Pothole-related breakdowns jump to seven-year high, AA warns

Campaigners say potholes are costing £14.4bn a year in economic damage in England.

Potholes are a hot topic in UK right now. Years of neglect, due to funding shortfalls in Local Government, have left many of our roads in a perilous state. And the situation has been further exacerbated by increasingly erratic weather, consequent on climate change.  Here we see some nasty examples, in my home village of Radley in Oxfordshire. These chasms are car-killers; my own vehicle has had to be repaired twice - at considerable expense - due to warped tracking, suspension and damaged alloy hubs. Insurance. Not good!  Note the funny - and fake - warning sign. Someone, despite all, has a se
Repair works on potholes in Radley in Oxfordshire. (Alamy)

More than 50,000 pothole-related incidents were reported to the AA last month, marking the breakdown cover organisation's highest September figure in seven years.

The insurance provider has said road users are "fed up" and is set to present a five-point plan to the government to tackle the problem – which it says is costing £14.4bn a year in economic damage in England alone.

Figures from the AA show there have been 10,000 more pothole-related breakdown incidents compared to last year –marking a 2% increase. These callouts mainly include punctures, damaged wheels, and problems with steering and suspension.

Previous research shows that the AA dealt with 631,852 pothole-related incidents in 2023, the highest for five years.

How does a pothole form? (PA)
How does a pothole form? (PA)

The 50,244 incidents reported last month was the highest September on record since 2017 when 50,418 pothole-related callouts were made.

Recent heavy rain has compounded the problem, the AA warns, as many potholes have been hidden by puddles.

Calling on the new Labour government to fix the problem, the AA has teamed up with a coalition of organisations, including the National Motorcyclists Council, British Cycling and manufacturer JCB.

The "Pothole Partnership" will be meeting with the Future Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, later this month to present a five-point plan to help tackle the issue

As well as causing damage to people's cars, figures show that six bike riders were killed between 2017 and 2021 due to defective road surfaces, while 112 were seriously injured.

“We know from our members that potholes are a longstanding and ongoing frustration and concern," said Caroline Julian, External Affairs Director, British Cycling.

"They have tragic and fatal consequences that cannot be ignored. If we’re serious about fulfilling our ambitions to get more people cycling, we simply must ensure that our roads are safe and comfortable for them to ride on, and not the crater-filled carriageways they currently face.”

How much does it cost to fix potholes? (PA)
How much does it cost to fix potholes? (PA)

AA President Edmund King added: "The current government knows that all road users are fed up with potholes and has the opportunity to make a step change in the spiral of decline by adopting and advocating measures to permanently fix the problem rather than the past patchwork approach.

"It is costing drivers a fortune but tragically costing lives for those on two wheels."

Craig Carey-Clinch, executive director of the National Motorcyclists Council, added: “The situation is becoming ever more acute for motorcyclists.

"Potholes and other road surface-related defects are already shown to be extremely dangerous for motorcycle riders. The same pothole that damages a car, could prove fatal to a rider."

In August, research revealed concerns about the state of local roads reached record levels, with 27% of those surveyed by the RAC saying their vehicle had suffered damage due to potholes in the previous 12 months.

The Pothole Partnership has highlighted five key aspects it wants the government to focus on:

  • Permanent: Local authorities to limit the practice of temporary pothole repairs or patches and, where possible, every pothole or patch to be repaired permanently.

  • Precise: All local authorities/contractors to adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards, and report annually on the repairs undertaken.

  • Price: Government to demonstrate greater urgency by accelerating and increasing spending of the £8.3bn pothole funding for England in the first three years – with total clarity on the distribution to local authorities.

  • Provision: Central and local government to guarantee ringfencing of all road maintenance funding to help deliver innovations that enable permanent repairs.

  • Progress: Full transparency from local authorities on their road repair backlog, categorised by potholes, patching works and road resurfacing.

Last month transport secretary Louise Haigh declared "war on potholes", vowing to use cutting-edge repair technology to battle the “plague”.

During the general election campaign, Labour pledged to fix an additional one million potholes across England in each year of the next parliament.

The party said it would give "multi-year funding settlements to local leaders" to address the issue, promising it would seek an end to what it described as a "sticking plaster approach" to repairs,

Haigh said the state of the nation’s roads had become a “constant and visible reminder of the decline in our country’s infrastructure”.

Dorney Reach, UK. 30th September 2024. Potholes have appeared again on the road through Dorney Reach in Buckinghamshire. The potholes were repaired on 19th May 2023 using a Velocity Patcher managed by contractors working for Buckinghamshire Council. The Velocity Patcher forces air at high speed into potholes to clear them out, then the area is coated with cold bitumen to create a seal, before aggregate is coated in bitumen and applied, again at high speed. Unfortunately on this road the patching has failed and the potholes have returned. Credit: Maureen McLean/Alamy
A pothole in Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire. (Alamy)

Blackpool's Project Amber scheme is one project trying to tackle the issue. It uses high-definition imagery technology to take detailed pictures of roads to detect potholes and compile data on areas most in need of repair. This technology, it is hoped, could one day be used across the country.

“For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague," Haigh said at the time. “Blackpool Council are already doing fantastic work to make the most of new technology to repair potholes faster.

“This should be a model for every community to learn from and help deliver the roads their drivers deserve.”

Blackpool has seen significant reductions in its compensation bill for pothole-related payouts since using the technology.

In previous years it was paying up to £1.5m a year to settle claims, but last year it paid out £719, the government said.

Read more