27 October 2023
The rise in pothole-related breakdowns and accidents shows that the extra funding promised from some of the savings from HS2 is desperately needed to address the pothole plague, according to the AA Pothole Index1 for September.
The latest figures from the UK’s number one breakdown provider show the good work that was done in 2017-2019 is being undone with 47,223 pothole-related breakdowns attended last month. This is a 10% increase from September 2021 (42,152) and the worst September since 2018.
The AA has attended 458,391 pothole-related incidents so far in 2023, an average of 50,992 per month. If this trend continues, 2023 is on target to exceed 2019’s total (550,876) indicating that much more is needed to get local roads back up to scratch.
“There is a financial cost to vehicles damaged by potholes but there can be a cost in lives for those on two wheels damaged by potholes.”
With a warm and sunny start to September, councils will have hoped to use some of their share of the £700 million from the Pothole Fund2 to fill in as many potholes as possible, but the return of the wet weather put paid to those plans with the second half of the month resulting in a washout and leaving tens of thousands of holes unfilled. This meant that more family budgets than in the previous five years took a hit as drivers fell foul of deteriorating road surfaces.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said; “After a dry start to the month and the hope that our roads would receive some much-needed extra pot-hole maintenance, drivers faced the now familiar challenge of trying to spot potholes lurking beneath the surface of rainwater.
“With family budgets stretched, thousands of drivers have yet again found themselves needing to find extra funds to repair the damage to their car's tyres, wheels, or suspension components.
“The trend of pothole-related breakdowns continues to head in the wrong direction and 2023 still looks to be one of the worst years on record for pothole damage, again highlighting the need for more investment in local roads maintenance funding stronger than ever. We know that longer term funding has been pledged from HS2 savings but the Chancellor has the opportunity to give some short-term pothole relief by announcing more cash for roads in his Autumn Statement3. There is a financial cost to vehicles damaged by potholes but there can be a cost in lives for those on two wheels damaged by potholes.”
1Information is taken from AA breakdown data
2First £500 million announced here: Funding to fix equivalent of 10 million potholes allocated to local authorities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) with additional £200 million announced here: Additional Budget 2023 highways maintenance and pothole repair funding, 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
3Autumn Statement 2023 date confirmed - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)