Sir, - We deride the Germans' orderliness, but we might do better to try to learn from them. The German for "pothole" is "Schlagloch", or, roughly, "impact hole". To understand why they call it such, try the following simple experiment.
Place a sheet of paper on some carpet (the thinner the paper and the deeper the carpet pile, the better the approximation to the typical Irish road). Roll a straight glass or bottle over it, pressing firmly. Observe little change to the paper. Now place a small stone chip on the paper. Roll the glass or bottle as before. Observe that the chip punctures the paper.
I put it to you that a significant cause of potholes is the effect described by the experiment. It would also explain why potholes breed potholes, whatever the cause of the original pothole.
In seven years there, I cannot remember a single pothole on a road in Germany. I can remember plenty of road-sweepers and kerbing, though. So, instead of deriding German orderliness, perhaps we should admire it for what it is: an essential part of effective, economic road maintenance. - Yours, etc.
Simon O'Keeffe, Fastnett House, Schull, Co Cork.