research I have read. We had an EV for four years before we left France and the low maintenance and running costs made a real difference. EVs are also a joy to drive.

mae13

The Chelsea Tractors favoured by Yummy Mummies (largely for posing purposes) must contribute substantially to the increasing pothole problem.

No-one needs a 'tank' like that for the school run.

It's a status thing if they have the money the car of choice is a Range Rover Sport, safe and heavy plenty of space for 3 kids and all the kit, probably run on hubbys company account.

There is one single track lane near us that is used as a shortcut to the local private school, they have 4x4s and run onto the verge to pass resulting in the edges being constantly broken up.

Country lanes in general are the worst, no proper foundations constantly repaired. We are on a B road there is a big housing development, (10000 houses) the trucks feeding that are breaking it up really badly. There is a plan for a new road in 10 yrs time but no money to build it.

Any old road has old foundations of unknown quality, very wet or very dry conditions plus increased heavy traffic will always cause problems.

Allira

paddyann54

We, e had several of them reopened and more in the pipeline.That must be a possibility in other areas? A better way to spend a fortune than HS2

I agree.
It would get more cars off the roads if more people commute by train.

In an ideal world we should be sharing cars but we all like our personal space and the ability to go anywhere on a whim in whatever style they choose.
A few choose the "hair shirt" an old beaten up banger from the last century, those that can afford it choose to have a new sporty model on finance.

The car is a status symbol, reflects your personality, those that have a sporty outlook buy a BMW, the thrifty buy a Skoda and so on, a few don't care and buy a Ford, or its a company car and they have no choice. It's not new and men and women are just the same if they have the money they compete with men in the car status stakes.

Using the bus is, of course, a green way of travelling, Mollygo.
Here, if I am using my bus pass, I am limited to certain times of travel, allowing students and workers space on the bus early in the day .Is this not the practice everywhere?

The condition of the roads is far worse than in France.

The roads in France aren’t as heavily used as UK roads though, are they?

Having just returned from a week driving in rural Normandy the difference in road usage between there and the rural area I live in is absolutely stark.

France has roughly tge same size population as the UK but it’s spread over more than twice the area of the UK. Road usage is far lighter.