The cold snap has been playing “havoc” with Angus roads with huge potholes appearing.
Council staff have been working hard to repair the battered roads following complaints.
A huge crater at the top of Victoria Street in Monifieth was among the potholes causing problems for motorists.
Monifieth and Sidlaw Lib Dem councillor Ben Lawrie launched a “pothole patrol” last year and is taking to the streets again in 2018.
He said: “Cold conditions have been playing havoc with our roads.
“Water gets in to cracks in the road and when it freezes, it expands, rupturing the surface and leaving a void below the surface when it melts again.
“The constant freezing and thawing of the roads makes it a prime time for nasty potholes to form. When we’re all active in reporting potholes, we all get to enjoy safer roads.
“I recently made a post on Facebook asking for people to post the whereabouts of potholes they’ve seen in the comments section and it’s had quite a few responses already.
“It’s an issue which really grinds people’s gears and this gives them a chance to take action.”
The RAC said it attended 3,565 reported call outs during the second quarter of 2017, reaching motorists with cars suffering broken suspension springs, damaged shock absorbers and distorted wheels after driving through potholes.
That compares to just 2,275 pothole-related calls for help in the same period in 2016, meaning there’s been a 31% spike in damage caused by problem road surfaces.
“The council makes every effort to keep our roads in good shape and we have a fantastic team who always fill potholes in a timely manner once they’re reported,” said Mr Lawrie.
“We can’t be everywhere at once though and can’t fix what we don’t know about.
“That’s why it’s so important for people to let us know about potholes when they see them.
“I was in the car with a friend recently and we went over a huge crater at the top of Victoria Street, Monifieth, which gave us a big shock.
“The war on potholes is personal now – big or small we’ll fill them all.”
People can report potholes through the council’s Access line.
