Tag: potholes

UK’s worsening pothole problem a serious safety risk to cyclists

TODAY IS NATIONAL POTHOLE DAY – BUT THEN, EVERY DAY IS POTHOLE DAY!

Cyclists are being warned about the worsening condition of roads across the UK – with data showing 21% of cyclists are involved in an accident because of a pothole.* 

Experts from leading bicycle insurance comparison site Quotezone.co.uk warn that this figure will only increase unless the government tackles the worsening condition of UK roads.

With a long winter of bad weather ahead, cyclists will run an increased risk of accident and injury by riding over potholes if UK roads are not properly maintained.

Damaged road surfaces represent a disproportionate risk to cyclists due to the lack of protection and the proximity of motor vehicles.

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Spending on road maintenance has almost halved since the financial crisis just over a decade ago, and the recent cost-of-living crisis has pushed potholes further down the priority list for governments and local councils.

Even temporary pothole fixes – which involve filling the hole with a form of asphalt treatment – have decreased by almost half in some counties. 

There are also claims from members of the public that councils are not properly inspecting potholes that have been reported online. 

Several county councils have admitted that filling in potholes is no longer a priority as a result of the rising cost of living, with less funding for UK highways. 

With the Met Office issuing weather warnings for the coming weeks, the number of potholes on UK roads is set to increase.

A combination of bad weather and lack of funding has left the UK network at crisis point with experts predicting the pothole problem may soon get out of hand. 

Quotezone.co.uk are calling for councils and the government to urgently act on what is a UK-wide problem for the benefit of all road users but particularly cyclists as they are the most affected by damaged road surfaces.

Data shows that the worst pothole-affected area in the UK by far is Northumberland, with over 180,000 potholes reported over four years, followed by Cornwall and Kirklees in West Yorkshire. 

Newcastle, Liverpool and Suffolk also have some of the worst potholed roads in the UK as well as Fife and Glasgow in Scotland, and Newry, Mourne & Down joined by Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon in Northern Ireland. 

Lee Evans , bicycle insurance comparison expert at Quotezone.co.uk said: “Many of us who cycle in the UK have been shocked at the growing danger caused by roads strewn with potholes, and unfortunately the problem does not seem to be going away.

“21% of cyclists experiencing pothole-related accidents is a worrying number because any accident for a cyclist, can be very serious. 

“With a winter of extreme weather predicted in the coming weeks and with spending on road maintenance on the decline, we could expect to see an increase in pothole-related cycling injuries.  We’d encourage local authorities and the government to act now on fixing the UK’s pothole problem to help keep cyclists and all other road users safe.”

Quotezone.co.uk helps thousands of road users each year find savings on everyday household bills and essentials plus niche items such as cycling insurance, bicycle insurance, and road bike insurance

Government urged to take action on the UK’s worsening pothole problem

Drivers are being warned about the worsening condition of roads across the UK as recent data reveals that 90% of insurance claims come from potholes.

Experts from leading price comparison website Quotezone.co.uk are calling on the government and local councils to not let the pothole problem get even worse. 

With a long winter of bad weather ahead motorists will run an increased risk of damaging vehicles by driving over potholes if UK roads are not properly maintained.  

Spending on road maintenance has almost halved since the financial crisis just over a decade ago, and the recent cost-of-living crisis has further reduced potholes on the priority list.  

Even temporary pothole fixtures – which involves filling the hole with a form of asphalt treatment – have also decreased by almost half in some counties.  

There are also claims from members of the public that councils are not properly inspecting potholes that have been reported online.  

Several county councils have admitted that filling in potholes is no longer a priority as a result of the rising cost of living, with less funding for UK highways.  

And with an expected bad weather spell to last well into the New Year with rising levels of snow, ice and rain – it will no doubt make potholes even worse.  

With a combination of bad weather and lack of funding, the UK is likely sitting on a disaster waiting to happen and the pothole problem may soon get out of hand.  

With nine in 10 insurance claims coming from pothole incidents, Quotezone.co.uk are calling for councils and the government to urgently act on what is a UK-wide problem. 

Data shows that the worst pothole affected area in the UK by far is Northumberland, with over 180,000 potholes reported over four years, followed by Cornwall and Kirklees in West Yorkshire.  

Newcastle, Liverpool and Suffolk also have some of the worst potholed roads in the UK as well as Fife and Glasgow in Scotland, and Newry, Mourne & Down joined by Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon in Northern Ireland.  

Greg Wilson, Founder and CEO of Quotezone.co.uk said: “We all know how bad it can be to drive down roads which are full of potholes, and unfortunately the problem does not seem to be going away. 

“With a massive 90% of insurance claims coming from pothole related incidents, most of us have had damage caused by a pothole, or know someone that has. 

“We are expecting a winter of extreme weather and with spending on road maintenance on the decline, we could expect to see a significant increase in pothole related claims. 

“This will make UK roads more dangerous for all road users, so we’d encourage local authorities and the government to act now ahead of the worsening weather and make a start on fixing the UK’s pothole problem.” 

