A few months ago, I expressed an unpopular opinion about the state of the road surfaces here in the UK. I said that although there are a few roads that could use a bit of TLC, overall the vast majority are well built, well maintained and generally in good nick. And of course, that compared to the roads some of our foreign friends have to contend with, we don?t do bad at all.

Whilst a few people agreed with me, there were plenty who, rightly, said that it?s a bit frustrating when the Department for Transport spend billions of pounds on smart motorways, rather than giving the council a few extra quid to repair the potholes on their broken roads. Potholes that I?m happy to admit do exist.

One thing I hadn?t really considered though, was that (obviously) roads in different areas of the country tend to be in different states of repair. And whilst I ride all over the country, I?ll admit that the majority of my riding (and driving) is done in the north. So it was also probably unfair of me to pass judgement on the general state of the roads in the UK. And for that I apologise.
Because it turns out that, according to new research by Go Compare Motorbike Insurance, there are plenty of roads that are in immediate need for repair. And a lot of them are in the south.

Bad news

In 2020, 285 motorcyclists were killed on the roads in Great Britain, and 4,429 were seriously injured. That?s way too many. And whilst there is a long list of potential hazards on the road,...