Drivers’ concerns about the dire state of the nation’s local roads have reached record levels in the last year.
Nearly six in 10 (56%) of drivers surveyed for the RAC Report on Motoring say the condition and maintenance of roads for which councils are responsible was one of their top motoring concerns, up seven percentage points compared to 2023 (49%).
Frustration with local roads is now 21 percentage points ahead of drivers’ second biggest bugbear, the cost of insuring a vehicle, and 24 ahead of the cost of fuel, which is the third biggest issue.
A record, and growing, proportion of drivers are also reporting that local roads they use are in a worse state than the 12 months before. Almost three-quarters (73%) of drivers say the condition of the local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago, compared to 67% last year and just 49% who said the same thing in 2019. Only 6% of drivers believe local road surfaces have improved this year compared to last.
More than a quarter of drivers (27%) say their vehicle has suffered damage as a result of potholes in the last 12 months, rising to 32% among those who live in rural areas. Punctures (47%) are the most common problem reported, followed by wheel damage (43%) and broken suspension springs (29%) – and costing up to £460 on average to sort.
Separate RAC breakdown data shows its patrols went out to 25,085 pothole-related breakdowns in the 12 months to the end of June. Since the start of 2020, the total number of breakdowns most likely to be caused by potholes stands at 167,000.
Drivers’ dismay with the state of the roads is also not confined to local roads, with the RAC’s report finding a jump this year in the proportion of drivers who say the condition of motorways and dual carriageways is one of their top concerns – 16% of drivers responded to that effect, up from 11% in 2023.
The RAC has written to both the new Secretary of State for Transport and Minister for the Future of Roads stressing the gravity of the issue and calling for urgent clarification of the funding councils will receive for road maintenance – likely not to be announced until October’s Budget.
It’s also warning that the problems with the UK’s local roads are more complex than simply a lack of money; a point most recently made in the National Audit Office’s report published late July. This uncovered multiple issues, including the way that road maintenance funding is allocated to councils and the fact government does not have an accurate picture of the true state of roads in council control.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s as clear as day that councils simply haven’t had the financial support they need to bring the standard of the roads in their care up to a reasonable standard.
“Whatever promises about road maintenance funding that have been made in the past – whether that’s through things such as the Pothole Action Fund or so-called ‘Challenge’ funds, where councils were asked to bid for extra cash – haven’t delivered. And it’s all road users, including drivers, bus users, and those on two wheels, who are continuing to pay the price. At best, journeys are made downright uncomfortable as a result of potholes, while at worst they cause expensive damage or even represent a danger to life and limb.”
He added: “Drivers, who contribute billions to the Exchequer in taxes every year, have been driven to despair by a local road network that, in far too many parts of the country, is just going from bad to worse. It shouldn’t be this way. They need something to believe in from both national and local government. Anything less than a step change in the condition of the roads over the course of this Parliament simply will not do.”