Quotezone.co.uk helps thousands of road users each year find savings on everyday household bills and essentials such as car insurance, van insurance and motorbike insurance

Pothole ‘threat to personal safety’

Potholes overtake texting and drink driving in problem ratings

Potholes are perceived by motorists to be a much more significant concern on the road than they were three years ago, overtaking texting and drink driving as a worsening problem according to the findings of a new report from the UK’s largest road safety charity.

IAM RoadSmart’s annual Safety Culture Report, which tracks drivers’ changing attitudes to key road safety issues over time, discovered that three in four motorists (75 per cent) now perceive potholes to be a bigger issue for road users than they were three years ago. This was followed by driver distraction (68 per cent) – such as texting or talking on a mobile phone – and traffic congestion (65 per cent).

Further findings from the report, now in its sixth year and which involves surveying more than 2,000 motorists, also discovered that around nine in ten (89 per cent) drivers have been affected by potholes over the last year.

Meanwhile, just over one in three (31 per cent) drivers had changed their route to avoid a pothole with, more worryingly, more than half (54 per cent) having had to steer away or brake hard to avoid impact and damage.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: “The pothole situation on UK roads has now become much more than just irritating, it’s a significant threat to personal safety.

“We simply can’t have vehicles swerving into oncoming traffic or slamming on their brakes without warning to avoid them. Deteriorating roads also put pedestrians and cyclists at greater risk.

“It is clearly a sign of the times when motorists perceive potholes to be a bigger growing concern to them than drink driving and texting. And while the statistics show that the devastating impacts of using a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or using a mobile phone when driving still remain, it does highlight that it is time for government to take potholes seriously and fix the UK’s road network.”

Regionally, eight in ten (81 per cent) motorists in the South East considered potholes to be a bigger road safety issue than three years ago, compared with around six in ten in London (61 per cent) and the North East (64 per cent).

It is currently estimated that there are some 42,675 miles of UK roads classed as being in POOR structural condition, costing an estimated £11.14 billion to bring them up to a level which they could be maintained cost effectively going forward, according to Asphalt Industry Alliance*.

However, IAM RoadSmart’s research found of those motorists who had experienced a pothole only around one in ten (12 per cent) had enough damage to their car caused by the pothole to require a repair and only around one in six (16 per cent) had reported a pothole to the authorities.

Less than one in ten (7 per cent) made a claim for the damage.

RAC: Drivers still fell foul of potholes late last year despite lower traffic volumes

RAC marks National Pothole Day with stark warning about the long-term health of local roads


Despite lower overall traffic volumes than normal due to the pandemic RAC patrols went to the rescue of nearly 1,500 drivers who had more than likely suffered a pothole-related breakdown in the last three months of 2020.

An analysis of fourth quarter RAC breakdowns* for National Pothole Day reveals there were 1,461 call-outs for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels reveals, representing nearly 1% (0.9%) of all RAC attendances.

While the pothole proportion of all RAC breakdowns in the last three months of 2020 is down on the previous quarter, it is identical to the same period in 2019 and slightly higher than 2018 (0.8%). The RAC finds this concerning given the lower traffic volumes brought about by coronavirus travel restrictions as in theory, less traffic should mean less damage to road surfaces.

Looking across the UK, the South East saw the largest number of vehicle problems most likely to be caused by potholes at 242 – equating to 17% of all the pothole-related call-outs dealt with by the RAC’s expert local patrols. While this could be attributed to the region being more densely populated, this is unlikely to be the case for the South West which saw 12% of all the RAC’s pothole breakdowns (173), almost the same number as the North West (170).

However, the RAC’s Pothole Index**, which is a long-term indicator of the health of the UK’s roads available, suggests the overall standard of road surfaces has been improving since the start of 2019. Having begun at 1.0 in 2006, the index currently stands at 1.44 which means drivers are nearly one and a half times as likely to experience damage caused by a pothole as they were 15 years ago.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough for other reasons, nearly 1,500 of our members have also had to endure unwanted, and no doubt expensive, damage to their vehicles caused by potholes and other road surface defects.

“While the actual number of pothole-related call-outs our patrols have attended is down significantly compared to the same time in 2019 due to lower traffic volumes in the pandemic, they account for the same proportion (0.9%) of all RAC rescues which clearly demonstrates there are still far too many poorly maintained roads.

“We realise council budgets are under incredible pressure due to the coronavirus, but we badly need the Government to recognise the significance of local roads and take a fresh look at how to fund them.

“The Government’s approach of allocating funding to councils from various pots on an annual basis means authorities are always having to play catch-up by fixing potholes rather than focusing on preventative maintenance.

“We would prefer to see them make five-year funding settlements which would allow councils to make longer-term plans for their roads. This could be funded by introducing a similar scheme to the National Roads Fund which ringfences money paid in vehicle excise duty by road users in England for the upkeep of major roads.

“Putting aside 2p from the existing 58p a litre duty on the sale of petrol and diesel would generate nearly £5bn of additional funds for local roads over five years. This would surely help to bring our local roads back to a fit-for-purpose state.

