UK roads like the ‘surface of the moon’

Pothole call-outs for RAC patrols escalated three-fold in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the last quarter of 2020.

It attended 4,694 pothole-related incidents between January and March compared to 1,461 from October to December last year. This represents the largest rise between quarters the RAC has ever seen.

In total, 2.4% of all call-outs attended by RAC patrols between January and March were for broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers – the classic symptoms of a driver having hit a pothole – up from 1.6% during the same period in 2020, and the highest proportion seen since 2017.

When comparing the first quarter of 2021 with the same period of 2020, an incredible 37% more pothole-related breakdowns occurred (4,694 breakdowns in the first three months of the year compared to 3,426 breakdowns), a figure made even more stark by the fact the country has spent much of the first quarter in lockdown with lighter than normal traffic volumes on roads.

The RAC Pothole Index, a long-term measure of the condition of roads which is adjusted for weather and seasonal effects, also increased in the first quarter of 2021 for the first time since early 2018.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “These figures highlight what is a genuinely ‘uncomfortable truth’ for both road users as well as local and national governments – that in many cases, the condition of many roads is now in a desperate state.

“Put simply, we’ve just had the largest quarterly rise in the number of pothole-related breakdowns on record. And the problem risks getting even worse as pandemic restrictions are eased and the roads get busier.

“Back in January we feared the colder winter risked causing further extensive damage to the roads, and it’s clear this is now exactly what has happened.

“Many drivers are finding themselves having to use roads that in places better resemble the surface of the moon and, as our figures show, thousands are suffering from unnecessary and, no doubt, costly breakdowns caused by potholes.

“Figures as bad as the ones we are publishing should herald a watershed moment where authorities finally acknowledge the perilous state many roads are currently in and take decisive action to bring them up to a reasonable standard.

“The RAC has long campaigned for national government to recognise the vital role local roads play and ring-fence some funds over a five-year period to give councils the resources they need to plan and deliver longer-term road maintenance.

“We appeal to the Transport Secretary and the Treasury to take a fresh look at roads funding given the data we are publishing.”