The UK’s Ongoing Headache With Potholes

Potholes appear to be a problem for drivers across the UK that just won’t go away, especially if the results of a new report by the RAC is anything to go on.

According to the organisation’s figures, the RAC dealt with over 6,500 breakdown jobs between January and March 2017 which were likely attributable to poor road surfaces. The last time that so many pothole-related breakdowns were recorded in a three-month period was in the first quarter of 2015 (almost 6,900 breakdowns were recorded then). However, in the early months of 2015, the country was subjected to more days of frost and rainfall when compared to the first three months of 2017, when the nation experienced mild and moderately dry conditions.

David Bizley, a chief engineer at the RAC, commented: “Our figures sadly show a surprising and unwelcome first quarter rise in the number of breakdowns where the poor quality of the road surface was a major factor. We had expected a figure no worse than that recorded in the first quarter of 2016 (4,026) and it is very concerning that the roads, strangely, appear to have deteriorated in a mild, comparatively dry winter.”

So, this leads us to ask the question, just how bad are the UK’s roads when it comes to potholes? VW service provider Inchcape Volkswagen explores…

Pothole hotspots

The following table is the top ten places of a league table of highway authorities that FillThatHole.org.uk has compiled. It is based on the number of road hazards which were reported to them:

Position	Authority	Region	Total reports	Open reports	Fixed reports	Percentage fixed
1	Surrey	South East England	7,657	6,473	1,149	15%
2	Hampshire	South East England	4,133	3,241	849	21%
3	Essex	South East England	3,804	2,912	878	23%
4	Hertfordshire	South East England	3,557	3,004	530	15%
5	Kent	South East England	3,478	3,105	364	10%
6	Lancashire	North West England	3,301	2,484	792	24%
7	Oxfordshire	South East England	3,245	2,225	985	31%
8	Glasgow	Scotland	3,059	2,444	601	20%
9	Cheshire East	North West England	2,980	2,110	787	27%
10	West Sussex	South East England	2,845	2,034	783	28%

 

This is how the top ten places of FillThatHole.org.uk’s league table looks when ranked on open reports though:

Position	Authority	Region	Open reports	Total reports	Fixed reports	Percentage fixed
1	Surrey	South East England	6,473	7,657	1,149	15%
2	Hampshire	South East England	3,241	4,133	849	21%
3	Kent	South East England	3,105	3,479	364	10%
4	Hertfordshire	South East England	3,004	3,557	530	15%
5	Essex	South East England	2,912	3,804	878	23%
6	Lancashire	North West England	2,484	3,301	792	24%
7	Glasgow	Scotland	2,444	3,059	601	20%
8	Buckinghamshire	South East England	2,399	2,754	343	13%
9	Oxfordshire	South East England	2,225	3,245	985	31%
10	Devon	South West England	2,114	2,519	385	15%

 

Frequency of potholes being filled in

According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey 2017, the average number of potholes filled in 2016/17 per local authority across England was 13,468.

The top ten authorities ranked on fixed reports in FillThatHole.org.uk’s league table is as follows:

 

Position	Authority	Region	Fixed reports	Total reports	Open reports	Percentage fixed
1	York	Yorkshire & Humber	1,187	1,341	151	89%
2	Surrey	South East England	1,149	7,657	6,473	15%
3	Bristol	South West England	1,094	1,475	199	85%
4	Oxfordshire	South East England	985	3,245	2,225	31%
5	Cheshire West & Chester	North West England	913	1,252	30	97%
6	Essex	South East England	878	3,804	2,912	23%
7	Northumberland	North East England	869	1,123	5	99%
8	Hampshire	South East England	849	4,133	3,241	21%
9	Islington	London	825	985	0	100%
10	Lancashire	North West England	792	3,301	2,484	24%

 

Number of drivers reporting damage in the past 12 months (ranked by region)

Region	Number of drivers
South East England	941k
London	733k
South West England	721k
Yorkshire & Humber	720k
North West England	687k
West Midlands	609k
Scotland	521k
Eastern England	457k
East Midlands	365k
North East England	343k
Wales	201k

 

Average cost to repair pothole damage (ranked by region)

Region	Average cost
Eastern England	£163.68
South East England	£124.93
London	£124.65
Yorkshire & Humber	£120.00
South West England	£119.01
Scotland	£109.02
West Midlands	£87.59
North West England	£87.01
East Midlands	£86.33
North East England	£72.66
Wales	£61.83

 

Structural road condition percentage split in England

• Percentage of roads across England in good condition (i.e. they have 15 years or more residual life remaining) — 53 per cent.
• Percentage of roads across England in adequate condition (i.e. they have between five and 15 years’ residual life remaining) — 30 per cent.
• Percentage of roads across England in poor condition (i.e. they have less than five years’ residual life remaining) — 17 per cent.