We’re campaigning against pesky potholes!

The issue with potholes, especially in the UK, seems to be the topic of the moment. We've all had to deal with the bumpy drive to work in the mornings - car jolting, CD's jumping and unsettling bangs. It really is a concern, as pothole damage is far from unusual.

I've been reading up a little on the pothole situation we have here in the UK, and even though I was aware there was a big issue, I was surprised to see the vast amount of claims and expenses related to pothole damage. It's not great to hear that we're looking at a cost of £12 billion to fix the roads up to a satisfactory state.

For the last two years running, over two million potholes were filled in England and Wales. Unfortunately, due to the vast amount of rain we have recently seen, these efforts were not as effective as they could have been. It was also a tad baffling to hear that it costs on average 20 times more per square metre to fill a pothole than is does to resurface the road. Resurfacing the road certainly seems like a more cost effective and long term solution here, however, this would most likely mean working on the whole road and not just the affected area.

Surrey council has experienced a 353% increase (from 405% to 1,834) in the number of claims, while Dorset has seen an increase of claims from pothole damage rise from 85% in November and December, to 193% in January and February. This is a nasty increase of 127% - not good! These are however extreme cases, as both areas have suffered flooding which has worsened the problem.

It is estimated that in the UK we spend a hefty £730 million a year in repairs to cars damaged by potholes, and this doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. The damage we hate hearing about the most, caused by those pesky dips in the road, is an all too real and personal one to us - and that's lamps blowing.

It may not have happened to you as of yet, but bulbs failing due to driving over potholes is something we encounter often here at PB HQ. Automotive lamps can be very delicate things indeed and a strong vibration from a bang can cause the filament inside to break and the bulb to cease working.

We know that bulbs can fail for many reasons out of the driver’s control, and going over hard to avoid potholes is just another one on the list. That's why we offer a 12 month, no-quibble warranty with every order to cover you against accidents such as this.

If you do happen to have a bulb blow (hopefully not!) it’s as simple as returning the pair to us and receiving your new shiny pair soon after.

If you have any questions related to this post, or any of our other posts for that matter, simply send me an email at: [email protected] and we can answer any questions you may have.