Pothole-related breakdown incidents have jumped 10,000 compared to last year, prompting calls for Labour to deliver on its pothole manifesto commitments and find a permanent fix.
Latest AA data reveals pothole-related breakdown callouts have increased by 2% so far this year compared to the same period last year. Last month’s total of 50,244 incidents was the highest September on record since 2017 (50,418).
Labour pledged to fix an extra million potholes a year in its pre-election manifesto but latest figures estimate that the total cost of fixing all current defects in England and Wales could be as high as £14bn.
A campaign on potholes by Cycling Weekly in 2023 found that 118 bike riders were killed or seriously injured due to a defective road surface between 2017 and 2021, with six tragically losing their lives.
The Pothole Partnership – which includes the AA, JCB, British Cycling and the National Motorcyclists Council – has said that permanently fixing the potholes would reduce costs to road users while also reducing casualties.
The partnership has formulated a five-point plan to take to ministers.
It’s calling for permanent action, urging local authorities to limit the practice of temporary pothole repairs or patches and, where possible, for every pothole or patch to be repaired permanently.
The partnership also wants all local authorities / contractors to adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards, and report annually on the repairs undertaken.
Members also want the Government to demonstrate greater urgency by accelerating and increasing spending of the £8.3bn pothole funding for England in the first three years – with total clarity on the distribution to local authorities.
Other key asks include central and local government to guarantee ringfencing of all road maintenance funding to help deliver innovations that enable permanent repairs.
And members want full transparency from local authorities on their roads repair backlog, categorised by potholes, patching works and road resurfacing.
A pre-election survey of more than 11,000 AA members found that the top transport issue for 96% of drivers was increased investment in repairing and upgrading the roads – i.e. fixing potholes.
Edmund King, AA president, commented: “Recently we have seen an increase in vehicle pothole damage as the heavy rain means puddles hide the potholes. The current government knows that all road users are fed up with potholes and has the opportunity to make a step change in the spiral of decline by adopting and advocating measures to permanently fix the problem rather than the past patchwork approach. It is costing drivers a fortune but tragically costing lives for those on two wheels.”
