The RAC breakdown service says that the period from June to September 2021 was its worst third quarter for the proportion of pothole-related breakdowns since 2006.
The numbers are particularly concerning because the third and fourth quarters are typically the quietest months for pothole breakdowns.
The RAC’s Pothole Index is a long-term measure of the condition of the UK’s roads and is adjusted for weather and seasonal effects. The current score of 1.48 means drivers are almost 1.5 times as likely to break down after hitting a pothole than when record began in 2006.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “With government data showing weekday car traffic is still not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, it’s very worrying that our patrols are still attending a higher proportion of pothole-related call-outs in relation to all the breakdowns they go out to.
“While it’s welcome that the sheer number of pothole breakdowns is not as high as we’ve seen in previous years, we see worrying signs in our data that implies little progress has been made in the last 12 months in improving road surfaces for drivers.”
Lyes added that the RAC fears we are “only a bad winter away from seeing a plague of potholes which authorities will struggle to repair”.
In the RAC’s Report on Motoring 2021, 81 per cent of drivers supported the idea that a portion of vehicle excise duty (VED) and fuel duty should be ring-fenced for road repairs.
At present, the only road maintenance VED is used for is on motorways and high-speed roads. These were also the roads that drivers said they were least concerned about the condition of in the RAC’s report.
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