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Specialized UK has become a corporate sponsor of the CTC’s pothole reporting service, which is a way of highlighting dangerous road surfaces to councils across the UK.
CTC’s online pothole reporting tool, FillThatHole, has informed local councils of over 46,000 potholes in the road network.
FillThatHole’s iPhone app is a location-aware and photograph-taking tool to make pothole-reporting easier than ever. Councils cannot be sued for bike – or car – damage caused by potholes they have not been made aware of, but once a hole is reported the council becomes liable for the potentially unsafe road surface. Councils tend to repair reported potholes very quickly. Pothole reporting through FillThatHole is free to all road users, but there is a cost to CTC for processing each report and forwarding it to the relevant local authority. Specialized has sponsored the reporting of 6,000 potholes to the relevant councils, earning them a place as the first company in the ‘CTC Pothole Hall Of Fame’.
CTC wants other bike industry companies to follow and suit and demonstrate road safety credentials.
CTC’s commercial director Nick Fish said: "Specialized is ahead of the pack in supporting this free service to cyclists and the game is now on to find other companies to support and promote FillThatHole and make the roads safer for all.
Specialized marketing manager Anne Immelman said: “CTC has provided Specialized with a great answer to helping cycling communities all over the UK. The Specialized Concept Stores dotted around the country are committed to supporting local riders and share Specialized’s philosophy of encouraging people to get on their bikes, have fun and have a safe ride.
"The increasing problem of potholes is a huge obstacle and sponsoring the reporting of 6,000 of them is an opportunity to massively improve the ride experience of thousands of cyclists who use these roads every day, as well as those who simply go out on the weekend. Being part of this feels very, very right.”
