After a week of sub-zero temperatures we’d normally find ourselves driving on crumbling roads.

The water gets in the cracks, it freezes and expands, and then melts leaving a crack. It’s fascinating science but it’s far more annoying when you feel your wheel bang into a hole that’s been left.

By late February we have holes in the road and the daylight hours are short enough to make sure we can hardly see the potential hazards coming up. We find ourselves dodging the holes using The Force.

We haven’t suffered that as much as we haven’t been going anywhere.

There’s government funding that can be poured into potholes. You’d hope they don’t pour it in literally, but that might not be as pointless as some of the fixes you see on the road.

Barking and Dagenham Post: Steve Allen ponders over the annual appearance of potholesSteve Allen ponders over the annual appearance of potholes (Image: Steve Allen)

I have seen potholes repairs where they have cut up a square around the hole and filled it in. The corners will last till the next bout of cold weather and then they start peeling up again.

The cynical part of me thinks this system was developed to make sure the pothole fixers are in work again 12 months later. If you need to fix your last fix you’re in a job for life.

I am still grateful that the money is being given to work on the roads. These days the car driver is considered the villain of the piece. There are probably people who think that potholes should be left, like Mother Nature’s naturally occurring speed-humps.

The good news is, potholes affect all road users including cyclists, motorbike riders and even those people you see on e-scooters. We can tell ourselves that we’re spending this money on making the roads better for them and secretly help the motorist without having to feel bad about it.