Rod Stewart: Why The First Rut is the Deepest
It has been a good week for Rod Stewart, the veteran rocker’s pothole problems will be sorted out by Essex County Council in April.
The singer – who had his greatest UK chart success with ‘Sailing’ – complained that “people are bashing their cars up” because of the potholes and that includes his Ferrari.
Pictures of Sir Rod fixing the problem with spade in hand have highlighted a real issue that causes 90% of all insurance claims although it is not all bad news.
The Department for Transport’s latest research, published in November, shows that the road network has been maintained to the same levels for the past five years, with 4% of ‘A’ roads and 6% of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads needing repairs.
‘Unclassified’ roads fare worse – generally local roads of a basic standard – make up 60% of the road network and 17% of those roads are in need of repair.
The government has recognised the problem and in March 2020 Rishi Sunak said Britain will spend an extra £2.5 billion improving the roads by repairing 50 million potholes over the next five years – as part of a plan to boost living standards outside of London.
Quotezone.co.uk‘s Founder Greg Wilson comments: “Whether you’re a rock star or not, potholes are a real issue for motorists and insurance firms.
“If a vehicle is damaged by a pothole and the driver needs to make a claim, they’ll lose their no claims bonus which could see their car insurance premium increase for several years – until they replenish their no claims bonus. With nearly a fifth of unclassified roads in need of repair, it could be an ongoing issue for drivers which the government needs to address.
“If the driver does need to claim, it’s important they gather as much detailed evidence as possible such as date, time and location of the pothole, ideally with a photograph and a written assessment of the damage by a qualified mechanic.”
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About Quotezone.co.uk:
- Launched in 2005, Quotezone.co.uk has grown to become one of the UK’s leading insurance comparison platforms. An early pioneer of price comparison systems, the Quotezone.co.uk platform continues to use proprietary comparison technology to help millions of people find better deals on their insurance each year.
- From its headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Greg Wilson, CEO, and Ian Wilson, Managing Director, have grown the company to more than 50 team members spread across two European offices.
- The company has been recognised with six Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, and has been awarded a Deloitte Best Managed Company Award each year for the past three years – topped by the Gold Standard Deloitte Award for Best Managed Company this year (2020) – making it four consecutive wins
