Glasgow woman writes off car after hitting giant pothole

Carly McLean's four children were in the vehicle with her when it smashed into a barrier.

Author: Callum McQuadePublished 13th Feb 2024
Last updated 13th Feb 2024

A woman who wrote off her car after going over a pothole in Glasgow is telling us her kids are traumatised and her own confidence behind the wheel is at rock bottom.

Carly McLean was coming off Shieldhall roundabout when her tyre blew causing her to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a barrier.

She told Clyde 1: "I felt a thud and a loud bang which threw my steering off to the right.

"I did not have any time to think, I was just worrying about my children and doing all I could to keep them safe.

"When I put my foot down onto the brake, my car just flew into the barriers."

Carly's four children have been left completely traumatised by the accident.

None of them were severely injured.

She added: "I am very cautious now and trying to take deep breaths before pulling off.

"I also have to try to not think about what happened to us because I do not want it to deter my attention from the road."

Convener for Neighbourhood Services at Glasgow City Council Ruairi Kelly said: "We have four teams out during the day and night fixing potholes.

"Each of those squads can fix around 20 potholes a day.

"However, at times, sometimes these teams can be pulled away to grit the roads when it is icy outside.

"We are trying to get through them as quickly as we can and to a high enough standard that we do not need to keep fixing them repeatedly."

Last month Glasgow City Council told us its investing £6m in road surfacing across Glasgow and drivers will soon start to see the improvements.

Convener for Neighbourhood Services Ruairi Kelly told Clyde 1: "The mechanism in which we are funded by COSLA and the Scottish Government is based on the distance and size of the road network.

"That's opposed to the usage and our roads have significantly more vehicles on them than most other roads across the country.

"This means they are being damaged more quickly too.

"We try to do as many permanent pothole fixes as possible because the temporary patching just does not last very long."

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