Press Release
30% of English roads require attention as Yorkshire and the Humber with 35% has worst roads in England new GMB survey shows
11 July 2012
It is clear from the official data that our roads are in a shocking state with almost a third needing attention says GMB
30% of the roads in England were found to require attention according to the latest official data for 2010/11. 5% of the roads in England showed considerable deterioration and may need maintenance in the next 12 months. This category is referred to as red or poor. 25% showed some deterioration and should be investigated to see if the road needs treatment. This category is referred to as amber. On the other hand 70% of the observed road sections in England are in a good condition.
29% of the roads in Yorkshire and The Humber showed some deterioration and should be investigated to see if the road needs treatment. This category is referred to as 'amber'. 6% of the roads in Yorkshire and The Humber showed considerable deterioration and may need maintenance in the next 12 months. This category is referred to as 'red' or 'poor'. On the other hand 65% of the road sections observed were in a good condition. This category is referred to as 'green' or 'good'. Yorkshire and The Humber had the highest number of roads requiring attention in England.
Next in the English league for regions for roads needing attention was South West (27% amber and 6% red), South East (26% amber and 6% red), East of England (25% amber and 6% red), West Midlands (24% amber and 4% red), North East (24% amber and 5% red), London (22% amber and 3% red), North West (22% amber and 5% red) and East Midlands (20% amber and 4% red ) The data for all 9 regions in England is set out in the table below.
The Isle of Wight had the worst roads in England with 55% of the roads in need of attention. Next in the league for the worst roads are North Lincolnshire 47%, City of London 42%, Nottingham 42%, Camden 42% are in need of attention. The figures for the 25 councils in England with the worst roads are set out in notes to editor 8 below. At the bottom of this press release on the GMB National website http://www.gmb.org.uk/set out in a pdf are the figures for 145 councils in England for 2010/11 and 5 councils for 2009/10. Also at the foot of the national release are the 9 regional releases.
These statistics come from each Local Authority using Scanner Surveys for the year 2010/11 the latest available data. They come from automated surveys using SCANNER vehicles which assess the surface conditions of A, B and C classed roads and are published by the Department of Transport. See notes to editors below for sources and definitions. GMB, the public services union, have analysed the data for all councils in the region. The data ranked by the percentage of roads found to be amber is shown in the table below.
Road condition indivator by region in England
Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services, said:
“It is clear from the official data that our roads are in a shocking state with almost a third needing attention. Many roads are so broken up and strewn with potholes that motorists are suffering damage to wheels and suspension, with compensation claims up by 40% in some parts of the country.
Local authorities are cutting back on road maintenance because of the budget cuts forced on them by the government so the problem is likely to get worse. Indeed, even when repairs are being carried out it is often done on the cheap to a low standard so it's soon in a mess again. Every community has a right to expect decent roads and councils should be recognising this as a priority.”
Notes:
1. Department for Transport statistics - 2010-2011: Road Condition Indicator (RCI) 1 scores by percentage of classified roads, by local authority
2. SCANNER (Surface Condition Assessment of the National Network of Roads) surveys measure a number of parameters at 10-metre spacing along the road. The outputs from the measured parameters can be combined together to produce a single figure giving an indication of the surface condition at that specific location.
3. RCI outputs are scored between 0 and 315. Scores between 0 and 40 indicate that the observed road section is in good condition. This category is referred to as 'green' or 'good'. Scores over 40 but below 100 indicate that the location is showing some deterioration and should be investigated to see if the road needs treatment. This category is referred to as 'amber'. Any road sections scoring 100 or higher are likely to show considerable deterioration and may need maintenance within the next 12 months. This category is referred to as 'red' or 'poor'.
4. Surveys are carried out on a financial year cycle but because the SCANNER Surveys use lasers to scan the road they cannot be used when snow, ice or standing water are on the road and, as such, most surveys take place between May and October each year. DfT specifies that SCANNER surveys should be taken as follows:
a. annually on A roads, either 100% in one direction or 50% both directions
b. annually on 100% of B roads in one direction
c. annually on 50% of C roads in one direction
5. In 2010 England had 301,126km of public road.
6. Each local authority is responsible for maintaining the roads within its boundaries. These roads account for about 97 per cent of all publically owned roads in England.
7. Further details on SCANNER and road conditions measured and found, such as ruts, cracks, unevenness can be found in the Technical Note document on Road Condition and Maintenance data available here: http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/series/road-conditions/roadconditionstechnote.pdf
8. The 25 councils in England with the worst roads in 2010/11.
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