HOW MUCH BRITS ARE PAYING TO FIX THEIR VEHICLES DAMAGED BY POTHOLES

The cost of repairing vehicles damaged by hitting potholes on UK roads hit a record high last year of £579million.

The massive bill was racked up as reports of potholes made to councils hit nearly 1million between January and November 2024.

Common problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

The AA said the total cost of fixing vehicles it attended in the UK which had broken down was the highest on record, and up from £474m in 2023.

It comes as the Daily Mail campaigns for an end to the pothole plague, responsible for exorbitant repair bills for motorists.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘The good news is that pothole related car incidents have declined but the bad news is that the cost of repairs has increased.

‘Potholes are still the number one issue for drivers and more needs to be done to build on this improvement.’

Although the number of incidents of damage fell slightly from 647,690 to 643,318, this was offset by a leap in average repair bills, from £250 to £300.

The AA attributed the rise in average repair costs to a combination of inflation, more advanced technology in cars and shortages of spare parts.

Today (WEDS) has been designated National Pothole Day by the Pothole Partnership - organisations including the AA, JCB, British Cycling, and the National Motorcyclists Council in order to focus attention on the problem.

It is urging local authorities to prioritise permanent resurfacing and repairs over ‘patch and run policies’ which often lead to potholes reappearing.

Total local road maintenance funding for England provided by the Government in the 2025/26 financial year will be nearly £1.6 billion, representing a £500 million increase compared with the previous 12 months.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £16.3 billion.

Another breakdown rescue company, the RAC, said the number of pothole-related callouts it received between October and December was 17 per cent more than in the previous three months.

It warned that the issue could worsen this year because of recent severe weather, which last week meant the RAC had one of its busiest periods for breakdowns in the past five years.

Analysis of local authority records unearthed by a Freedom of Information request shows there were nearly 1 million (952,064) reports of potholes between January and November 2024 - the equivalent of 3,122 reports each day.

The 952,064 reports of potholes between January and November 2024 puts 2024 at the highest number of reported potholes in 5 years - higher than the 2023 figure of 950,213 for a full 12 months, and 2020 seeing 642,137 potholes reported.

Potholes are often formed when water freezes and expands after entering cracks in the road surface.

Round Our Way warns that warmer winters as a result of climate change will make potholes worse - as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases.

A DfT spokesperson said: ‘For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why we’re investing a further £500 million next year to help fill seven million more potholes.

‘This record settlement will ensure councils get their fair share and can get on with the work to fill potholes and resurface roads.

‘Britain deserves better roads, and it now has a Government that will deliver them.’

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2025-01-15T00:25:16Z