Pothole-linked breakdowns have surged by nearly a third in a year – with AA crews attending 1,700 incidents a day.
The breakdown service helped more than 52,000 motorists whose vehicles were damaged by potholes in April, up 29 per cent on the same month last year.
Its latest statistics suggest 2023 could prove to be one of the worst years for potholes since 2017, when the AA began recording breakdowns caused by poorly maintained roads.
Data for the first four months of this year suggests potholes are causing more problems in the UK than they were last year – with these incidents already nearly a quarter up on the same period in 2022.
And the breakdown service is urging the public to report any potholes they spot to ensure councils are made aware of them.
(File Photo) Potholes cover parts of Claremont Road in Cricklewood, North West London
(File Photo) A large pothole on the surface at Coleridge Road in Blackpool
A Mail investigation has revealed that highway authorities are turning away millions of pounds of compensation claims for damage and injuries caused by potholes, with fewer than one in four resulting in success.
Many are rebuffed on the basis of a loophole in the Highways Act 1980, which states that councils and other highway authorities are liable for payouts only if they have not inspected roads frequently or made repairs in adequate time. And councils can also plead ignorance if a pothole has not been reported.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘The pothole pandemic looks set to remain for quite some time, with little hope of a cure on the horizon. To help government and councils understand the true state of our roads we need the public to report every pothole they see.’
The highest number of pothole breakdowns recorded within a single year was in 2018 – when crews attended 665,702 overall.
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end the pothole plague and in March Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged £200million of funding. However, it would cost £14billion to tackle the backlog of road repairs across England and Wales alone, according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance.
Linda Taylor of the Local Government Association said: ‘Only by the Government providing councils with increased and long-term funding certainty can this growing problem be addressed.’
The Department for Transport said: ‘We encourage people to report road issues to their local authority, and we’re investing more than £5billion from 2020 to 2025 to help them maintain local roads.’
Motorists are being treated as ‘cash cows’, paying vast sums in taxes while the Government spends too little on the roads, a think-tank will claim today.
The Centre for Policy Studies says fuel duty and vehicle excise duty totalled £33billion in 2021/22 while just under £12billion was spent on maintaining roads. Its report recommends a ‘pay as you drive’ levy, starting with electric vehicles.
