Vehicle breakdowns related to potholes soared in the last three months of 2022, prompting fears for a ‘plethora of potholes’ by the spring.

The UK could face a “plethora of potholes” by the spring

Across the last three months of 2022, RAC patrols attended nearly a quarter (23%) more breakdowns where potholes were likely to blame than in the previous three months; and the recovery specialist said this could rocket further.

Its roadside staff attended an average of 20 breakdowns a day between October and the end of the year – a total of more than 1,800 – for faults such as damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

This was up from 16 a day over the previous three months (1,462 in total) and was the highest number of pothole-related breakdowns seen in the fourth quarter of the year since 2019.

Add in the wet conditions since December’s sub-zero temperatures – which provide the perfect conditions for creating potholes – and the RAC said it provides “the perfect recipe for potholes to start peppering the roads”.

Head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes went on: “We fear that by the spring, drivers will be plagued by a plethora of potholes across the country’s roads which makes journeys uncomfortable and frustrating or, worse still, could lead to very expensive garage repair bills – the last thing anyone wants in a cost-of-living crisis.”

He also warned of road safety dangers, especially for those on two wheels as potholes represent a huge risk to their personal safety.

Research for the RAC’s latest Report on Motoring found a whopping 86% of drivers have had to deliberately steer to avoid potholes over the past year, a figure that rises to 90% of those in rural areas but still only falls to 81% of those in urban locations. Most drivers (55%) also rated pothole repairs in their local areas as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Lyes continued: “As many drivers will no doubt testify, there are too many occasions where potholes have been poorly patched up by cash-strapped councils which then return all too quickly. It’s frankly absurd that, as a country, we seem unable to get on top of such an age-old problem when roads play such an important role in people’s everyday lives – and are vital to moving goods and businesses delivering services.

“Councils are crying out for more funding to do a proper job in getting their roads up to a decent standard. With drivers still rating the ongoing poor state of the roads as one of their biggest motoring frustrations, they can only hope that 2023 is the year when the Government finally sits up, takes notice of Britain’s perpetual problem with potholes and comes up with a better way to solve it.”