Crumbling roads costing drivers

Potholes are costing drivers and insurers at least £1 million a month in total due to massive car repair bills, according to estimates from the AA.

The motoring organisation said the number of potholerelated claims it had seen during the first four months of 2018 alone was more than for the whole of 2017.

Based on its share of Britain’s car insurance market, the broker estimated that nationally, there will have been over 4,200 claims for pothole damage so far this year compared with just over 3,500 estimated claims across last year.

With an estimated average repair bill of around £1,000, the total this year so far comes to “an eye-watering” £4.2m, it said, or more than £1m per month, where drivers consider they have no option but to make an insurance claim.

Janet Connor, the AA’s director of insurance said: “Drivers are hitting potholes and ruining their suspension, steering, the underbody of the car, breaking axles and occasionally being knocked off course and hitting other vehicles, kerbs or a lamp-post.

“This year we are seeing a growing number of pothole claims described as: ‘car severely damaged and undriveable’ which didn’t happen at all last year.”

The AA said a survey of more than 17,000 people had found 88% of drivers think roads are in a worse state now than 10 years ago.