State of your roads?

[loose_axle]

Hit a pothole in the dark this morning that I didn’t see until too late. Ripped out the rear back tyre with a bang and a clang that made it feel like I’d been hit with a flak 88 over Berlin. 

My tyres were due for replacement in 3 months (now brought forward) anyhow but this is about the 3rd time in the last two years. As we can’t be political I won’t say much about my most beloved government and their use of funding but I wouldn’t seeing a drop of my taxes used in a way that actually helped ME. Just once. Just once in my life! 

PS: I normally wouldn’t vent but I’m on my third wine (or whine) as they change the tyres over in the restaurant across the road from the joint. Nunc est bibendum. 

[cnov]

Our roads are generally f****d in the UK.  That's a rumour of a tyre though, is that a 30mm profile? 

Run flats are also the worst. I never got through a run flat on our latest car, kept getting sidewall damage before getting anywhere near through the tread. Switched them all out for normal tyres and it's been much better. 

[loose_axle]

Ah well we're mirroring the mother country quite well these last few years. 

Yeah Volks Polo and I'm not much of a car person so not sure but there was more to it before it went dead flat. 

I've gone a much hardier tyre this time around which was reflected in the price. 

[El Presidente]

3 hours ago, loose_axle said:

Hit a pothole in the dark this morning that I didn’t see until too late.

I was on the hands free with Hamlet and hit a pothole on Saturday that was so big that I ended up south of Beijing, managed the roundabout, climbed back in to the pothole and got back to Brisbane. 

[BrightonCorgi]

I am pretty sure in my state (MA) they government will pay for damage due to a pothole. At least that is what I heard.

[Chibearsv]

We have 2 seasons around here. Winter and road construction. If you aren’t on a toll road, you aren’t on a smooth road. Potholes get patched that are either a bump or a dip. Might as well be riding a horse. 

[gormag38]

21 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

We have 2 seasons around here. Winter and road construction.

Same can be said here in West Michigan. The lake effect snow brings in some CRAZY winter weather. And with some of the 'milder' winters here the past few years there has been excessive freeze/thaw cycles. Definitely have ruined my fair share of tires/alignment hitting some pot holes. 

[BrightonCorgi]

We get into "who is responsible for the road repair" hot potato. Local town road is also designated highway, and no one wants to front the bill. It seems like the utility company is the only one paving and that's after they've dug something up.

[Christophe]

Roads in Belgium are notoriously bad, to the extent it's a joke in every neighboring country that you'll notice instantly when crossing the border into Belgium from France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany. The north of the country is bad, the south is terrible. It's got nothing to do with weather or remoteness or anything like that here. It's just mismanagement and corruption. Highest tax burden in the world, Fyi.
 

[ElLoboLoco]

Not terrible but not great. We rarely have thaws and freezes that cause seasonal pot holes. We do however have a lot people moving here from those colder climates with seriously over traveled roads; infrastructure outpaced by population growth.

[helix]

Quebec. 'Nuff said.

[Boss Hog]

13 hours ago, helix said:

Quebec. 'Nuff said.

Nothing to be added there, my fellow brother. Cringe every time I pull out of the driveway. Like a low budget George Miller Mad Max sequel. If we are not dodging potholes, we are dodging foreigners who have somehow managed to be issued driving licenses. A complete s**t show. 🤬

[El Presidente]

7 hours ago, Boss Hog said:

Like a low budget George Miller Mad Max sequel.

[ReelMan]

16 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

We have 2 seasons around here. Winter and road construction. If you aren’t on a toll road, you aren’t on a smooth road. Potholes get patched that are either a bump or a dip. Might as well be riding a horse. 

I don't think its political to say that government, any government, has given up even the slight appearance of caring about the state of infrastructure in general. It doesn't cost votes or get them votes, so it doesn't have a place in the budgets. When there is road construction, it generally ends up being useless anyway, fixing a problem that didn't exist in the first place. And the pothole fixes are generally worse than the original pothole after about a week.

[Chibearsv]

6 hours ago, ReelMan said:

I don't think its political to say that government, any government, has given up even the slight appearance of caring about the state of infrastructure in general. It doesn't cost votes or get them votes, so it doesn't have a place in the budgets. When there is road construction, it generally ends up being useless anyway, fixing a problem that didn't exist in the first place. And the pothole fixes are generally worse than the original pothole after about a week.

On the contrary. The state and county politicians here care very much about infrastructure. They can bloat a repair budget to a no bid contractor friend and get kickbacks or other favors and compensation. This is the Illinois way. Work quality = Unnecessary expense. 

[loose_axle]

21 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I was on the hands free with Hamlet and hit a pothole on Saturday that was so big that I ended up south of Beijing, managed the roundabout, climbed back in to the pothole and got back to Brisbane. 

That's a belter, I spat my coffee out reading this one! 

[zacca]

In PA. Probably the worst roads in the country. I’ve probably gone through a dozen tires and 3 or 4 wheels over the years just from potholes. 

[westg]

On 6/30/2026 at 3:09 PM, loose_axle said:

Hit a pothole in the dark this morning that I didn’t see until too late. Ripped out the rear back tyre with a bang and a clang that made it feel like I’d been hit with a flak 88 over Berlin. 

My tyres were due for replacement in 3 months (now brought forward) anyhow but this is about the 3rd time in the last two years. As we can’t be political I won’t say much about my most beloved government and their use of funding but I wouldn’t seeing a drop of my taxes used in a way that actually helped ME. Just once. Just once in my life! 

PS: I normally wouldn’t vent but I’m on my third wine (or whine) as they change the tyres over in the restaurant across the road from the joint. Nunc est bibendum. 

Glad you are okay Luke.

[El Hoze]

I just returned home to Florida after a week driving the back roads on the north coast of Dominican Republic to various surf spots. Careful, peacock on your left and a motoconcho coming down the inside right shoulder with four people, an infant, and a goat. Makes you really appreciate the infrastructure here in the US, even though my town has a bridge that has been under construction for nearly six years. The good news, it is ahead of schedule. 

[BrightonCorgi]

If a politician made it their campaign and was successful making the roads perfect, they would have a tough time being defeated. It's something everyone can see and benefit from.

[loose_axle]

9 hours ago, westg said:

Glad you are okay Luke.

Gracias amigo mio. ☺️

[Duder]

The roads up here in gods country are amazing. I want to speed all the time 😂 - when I lived in Utah, I hit a pothole so hard it shattered my back windshield. $900 back in 2009. Boy was I pissed!

[Bada_Bing_NJ]

Not bad where I am located and travel but can be better in heavy populated cities. We use to have the cheapest 6th-7th before they introduced NJ GAS TAX in 2016. (With no Cap, I swear 1 year they raised 5 or 6 times) which was supposed to go for roads & bridges only.)  

Fun fact before they devalued dollar again in 2020. Pave 1 mile highway in NJ cost close to 1 million. Pave 1 mile highway in Georgia cost 225k.