‘Potholes are drviers’ biggest concern’

POTHOLE-PLAGUED local roads are the UK’s most widespread motoring concern, a new survey suggests.

An RAC poll of 3,068 drivers indicated that 38 per cent are agitated by the condition and maintenance of local roads.

This is up from 33 per cent in 2019 and is ahead of other issues such as motorists using handheld phones (32 per cent), the standard of other people’s driving (27 per cent), and the aggressive behaviour of other road users (26 per cent).

Potholes are the number one complaint in relation to the state of local roads, but other issues include visibility of signage, roadside litter and maintenance of verges and foliage.

More than half (52 per cent) of those surveyed believe local roads are worse than 12 months ago, compared with 49 per cent who said this in 2019.

Only six per cent of drivers think that conditions have improved.

Motorists based in rural areas are more likely to say local roads have worsened (59 per cent).

Separate RAC data shows it received 1,871 call-outs for pothole-related vehicle damage between July and September, which is the highest number for

Faced with the early stages of the pandemic, local authorities might not have been able to keep up maintenance ... and local roads suffered Nicholas Lyes of the RAC

those three months since 2015.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said the figures are “a big concern” as last year’s relatively mild winter was not expected to have led to a further decline in road surface quality.

“Faced with the early stages of the pandemic, local authorities might not have been able to keep up their planned maintenance programmes, possibly due to staffing issues, and local roads suffered as a consequence,” he said.

“This also calls into question just how much progress has actually been made in fixing the 11 million nuisance potholes cited by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in May.

“On the flipside, with less traffic, there was perhaps a far better opportunity for councils to fix the roads than in previous years, so we were pleased to see that several local authorities did just that.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “We know that people want to see potholes repaired and roads improved, which is why we’ve committed £2.5 billion for local road repairs as part of the biggest nationwide pothole programme ever announced.

“During lockdown earlier this year, quieter roads enabled local authorities to carry out more highway maintenance works, leading to over 319 miles of resurfacing.”