Opinion: Enjoy better road surfaces in Horsham as a responsible citizen

It’s very pleasing to be able to report a positive development in Horsham and to apportion praise instead of blame. Look at the road surface outside the station at the roundabout. It’s been renewed and the smooth surface extends right over to the junction with the railway bridge and with Nightingale Road. Nightingale Road could do with a good deal of careful attention, but that’s for another day.

The count of improved roadways doesn’t end there. Springfield Road has been most admirably refreshed and it was in dire need of attention. The good news extends also out to the Harwood Road roundabout which suffered from a most odd earlier repair which has now been made good, so well-done West Sussex County Council, and we’ll nod also to our ex-MP who voiced concern over Horsham’s roads.

There are many more roads to work on, Comptons Lane for example where some patchwork has improved matters but not solved them.

We wonder why roads today seem to be in such distressful need of repair, much more so than we think in past decades. Three factors have influenced the issue. Climate alteration has brought heavier rain fall which washes away foundations. Vehicle numbers have gone up, giving more wear on the surface and so has their weight. Traffic speeds have increased which adds to the rate of deterioration.

Given better surfaces and more traffic, drivers need to be ever mindful of the two second rule. Leave at least a two second gap between you and the vehicle in front. Let the car in front pass say a lamppost, now count two seconds before you pass the same post. In rain make the gap longer and in ice much more, ten seconds at least.

The volume of traffic has drawn the attention of many in Sussex (see WSCT October 3, p.4) Storrington, Sullington and Cootham claim that over half a million vehicles pass this area monthly, almost half of them exceeding the speed limit.

Perhaps one reason traffic speeds nowadays is the ease of acceleration of electric vehicles (EV). An electric engine can produce all its propulsive power in one moment rather than build it up through higher revolutions as a petrol engine does. Not only are EVs heavier than cars used to be, but their bulk and power can aggravate broken road surface into ever larger potholes. So, more care is needed.

More care too is needed by the careless users of those other controversial electric vehicles, e-bikes. Far too often their riders take liberties with the Highway Code, careering recklessly from road to pavement and back again. E-bikes and e-scooters have a well-earned reputation as a fire hazard and several modes of public transport refuse to carry them. UK fire services report they responded last year to three fires a day caused by lithium-ion batteries.

So, enjoy our better surfaces but do so as a responsible citizen; we all have an equal right to our roads and pavements.