RAC patrols attended nearly 30,000 pothole-related breakdowns over the course of 2023, up by a third (33%) on 2022 levels.
The motoring services company called on the Government to produce 'clear guidance' for authorities on how a promised windfall of £8.3bn for local roads - which comes from axing the northern leg of HS2 - will be spent.
The RAC also recorded a rise in its 'Pothole Index' - 12-month rolling measure of the share of pothole fault breakdowns compared to 2006, and corrected for seasonal weather effects and improved vehicle reliability.
Pothole breakdowns – how 2023 compared to previous years:
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Total pothole-related breakdowns |
21,725 |
31,146 |
22,095 |
29,377 |
Pothole share of all RAC breakdowns |
0.9% |
1.5% |
0.9% |
0.8% |
RAC Pothole Index at end of year – likelihood of drivers breaking down compared to 2006, ie 2.0 = twice as likely |
1.44 |
1.63 |
1.60 |
1.69 |
RAC patrols went out to 29,377 breakdowns in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, drivers called the RAC out to 5,153 breakdowns caused by potholes - the highest amount for any October to December period since 2017.
And callouts are likely to increase over the ‘pothole season’ – January to March – as water ingress and the freeze-thaw process causes surfaces to deteriorate even more.
The RAC Pothole Index now stands at 1.70, up from 1.62 at the end of 2022.
The all-time high was 3.5 recorded in Q1 2010; however, the 1.7 figure still suggests drivers are more than one-and-a-half times as likely to experience pothole damage as they were 15 years ago.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Potholes are so much more than an irritation – they are a very serious danger to all road users which we fear will only get worse as the weather gets colder during these next few months.
'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.
'Fortunately, the Government has committed an extra £8.3bn of funding to local councils over the next 11 years, which we hope will give squeezed authorities some certainty of cash to help them plan consistent longer-term maintenance.
'Now we urge the Department for Transport to lay out clear guidance as to how this money should be best used so that councils can actually improve their roads for the future.'
The Government has said that councils will be required to publish strategies for spending the money.
