"K" wrote ...
Bob Hobden writes

"Up to scratch" is a rather subjective term. I wonder whether the
Asphalt Industry Alliance definition of "up to scratch" matches, for
example, my definition?

Maybe, depends if you drive and like spending money on repairs (just had
new front suspension bushes fitted) caused by the dire state of our
roads, even the dreaded speed bumps are falling apart round here.

As someone who travels locally on foot more often than by car, I'm not too
fussed about anything that means drivers drive more slowly.

Figures and cost of bringing the roads "up to scratch" are from the
Councils themselves, see my link.

... but it was the Asphalt Industry Alliance that asked the question
(yes, I read the link).

Speed is not a significant cause or even part cause of accidents, and that
is in official figures, driver inattention is and damaged roads that mean
you are concentrating on looking for the next pothole (or speed bump) and
not, say, moving feet under a parked car or that cyclist that is about to
swerve around a hole mean you are significantly at more danger with the
roads in this state.
Then there is the mechanical failure situation caused by the potholes. I
myself have suffered a partial but serious deflation* in an outside tyre
after hitting a deep pothole on a corner, a very dangerous situation for us
and any one else around.
*lost 18psi in a front tyre in an instant.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK