Van drivers can be perhaps forgiven a little today if their attention is turned to their vehicles tyres. Of course many van drivers spend long hours on the roads of the UK every day, many listen to the radio and for the last 24 hours van tyres have cropped up more than once in conversations on the airwaves.
Hot air
The hot topic over the last couple of days on quite a few media outlets has been the subject of potholes. The very word is enough to send some van drivers into apoplexies of anger. Nothing, especially since the demise of speed traps and cowboy clampers, is guaranteed to upset a working van driver more than potholes. Well maybe vehicle insurance does upset some equally but by and large potholes are appallingly vexing.
Potholes have been at the heart of the nations radio wavelengths this week due to the Governments announcement of an extra £100 million in grants to help local councils mend their patchwork quilts, err sorry, roads. Every van driver and indeed motorist in general, is aware of how badly the weather affected our roads in December of 2010 and so surely we should all be grateful for the Governments generosity to our councils. Not on your Nelly!
£100 million will not scratch the surface
Council chiefs have been lining up to say the extra money is more or less the same amount of extra money they get most years from the Government and so is not extra money at all. They reckon the maintenance bill will run into billions and the £100 million is simply not enough. Van drivers, held up in queues probably caused by a vehicle hitting a rut in the road and losing a wheel, have phoned up in their hundreds to tell DJ’s to tell the councils to get the roads fixed before they stop paying their road tax, meanwhile shares in tarmac producing companies rocket at the same rate as those who produce oil.
Transport Minister Philip Hammond recognised that many commercial vehicle insurance claims are caused by potholes and said the £100 million of extra money would be shared equally around the country; he seemed to ignore one wag behind him who said the extra money would be like pouring cash into a black hole!