“The RAC Pothole Index clearly shows that the long-term degradation of road surfaces, which began in 2008, has now – to some extent – been arrested, but nevertheless overall road conditions are precariously balanced on a knife-edge. The fact the country is experiencing a colder winter than it has done for several years, coupled with the risk of less investment in local road maintenance due the pandemic, means that the delicate balance may sadly end up tipping in the wrong direction.

“We also know from the 2020 RAC Report on Motoring that the condition and maintenance of local roads is currently the top overall concern for drivers so there is a real clamour from drivers for action to fix them. And if the UK is to emerge strongly from the pandemic and the ensuing recession, good quality infrastructure is essential.”

To report a pothole, or to find out if you suffer from damage from one and wonder if you can claim for compensation, visit the RAC’s pothole online guide. The RAC has also published a guide on looking after cars during the pandemic.

Edinburgh is Scotland’s pothole capital

The true depth of Scotland’s pothole problem revealed 

  • Scroll to the murky depths of Scotland’s combined 154,0001 potholes reported in 2016 using interactive animation –
  • Confused.com’s scrolling animation reveals Scotland has the greatest pothole problem in the UK, drilling down OVER SIX KILOMETRES2 deep – that’s deeper than the Mediterranean Sea.
  • The animation’s regional view reveals Edinburgh has the deepest pothole problem in Scotland, with a total depth of OVER ONE KILOMETRE.
  • Scroll the total depth of the UK’s potholes combined, which is more than 40km deep – almost FOUR TIMES the depth of the Pacific Ocean.
  • In 2016, Scottish councils forked out almost £27,000,000 to repair potholes and more than £226,000 in compensation to those who’ve had their car damaged by craters in the road.

As the cold weather starts to set in, more and more potholes may start to appear on roads – a dreaded issue for both drivers and local councils. New research presented in a scrolling animation reveals just how deep Scotland’s pothole problem goes, and it is far worse than it appears on the surface.

A freedom of information request by Confused.com, the driver saving site, reveals a total of 154,310 potholes were reported to the region’s councils in 2016 – more than in any other UK region. Each local authority was asked for the minimum depth of a road defect to be considered a pothole, and this figure was aggregated against the total number to reveal a depth of over 6km (6,364m).

The animation allows users to visualise the true depth of the region’s potholes combined, scrolling passed iconic recorded depths such as the bottom of the English Channel (174m), Loch Ness (230m), and the Mediterranean Sea (5,270m). Users can then scroll all the way passed the Mariana Trench (11km) and the world’s deepest man-made hole (12.3km) into the Earth’s upper mantle (30km) before arriving at the combined depth of the UK’s 1,033,486 potholes. This is over 40 km deep and 3.7 times the depth of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.

The animation also allows users to drill down to specific local authority areas, and Edinburgh comes out on top for having the deepest pothole problem of the region.

Having this many potholes can be a very costly job for councils, as they fork out for repairs, as well as compensation to victims of damage caused by the craters in the road. In fact, a third (33%) of motorists in the UK say their car has been damaged by a pothole.

  • In 2016, the region’s councils spent a whopping £26,830,077 repairing potholes.
  • They also spent a combined sum of £226,238 to compensate drivers for damage to cars caused by potholes.

Top 5 local authority areas within Scotland with the biggest pothole problem, ranked by depth

Local authority areas No. of potholes reported Total depth £ spent on repairs £ spent on compensation
City of Edinburgh 35,329 1,413m n/a £69,385
Fife 29,188 1,168m £975,000 £519
Dumfries & Galloway 26,028 1,041m £1,820,892 £7,755
Glasgow City 13,128 525m £1,035,793 £16,945
Perth & Kinross 6,059 364m £746,157 £1,949

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “Scrolling to depths of more than 40km really puts into perspective just how deep the UK’s pothole problem really is. They are a major bugbear among drivers, not least because of the damage they do to our vehicles – around £3.1 million worth of damage, which has been paid out by almost half of the UK’s councils.

“If drivers experience a bump in the road, they should report it to their local council as soon as possible before the problem gets any worse. The cost of motoring alone is getting more and more expensive and damage repairs is a big contributor to this, as car parts increase in price as well.

“For advice on pothole damage, and other ways to save on motoring costs, drivers can find more information at Confused.com.”

Pothole backlog: Johnstone pledges Green action

Alison Johnstone pledges Green fight to redirect roads budget

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Alison Johnstone, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, has told an audience of cycling campaigners that with more Green MSPs Scotland can improve public health and the economy by redirecting the roads budget to tackle the nation’s pothole backlog. Continue reading Pothole backlog: Johnstone pledges Green action

Council sets up pothole posse

Lucky City Centre … but North Edinburgh will have to wait

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A new initiative by the City of Edinburgh Council is set to tackle the capital’s worst potholes and road defects resulting from winter weather. A dedicated team of neighbourhood staff has been put together to coordinate an intensive programme of repairs concentrating on main arterial routes – but North Edinburgh won’t be seeing any additional pothole attention anytime soon. Continue reading Council sets up pothole posse