DRIVING instructors have arranged a meeting with Essex’s highway boss to discuss their concerns about the state of roads.

Members of the Colchester and District Driving Instructors Association will meet Rodney Bass, who is responsible for highways at Essex County Council, and MPs Will Quince and Bernard Jenkin next month.

They have called the meeting because they want to share their experiences of driving on the county’s road everyday as part of their job.

The association’s liaison officer Mark Cole said: “We used to work quite closely with the old highways department before they outsourced it.

“They used to come to our meetings and we would tell them what was wrong. They would take it away and within a few weeks we would have a message saying it was all done, or they would come back with reasons why not.

“It really worked very well.

“Since they’ve outsourced it that has just disappeared. We see a lot of stuff that is going wrong.

“One would think they would lap up that information and do something with it.”

At the meeting, which will begin at midday, the association will give a presentation on their main concerns.

Some of the things they plan to raise are signage, road markings and how the council prioritise road resurfacing work.

Mr Cole said: “We hope it will get the communication between us and the Highways Agency going again.

“We want to find out what the outline issues are and why the roads and signage have deteriorated so badly over the last five years.

“It’s been a slow but gradual deterioration in the ability to anticipate hazards, because signage and road markings have got worse and are so poor.

“Looking at it from a 17-year-old’s perspective trying to learn to drive, if they can’t see a roundabout how are they supposed to negotiate it?”

The meeting is open to everyone, and will take place on November 28 at Stanway Village Hall.

If anyone has any concerns they would like to raise, email drive@a-drive.co.uk