The survey, which is released following Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget announcement of an extra £200m to fill in potholes, shows that around 78% of motorists say potholes appear to be left unrepaired for months. Just 20% say potholes are repaired in a month and only 4% say they are filled in within a week.

The state of roads is costing motorists – 49% of drivers say they have suffered damage to their car from potholes with the average bill for repairs costing £165. On average drivers estimate there are four potholes in the road they live on.

Although damage due to road surfaces is rife, drivers are not claiming for the damage caused – just 19% have put in claims to local councils and only 8% have tried to get compensation from their insurer.

David Black of Viewsbank said: ‘It is shocking that nearly two out of three motorists are unhappy about the state of their local roads and even more worrying that 6% of people have had an accident because of potholes.

‘The Chancellor has recognised the need to spend on road repairs and has committed to increase spending but potholes are clearly still a major issue and motorists believe little is being done to solve the problem.

‘The research shows the majority of motorists are not claiming for damage to vehicles from potholes and are absorbing the costs themselves, so clearly anything that can be done in terms of repairs will help.’

Motorists in the South East of England are most at risk – 20% of drivers there say their local roads are dangerous while 51% rate local roads as poor. Drivers in London are – relatively – the happiest with their roads although only 14% regard roads as in good shape.