Taxing Road Conditions

[TheTool]

So that's why there are so many single mothers Mmmm sorry MILF's they are called these days.

[doodlebug]

If you estimate that there are ten thousand cars on the island paying an average of £100 a year road tax, that total might cover the wages for the DOT but it certainly wont cover the costs of maintaining the roads.I would imagine on those figures they have to be carefull on what money they use.

 

How much do you think DOT employees earn? My hubby works for the DoT and doesn't even earn enough to live on.

[doodlebug]

So that's why there are so many single mothers Mmmm sorry MILF's they are called these days.

 

What does MILF mean? I've been racking my brains and only came up with "mothers in lycra frocks" - obviously not that!

[WilDDog]

'Always leave things as you found them' my old granny used to say. Unfortunately, such words of wisdom have never penetrated the DoT when it comes to repairing road surfaces. In mitigation, it is probably due to other 'services' ripping up a road that the DoT have to come behind and try to make good the road, usually failing miserably. But let's face it, next to the boom in on-line gaming, digging up roads has to be the next biggest growth industry in the Island - a true job creation scheme. Foxdale high street is a case in point; ongoing hole-moving for months now and the resurfacing just up from The Hope, immaculate surface (should be used island-wide) and but they can build a mile of 6-lane motorway faster than the boys in yellow resurfaced that 150m stretch. Road tax on the Rock - it's a superbly disguised stealth tax which never seems to attract any attention when it is increased in the budget.

 

It's a bit of both really. The D.O.T can lay a perfect road then another one of the service companies comes and digs it up, and as you say other service companies rip up the road and the D.O.T have to put it right, even though these companies are supposed do that themselves.

As for digging up the roads is next to online gaming, people don't seem to realise, that the men out actually doing the digging have been told to do it, by people much more highly paid than them. Those people called managers.

[Lonan3]

There is a particularly unpleasant 'bump' in the road between Onchan and Laxey - just a hundred yards or so before the Liverpool Arms. It was the result of some work that was done by the Water Authority and so I complained to them. They, however, told me that the work was actually carried out by contractors from England. When I contacted them, they said they'd put a 'little' extra tarmac down to allow for 'settling.'

Three years on - it's still a bump - and not the fault of the DoT!

[TheTool]

There is an answer to it put all the services under the pavements, that way you don't dig up the roads.

 

This is how they do it in the states all the services are kept in the grass verges and pavements so they don't need to dig up the roads causing traffic problems.

 

Is that too easy ?

[Stavros]

Insurance plays a very big part of it.

 

In the UK if you trip over a wonky paving slab you can claim damages from whoever was responsible (council, BT, British Gas etc). So they make sure that the road / paving slabs are neat and tidy and safe.

 

On the IOM the legistlation dictates that you can only claim damages for tripping over the wonky paving slab IF that wonky paving slab has previously been reported as being dangerous.

 

So there's little financial incentive to keep the paving slabs from being wonky.

 

The lesson enduth hereth.

 

Not exactly true to be honest!

 

Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 provides the County Council with a statutory defence against claims where it can establish that reasonable care has been taken to "secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous to traffic". A systematic process of highway safety inspections, intervention and repairs applied in accordance with the County Council’s policy is necessary for the statutory defence.

 

The County Council will keep records of its inspections on the highway and construction and maintenance activities, together with any defect reports received from third parties. The County Council will determine liability using evidence to ascertain whether it has been negligent or in breach of its statutory duty. Such decisions will be based on legal principles.

 

Stav.

[cheesemonster2005]

What does MILF mean? I've been racking my brains and only came up with "mothers in lycra frocks" - obviously not that!

 

I think it's Mother I'd like to f**k.

[Mr. Sausages]

Not exactly true to be honest!

 

Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 provides the County Council with a statutory defence against claims where it can establish that reasonable care has been taken to "secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous to traffic". A systematic process of highway safety inspections, intervention and repairs applied in accordance with the County Council’s policy is necessary for the statutory defence.

 

The County Council will keep records of its inspections on the highway and construction and maintenance activities, together with any defect reports received from third parties. The County Council will determine liability using evidence to ascertain whether it has been negligent or in breach of its statutory duty. Such decisions will be based on legal principles.

 

If they've taken reasonable steps, then the claim will probably be repudiated - that's true (and the paving slab probably won't be wonky).

 

(That's from the Hampshire County Council highways policy document, not IOM, if anyone's interested)

[Amadeus]

There's a prime example of sub-standard road work down here on the Quay.

 

A while ago, the new pedestrian crossing was put into place, probably to provide a safe crossing point for all the people that park their cars down here for the day (in that ugly grey multi-storey):

 

Firstly, it took'em ages to build it - way more than a month, with workers occasionally showing up and leaving the site hardly secured in between.

 

And now, after only a few months, it's got a big hole in it already:

 

A closer look quickly revealed why - there's only a thin layer of tarmac (less than the width of the 50p coin in the picture) and everything underneath is just sand:

 

I'm not sure who actually carried out the work, so I don't want to blame anyone, but botch work like that is usually only to be admired on BBC Rogue Traders... It's not only a severe hazard for any pedestrians crossing a busy road, it's also gonna cost a lot of time and money to be fixed.

 

Why don't they just do a proper job in the first place, and build roads that don't need patching up all the time?

[TheTool]

well the romans could do it

Link

 

So how is it 100's of years later the DOT are struggling ?

 

Here is a link for any of the top brass at the DOT

Link

 

 

Personally i think the problem is "Too many cooks spoil the broth"

 

 

P.s here is a site for all you patch fetishists out there Link

[WilDDog]

Personally i think the problem is "Too many cooks spoil the broth"

 

I reckon you'd be right with that assumption.

[Gags]

Like many others, I am deeply offended by the latest round of road tax rises.

 

1) The rise is way above inflation.

2) Why should us careful drivers have to pay to 'deter' the seemingly endless supply of idiots.(£5 road safety charge??)

3) There is 500 miles of rough country lane and one race track on this rock.

4) The prices are approaching the UK rate of road tax - and they have 50000 miles of mainly good quality road and 1000 odd miles of motorway.

 

Although we all know the rises are part of a larger round of stealth taxes to pay off a certain power company's debts......