Further evidence of the UK’s deepening local road maintenance crisis has been revealed by new statistics published by the RAC. The breakdown recovery specialist attended 11% more incidents that could be attributed to potholes in the last quarter of 2017 than in the same period in 2016.

 

The organisation logged 2830 member breakdowns between October and December where vehicles had failed due to damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs or distorted wheels.

 

The findings, it said, suggest that the surface quality of some UK roads has already been impacted by higher rainfall and increased frost seen towards the end of 2017. The condition of these roads is “hanging in the balance”, it added, with the potential for a further sharp rise in the number of potholes by the spring if the weather is particularly wet or cold over the coming weeks.

 

“After several years in which the surface quality of our roads appeared to be improving, the latest analysis of breakdown data suggests that for the third successive quarter we have gone backwards,” said RAC chief engineer David Bizley.

 

“If we get more ice and snow or further heavy rainfall than normal in the next couple of months, there is a risk of further deterioration of road surfaces – and even more potholes appearing in the areas worst affected by the weather.”

 

The company’s ‘Pothole Index’ – a 12 month rolling measure of the share of pothole fault breakdowns compared against 2006 – stands at 2.59 for the fourth quarter of 2017. This marks the highest figure for 18 months but falls short of the 3.5 measure recorded in the second quarter of 2010.

 

“We want to see local authorities given the certainty of ringfenced, long term funding from central Government sufficient to enable them to bring all of the UK’s roads up to a standard that is fit for purpose,” said David Bizley.

 

Fleet management firm LeasePlan’s UK managing director Matt Dyer commented: “If we are to encourage an uptake in electric and driverless vehicles, we need the roads to help keep us and our vehicles safe too. This means changing our approach to problems such as potholes which need banishing once and for all.”

 

 

♦ Also this week, the Road Surface Treatments Association has issued a call to action after publishing an updated compendium of facts and figures behind the UK’s deteriorating local road network.

 

“Government continues to fail to understand the direct correlation between a well maintained local road network and a prosperous economy,” said the group’s chief executive Howard Robinson.

 

RSTA is calling for the Government to inject an additional £1Bn into road maintenance by investing 2p a litre from existing fuel duty, and for local highway budgets to be ringfenced.