The Pothole Postcode Lottery

New survey reveals stark difference in road repair response times across Britain

POTHOLES ARE PAINFUL, damaging and dangerous to riders wherever they appear — but the length of time you could be exposed to one varies enormously across the country. A recent survey by the RAC Foundation has revealed the huge difference in repair times between Britain’s 207 Local Highways Authorities. Just three councils aimed to act ‘immediately’ to fix potholes that posed the greatest risk to road-user safety. And despite an average response time of two hours, there could be a delay of several days before some councils acted. The longest response time came from Leicestershire, who said it aimed to repair severe potholes within 72 hours.

“It is understandable that large rural authorities set themselves longer response times, simply as a result of having to travel further to effect repairs,” explains RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding. “But motorists might still be surprised to see such a wide variation across the country. Those particularly vulnerable to potholes — cyclists and motorcyclists — might ask whether the speed of pothole investigation should be based solely on the risk to users.”

Across England and Wales, local councils repair more than 1.5 million potholes a year, a number that’s actually fallen in recent times — and not because there are fewer to fix. The number of potholes reported to Highways England (responsible for motorways and main roads) leapt more than 46% between 2017 and 2018, while the number of successful compensation claims doubled over the same period.

Time for a long-travel adventure bike, particularly if you ride in Leicestershire…