[Hyper Active]

Motorists in the UK are more than twice as likely to suffer damage to their cars than their American counterparts.

According to new research from independent insurer, Warranty Direct, nearly 500,000 vehicles have suffered some sort of damage because of poorly maintained roads.

The connection between axle, suspension and steering damage and potholed roads could be a key factor in up to a third of all mechanical failures in the UK. This could be costing motorists more than £2.8bn a year in repairs.

However, across the Atlantic, the comparable rate of failure falls to 1 in 8 for the same vehicles.

On average, suspension related problems account for 42% of faults sustained by Ford Focuses driven on British roads. This dramatically falls to 17% in the US. It is a similar story with the Audi A4 - 49% compared to 11%.

The data comes as Government revenue from fuel duty continues to rise, and the price of a gallon approaches £5.

Although the Department of Transport spent an average of £10,000 per mile in 2006, the US treasury forked out one and a half times more.

"Continuous driving over cracked or uneven road surfaces, or one sudden jolt from a pothole, can cause substantial damage to shock absorbers, springs, upper and lower arms and stabiliser bars," explains Duncan McClure Fisher of Warranty Direct.

Last year, the firm launched campaign website Potholes.co.uk potholes, road repairs, council highways, forums to campaign for an increase in funding for the estimated £1bn gap in road maintenance.

I know i try to drive round them if i can, though having the upper strutbrace, lower front brace and lower middle brace from GT Tuning on my car does help a little if i can't avoid them.

Anyone ever damaged there MINI when they've hit a pothole ?.

[KillerByte]

I've had a flat tyre because of one.

Hit a nasty pothole on the Cotswolds run this year. The tyre didn't go until I was on the way home the following day, but I knew what had caused it.

[The Red Baron]

Yep hit a pothole.

Didn't see it as the road was wet and the hole was full of water and damaged an alloy!

In my mind a lot of these pot holes in our country are caused by the large amount of salt we chuck on our roads. It just seems to break them up!!

As I understand it since that major downfall of snow a few years ago that caused massive grid lock, the local authorities grit the roads when a temperature sensor hits a certain mark. So it could just be very cold with no snow or frost yet they go out gritting!!

[Mister]

Hmmm... The potholes out here in the ghetto are large enough to swallow a MINI whole

[Paul]

We have tonnes of potholes around here, there's a huge one that forms outside our driveway frequently, and usually about ten others within a few metres.

[faster,Tobias!]

Maybe the country is caving in from all the coal mines running underneath

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister (original)

Hmmm... The potholes out here in the ghetto are large enough to swallow a MINI whole

and there is the problem. In the UK, the people survive to report the pothole an file a claim. In the USA we die in them thus no claim is made....

[The Peanut]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul Mullett (original)

We have tonnes of potholes around here, there's a huge one that forms outside our driveway frequently, and usually about ten others within a few metres.

I too know of several that recur, so they are making a poor attempt to fix them (eventully) then they are back in a few months after the next spell of bad weather.

[Tara&Paul]

And what about the damage caused to cars by Speed Humps and other "Traffic Calming" bull sh*t?

[Hyper Active]

Here's something i read today on the the subject of pothole damage to everyones cars. Quite shocking in the context of how much road tax is going up, that's supposed to pay for road repairers .

Quote:

Almost a fifth of all cars could be on the road with their drivers unaware of "potentially dangerous", and costly, damage caused by potholes, according to leading independent mechanical breakdown insurer, Warranty Direct.

With the average motorist suffering a mechanical failure once every three years*, six million vehicles could have pothole-related damage that may not be immediately apparent to the driver.

"An increasing number of motorists are only discovering the kind of faults directly attributable to poor roads during an annual service or MoT," says Duncan McClure Fisher, managing director of Warranty Direct. "That's an alarming state of affairs given the potential danger of failures like wheel bearings, tyres and steering racks."

Every year, around 60 percent of all claims processed by the firm relate to suspension and axle damage consistent with that caused by Britain's rutted, and poorly-maintained, roads.

The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance report states that there is a shortfall of £1 billion to bring the country's roads up to standard. Last year, Warranty Direct set up the website Potholes.co.uk potholes, road repairs, council highways, forums to campaign for better road maintenance, and give drivers advice on how to claim compensation from local authorities.