ENGINEERING students in Italy have come up with a novel idea to warn road users about the increasing number of potholes appearing on European roads.

Local authorities throughout Europe have neglected repairing their countries potholed roads, claiming they have no more funding to rectify the problem, so students Domenico Diego and Cristina Corradini have persuaded Italian road safety experts to adopt their 'Street Safe Initiative', which involves a layer of yellow asphalt a few centimetres beneath the road surface, so potholes become visible once the first layer of tarmac has eroded away.

Yes, it does sound bizarre but believe it or not a test-program will start this year in Rho, Italy. The program represents a feasibility test for the idea - Diego plans to bring the product to multiple European markets.

“We have compared the road surface to the human skin - when we are wounded, we start to bleed. So our idea is to put a layer of yellow asphalt beneath the tarmac, which appears and creates a high chromatic contrast that is visible from a distance. This way, the potholes are signaled as they appear and road users have enough time to react safely,” Milan Polytechnic student Diego said.

Last month, Visordown reported the news the UK is facing a £10 billion bill to repair the two million potholes that plague the country's road system.

Imagine that. In 10 years time our roads could look like something from 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Edit: Thanks to Wiseguy for the extra info