[dkdbejwi383]

> feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads.

This example only makes sense if we're in a position where all the potholes we know about are fixed, and all of the pothole fixing masterworkers are sitting idle, waiting to leap into action at the next report.

But the reality is there are many, many potholes that are known about, but we can't/won't fix them due to things like budgets and staffing constraints.

[fredley]

This is absolutely insane. If they want to know where potholes are, throw up a basic site with a map for reporting, people are very motivated by issues on the roads. Or just ask Google to share Waze data - many potholes on major roads are tagged there. "Feeding AI through cameras" makes so little sense it's laughable, in the most depressing way.

As you've pointed out, I might let it slide if issues were actually being addressed, but they aren't. There are potholes that have been sitting in major city roads where I live for years, and nearly all the street markings around the whole city have completely eroded - junctions are becoming scarier as nobody knows what lane to be in. But I'm sure throwing money at AI can solve these problems.

[cameronh90]

Such a site already exists: fixmystreet.com. Most councils already use it (or an instanced version of it), and every time I've found an issue in public, it has already been reported on there. Often multiple times.

The issue is, as you say, the council doesn't have the budget to actually fix the reported problems.

[gpderetta]

The catch is that if your car is damaged by a pothole you have a chance to claim damages from the council only if you can prove that the council knew about the pothole. So even if most reports do not result in an action, they still have some values and are an incentive for the council to fix the road.

[cameronh90]

If only the councils were as good at fixing potholes as they are at coming up with excuses as to why the road surface is within acceptable limits[0].

Even when they do bother to fix the pothole, they seem to just dump a bit of cold lay asphalt in the worst bit and hand tamp it down rather than properly preparing the surface and levelling the repaired section. As soon as another lorry goes over it, it just breaks up again.

[0] https://www.boredpanda.com/pothole-measure-50mm-darren-twitt...

[salmonlogs]

I've submitted many reports through similar apps to my local council and find 25% of them are even acknowledged, 10% at most are "fixed" and the fixes are worthless.

A pothole I reported last October was "fixed" in December, and has already opened up again after the ineffective repair failed to take.

[DrScientist]

Indeed.

The problem doesn't lie in detection - the problem lies in poor road maintenance - which is presumably driven by various effects of cost cutting - including outsourcing to the lowest cost providers who have an interest in repeat business rather than a job well done.