The RAC’s roadside recovery patrols attended a third more pothole-related breakdowns in 2023 than the year prior, the company has said.
Its patrols attended a total of 29,377 breakdowns last year for faults caused by potholes, such as damaged springs and dampers and bent wheels. This is roughly equivalent to 80 incidents per day.
According to the RAC, UK drivers are now 1.5 times more likely to experience pothole damage than they were 15 years ago.
The RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, blamed the rise on the underfunding of local authorities.
He said: “Local councils have been cash-strapped for years, due to lower road maintenance budgets, causing roads across the country to fall into disrepair and leaving drivers fighting for compensation when their vehicles are inevitably damaged.”
The RAC’s findings come months after it warned that the rate of road resurfacing across the UK had fallen to its lowest level in five years.
It said in September that there was a 29% reduction in the number of miles of road completely resurfaced from 2017/2018 to 2021/2022. In total, 1588 miles were resurfaced in 2017/2018, compared with 1123 miles in 2021/2022.
It also found that, of the 153 road authorities sampled by the Department for Transport (DfT), 31% didn't carry out resurfacing works, while 51% didn't carry out surface-dressing work, wherein the lifespan of a road is extended without the need for full resurfacing.
Surface dressing itself was also found to be down on 2017/2018 levels by 34%.
Council areas found to resurface the highest proportion of their roads were Kent, freshening up 29 miles of its 502-mile A-road network, and Southend-on-Sea (in Essex), at 21 miles. Lincolnshire surface dressed most of its A-roads, at 50 miles out of 661.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged in November to resolve the issue of potholes, assigning £8.3 billion in funding for local roads maintenance.
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This article again, roads aren't improving, the £8.3 billion wasn't an instant fix,it can't be,too many humans involved, too many hoops to jump through just to decide who is making the Tea, for the little time I spend driving on the route I take there so lay one tiny quarter mile section that is billiard table smooth no bumps no saggy bits, the rest is like an arcade game trying to dodge round holes on the road surface,and you can't always succeed doing that, I've been lucky not to have done damage or worse, no, it's get act together time for councils,start working better.
Cash strapped? All we need to do is to attract World Cycling events. Lots of lovely smooth roads up here in Central Scotland, or at least those roads which hosted the recent UCI World Championships. Money no object.
I'm gobsmacked at the condition of even major roads on those occasions I drive thru Glasgow. It's bad for motorists but must be deadly for cyclists. I just wouldn't cycle there. Some of those roads, especially on the Southside, look as if the RAF have been using them for bombing practise.
Do we really have to wait until someone dies before action is taken?
Yes UK Roads are bad, they're bad because cash strapped Councils can't afford to do a proper repair, they stick out roving repair hit squads who ,when they go to or see a hole throw a couple of shovels of Tar mix in tap in in place and leave, it's usually a hole again within 24hrs, so, how an this be improved?
Start by stopping the oft repeated myth that councils are cash-strapped.
They've plenty of money for their thinly-veiled politicing with rainbow crossings and diversity officers and transvestite storytime in the local library. They have money, they choose to spend it elsewhwere.
My local council did just resurface the main road next to mine, and did it properly including grinding down a good 10-15cm of the existing before relaying. But that was before the lib dems took over, so I don't expect it will be done again, ever.