Citroen has launched a Better Roads Manifesto, setting out ideas for how local authorities could cure the scourge of potholes, with the French marque calling for councils to use artificial intelligence to monitor and predict the roads likely to need the most attention.
The Better Roads Manifesto includes six key points that Local Highways Authorities and councils could address to fix the roads, and it also calls for utility companies to be held to account.
Citroen conducted Freedom of Information requests with the country’s 154 local highway authorities, in order to determine their approach to tackling potholes, and found that one-in-seven authorities said it might take up to three months to fix a pothole once reported.
Stoke-On-Trent admitted that the longest its residents could wait for a road repair is 357 days.
This wait highlights the inconsistent approach to tackling potholes across the country.
Citroen also surveyed British drivers, and found that more than a quarter have lost control of their car either by avoiding a pothole, because of debris from a pothole, or a combination of both.
Drivers are willing to pay extra for improved roads, with more than half saying they would pay more council tax, while 49 percent would support an increase in Vehicle Excise Duty, provided the money was spent on fixing the nation’s highways.
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Citroen believes tackling potholes could unlock savings of more than £5.5 billion across the UK, thanks to reduced accidents and improved road network efficiency.
They are also asking drivers to download the free STAN reporting app, and use it to highlight road defects in their area, in order to ensure that accurate pothole data is tracked, which can help with road defects in general.
The full six points included in Citroen’s Better Roads Manifesto are:
- Make using AI compulsory for road inspections
- Hold utility companies and developers to account
- Introduce a five-year plan for road funding by the government
- Create a national standard for road repair quality
- Using volunteers to increase road repair resources without cost
- Developing a road cleaning strategy to remove dangerous surface debris
Citroen Highways Consultant, Dave Gaster, who helped create the manifesto, said: “British roads are in a historically poor state, unless we do something now, we continue to store up a raft of issues that will need to be dealt with.
“The findings of this report are deeply concerning, but the suggested remedies are practical, logical and, if implemented, will make a profound difference to the roads in this country.”
The use of AI and other technologies could help to identify and prioritize road repairs, making the process more efficient and effective, which is what Citroen is aiming for with their manifesto.