Ronkh
Wax Waster
My buddies wife lost the "guess how deep" the pothole is game the other night:
$5K worth of damage. Destroyed the whole strut, housing and obviously the tire.
Swanic beware - this happened a 1/2 mile north of Otto's on 202.
First World Problem...
- Thread starter Swanicyouth
- Start date
Angus
AspiringProductSpecialist
Accumulator
Well-known member
With so many vehicles running low-profile tires these days, I bet we're gonna see a lot more intances of this.
Swanicyouth
New member
The question is, why are our roads (USA) so bad? I recall driving in Europe, specifically throughout Germany - and the roads were fine. I don't recall them being anything like ours.
I recall someone told me years ago how European road construction was done much better, and the roads have a deeper foundation. I did find this from Time Magazine:
"But some of the most important differences between American and European expressways lie well beneath the surface. All highways are built by bulldozing softer subsoils and either tamping them or replacing them with more durable dirt or gravel. But in Germany the roadbeds tend to be 1.5 m or 1.8 m (5 ft. or 6 ft.) deep, twice the U.S. average. European engineers also devote more time and money to designing roadbeds that resist frost and have excellent drainage, addressing two problems that play havoc with U.S. thoroughfares. Each step, from laying the subsequent gravel or concrete layer to applying the asphalt surface, is taken with long-term durability in mind."
I guess Fritz Todt knew what he was doing.
I recall someone told me years ago how European road construction was done much better, and the roads have a deeper foundation. I did find this from Time Magazine:
"But some of the most important differences between American and European expressways lie well beneath the surface. All highways are built by bulldozing softer subsoils and either tamping them or replacing them with more durable dirt or gravel. But in Germany the roadbeds tend to be 1.5 m or 1.8 m (5 ft. or 6 ft.) deep, twice the U.S. average. European engineers also devote more time and money to designing roadbeds that resist frost and have excellent drainage, addressing two problems that play havoc with U.S. thoroughfares. Each step, from laying the subsequent gravel or concrete layer to applying the asphalt surface, is taken with long-term durability in mind."
I guess Fritz Todt knew what he was doing.
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
Sure, the engineering has something to do with it.
But here in the northeast there are some factors that are larger IMO. One is the sheer amount of traffic, which not only causes more wear and tear on the roads, but complicates repairs due to traffic issues, which I think results in less repairs and less frequent repairs. I also suspect that the use of recycled asphalt may be making the road surfaces less durable. The use of lowest-bid contractors also may play a factor more than it did in days of yore.
However, the biggest reason the roads suck is MONEY. It costs a lot of money to repave roads (or build them in the first place like they do in Germany). We are still in a period of historically low taxes. Taxes are where the money comes from to fix the roads. Now I know a lot of you don't like taxes because you think all they do is pay people you don't like to sit on their asses, so would you support a higher gas tax in your state to provide for better road maintenance? Be sure to vote in your state elections for lawmakers who will make sure that all gas taxes actually are used for transportation funding and not something else.
I personally remember the roads being a lot better back when taxes were higher, but as I noted above, there are certainly some other factors involved.
rlmccarty2000
Active member
Gas taxes should pay for road improvement. Diesel is very heavily taxed and is the main reason it is priced higher than gasoline. The energy to create diesel is lower than that to create gasoline. The Germans really put a high tax on gas. Last time I heard it cost over $5 a gallon. Diesel cars dominate the market in Europe and the U.S. Is finally catching on. I drove the Autobahn from 1986 to 1989 and loved not looking over my shoulder for police, but when they have an accident it is a monster. It is common to have over 100 car pile ups. And then the traffic just stops for hours and many, many miles. I sat on the hood of my car on the way to Kiasarslautern (sp) for 8 hours.