Bloody potholes!

[heyjoe]

I witnessed a rider nearly come off today late morning as I was passing through an intersection in Ashburton. Approaching the intersection where East St crosses with West St (also known as SH 1) I saw two riders turn right and heading south. One of them was wearing yellow wet weather leggings. It happened fairly quick but the first bike went through the intersection and the second one crossed over East St and his/her front wheel clipped/slipped in a deep pothole in the road and some fast action was needed by the rider to get the bike straightened up again. The pot hole itself was not large in size but deceptively deep. The gravel in the hole was dark due to rain overnight so may have been difficult to judge by the rider. I looked hard at the pot hole as I drove past from my place at another part of this crazy intersection and also looked in the rear view mirror to see if the rider was okay and would have stopped to help if needed. All seemed well as both bikes continued down West St heading south without stopping albeit at a slower pace. Racecourse Road also intersects with the road islands at this series of roads meeting. To add to the confusion there is major SH1 road works going on to realign a black spot where many fatal accidents have occured over the years. I found the incident today very annoying as I considered the pot holes caused by the heavy machinery a dangerous road hazard. I believe some attempt should have been made by the contractors to fill the holes with something to provide some measure of safety or protection for cyclists, bikers, or cars. As I was driving I could not use the cellphone but my wife rang the *555 number and voiced our concerns for road users (particularly bikers) safety. Having read thread [http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=43901] I felt we did not need any more of this for others. The operator (in cop control room) said they would do their best to pass this on to most appropriate people to deal with. We stressed our concerns. I said to my wife I would be interested to see if anything gets done about it this weekend. I was wondering if anyone would bother because the road was due to be dug up soon as part of the big roadworks. A local contractor was doing the job for Transit NZ I believe.

Well on our journey through that intersection today on the way home I got out of the car and checked the dangerous pot hole and see someone had put some hotmix in it to help level it out. The hazard had indeed been minimised to a safer level.

Through this forum I commend the people who went out and fixed this hazard. I am not certain who you are but thank you.

To the rider who nearly came off (if you are a kb member or kb reader) I hope you find some satisfaction in knowing the hazard has been dealt to.

[heyjoe]

Just a little correction to avoid confusion. The incident happened on Saturday late morning and we checked out the hazard again on Sunday night.

[Grub]

Well spotted Joe and Bling for going back and checking it had been fixed! I bet in one of ou big cities, that sort of repair would never have been done on a weekend.

[Guitana]

Even the smallest of potholes can F**k you up!!!
Well done Joe keep up the good work!!!!

[Macktheknife]

Good on ya Joe, bling to you and to whoever fixed the hole.

[idleidolidyll]

I've started carrying my flouro paint can everywhere now.
If I come across gross negligence by road workers or just a serious road problem that might cause one of us to crash (and die), I paint a warning on the road before it and mark the offending piece of tarmac in flouro too.

Note: ya need a thick or wide spray pattern to make it visible and the first warning needs to be about 40-50 metres back from the danger to give enough reaction time.

Thinking of making up a platic template that's easier to use (and quicker)

[LilSel]

I almost ripped the underside of my car off on the weekend due to a pothole that was unmarked and sprung up pretty quick. had nowhere to go, couldnt slam brakes on or wouldve had a mack truck up my arse... happened really quickly... BANG... followed by '$*@K'... think threw steering alignment out...
my first thought... 'Glad I wasnt on my bike'...

They are a real bitch them potholes

[Horney1]

I've started carrying my flouro paint can everywhere now.
If I come across gross negligence by road workers or just a serious road problem that might cause one of us to crash (and die), I paint a warning on the road before it and mark the offending piece of tarmac in flouro too.

Note: ya need a thick or wide spray pattern to make it visible and the first warning needs to be about 40-50 metres back from the danger to give enough reaction time.

Thinking of making up a platic template that's easier to use (and quicker)

------------------
Yes, those potholes are a pain in the arse. Good going on sorting out that particular one heyjoe.

Way to go idleidolidyll. It's a pity we users have to point out these things to those responsible for the upkeep of roads. I'm sure there are many motorcyclists out there that breathe a heavy sigh of relief after narrowly missing one of the potholes you've marked! I guess those Whitepowers make life a little easier when you loose that little wheel into one! I note you're on a 950, I got beaten from the lights on my 990 for the first time in a long long long long time (on anything) yesterday by a turbo NOS'd Nissan!! - Obviously I'll have to be a bit more serious next time & forget about casually trying to lift the wheel too near the bloody rev limiter - I was shocked! But that's cool he had a great cage and the balls to give a bike a go :)

LilSel - sounds like it might pay to check your rims & spokes for hairline cracks. Heavy pothole hits can do such damage!

Cheers

[Jimmy B]

I've started carrying my flouro paint can everywhere now.
If I come across gross negligence by road workers or just a serious road problem that might cause one of us to crash (and die), I paint a warning on the road before it and mark the offending piece of tarmac in flouro too.

Note: ya need a thick or wide spray pattern to make it visible and the first warning needs to be about 40-50 metres back from the danger to give enough reaction time.

Thinking of making up a platic template that's easier to use (and quicker)

Thats a flippin good idea Mate and good on you, keep your eyes and ears open when your doing it though

[idleidolidyll]

Thats a flippin good idea Mate and good on you, keep your eyes and ears open when your doing it though

most of the time i have someone else watching my back

[heyjoe]

Well spotted Joe and Bling for going back and checking it had been fixed! I bet in one of ou big cities, that sort of repair would never have been done on a weekend.

Yeah I wasn't actually expecting it and was surprised when I saw that some effort had been made to make it safer. I had assumed that due to the impending digging up of the road to re-lay it to match up with the other road re-construction that someone (with the power) would decide it wasn't worth the time and money. I was glad of the result in the end.