A pothole repair lorry has been swallowed by a pothole it was sent to fix in an image that aptly sums up the dire state of the country. The Telegraph has the story.
After subsidence left a country road riddled with almighty craters, workmen were sent out to clean up the mess.
It all went awry, however, when their own lorry fell victim to a large hole in the road.
Contractors from Stabilised Pavements were working at Butleigh Drove near Walton in Somerset when their lorry rolled into a ditch that had given way on the uneven surface.
The workers were forced to abandon the vehicle after it settled at a 45-degree angle, metres from a sign reading “skid risk, max speed 20mph”.
Photographs show other potholes in the road while the lorry sits surrounded by orange cones.
The stuck lorry has now become a tourist attraction for bemused villagers.
Stabilised Pavements, a road-repairs company, refused to comment when approached by the Telegraph.
Worth reading in full.
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This could be a metaphor for how our whole country operates
Australia’s not to pleased. The driver got out their side and claimed asylum
It’s a gravel road not a bitumen sealed road. All roads need as much attention to drainage to keep the sub base load bearing as the running surface. While gravel roads cost less tha 20% of bitumen Sealed macadam roads they need 3 – 5 x maintenance. Looks like the sub base collapsed through being weakened on the RHS of the lorry by poor drainage and the lorry was driven too far to the near side. RHS If it was a 26 tonner loaded with aggregate with 8 tonnes per axle loading. that unsurprising. Yes it’s clear, like most local authorities who have a few miles of gravel roads and not a clue how to deal with them, maintenance has been neglected. Welsh forestry has about 4000 miles of gravel roads for forestry purposes. 44 tonne trucks use some of this mileage every year with a very few similar incidents. I was responsible for maintaining 200 miles of gravel roads following use by motor rallies up to International WRC standard as well as building and maintaining gravel roads in my own patch and sealed roads in neighbouring patches. Potholes are a relatively minor problem compared to overall maintenance unless maintenance… Read more »
Very informative comment – thank you.
It looks like an unpaved road/track that the lorry shouldn’t of been on and they won’t of been sent to fill in that pothole. I’m sure the driver was mindlessly following a sat nav and ignored signs saying “unsuitable for large vehicles” or maybe even “private road no access”. It happens a lot in rural areas and the cost of recovering large vehicles from minor roads/tracks can be astronomical. I’ve seen stories involving HGVs that have tried to use roads that are sign posted as unsuitable for large vehicles come a cropper and it’s cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to extract them because 500 year old dry stone walls have to be taken down so a crane or large tow truck can get to them then the wall has to be rebuilt by skilled craftsmen. Other examples are medieval stone bridges that are listed as grade I or II structures being severely damaged. Ultimately the public pays for a few people’s stupidity either through council tax or higher premiums for RAC, AA etc cover depending on who foots the bill.
The clue is in the name Butleigh Drove. It’s an old Drovers Track which has been upgraded a bit, but is basically not much more than a farm road.
I doubt if it was ever intended to have a tractor, let alone an HGV driving along it.
That part of Somerset was affected by torrential rain and flooding in January/February this year, which may have undermined the already weak road base.
Why do you continually use “of” when you should use “have?”
How nice to see such a comment! Thank you.
How to fill a pothole by “Stabilise Pavements” …fill it with a lorry, ( make sure the driver has left the vehicle) crush it down.. level it with gravel! ..dust hands, simples!
Joking apart, imagine a motorcyclist had hit this at anything above 30mph.
They won’t now.
I am glad it wasn’t in Essex, which Reform won Thursday, otherwise we would have been blamed by the MSM Tory facing media for this. That road does not need patching. It needs rebuilding with proper foundations and hardcore.
Could be a clever way to fly-tip an old vehicle. Or maybe, that’s just their method for filling potholes because this one has certainly been filled!
🙂
Oh dear. Wonder how long it will be before they can get it out of the hole?
I often wonder why companies go to the bother of personalised number plates for their vehicles. R111 SPL – I’m assuming the SPL is for Stabilised Pavements Limited. Are they planning to buy all of the possible plates ending SPL? If they’re trying to hide the age of the truck… it was first registered in January 2008 but has a 1997/98 registration plate..
Given that the driver failed to notice a pothole this big the number plate should be TW111AT
Or maybe BE11 END
I don’t get it either but, apparently they’re tax deductable?
WTF! Really?