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Drivers willing to pay higher taxes for pothole-free roads

Brits are spending £4.9bn a year repairing pothole damage to cars with two in five willing to pay more in taxes or tolls to fix the problem.

Nine in 10 wish councils would do more about potholes and two in five would be willing to pay more in taxes or tolls for pothole-free roads

The research by Green Flag reveals UK drivers report encountering seven potholes per trip on average, with those in the North West and Glasgow encountering the most in the nation.

The research found that 56% of UK motorists report their cars have been damaged by potholes, with a third (36%) claiming they have experienced tyre damage and one in six (17%) have faced suspension damage.

As a consequence, UK drivers are each spending almost £230 each per year on repairing car damage caused by potholes whilst two-fifths (42%) spend in the region of between £100 and £200 per year. That equates to £4.9bn spent by motorists on fixing pothole damage each year.

The research also found nine in 10 drivers wish councils would do more about potholes.

Although the Department of Transport announced last week that it’s investing £201m to tackle road maintenance, latest research for the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey has found eliminating the pothole backlog in England and Wales would cost £9.8bn and take a decade to complete despite increased local roads investment.

Meanwhile, two-fifths (40%) of UK drivers said they would be willing to pay more car tax or road tolling for pothole-free roads, whilst more than a quarter (27%) would be willing to add up to five miles to their journey in order to avoid a road with potholes.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.