Potholes are ‘Britain’s biggest bugbear’, RAC finds

Potholes damaging cars is the biggest bugbear among drivers in Britain, a motoring survey suggests.

The state of Britain’s roads was the main concern for almost six in 10 people in research by the RAC. It topped the list of motoring complaints for the first time – ahead of insurance costs and fuel prices.

Pothole damage cost drivers on average £460 – with punctures, wheel damage and broken suspension springs the most commonly reported in the past 12 months, RAC research suggested.

Some drivers get so frustrated with the motoring menace they come up with creative ways to capture the size of the problem. Alan from Macclesfield climbed inside the crater and sent the pictures to his local council. “They did finally fill” it, he said. The Department for Transport said it was helping councils to fix “up to one million more potholes a year”.

Potholes can prove dangerous and costly, the RAC’s research warned.

BBC reader Elizabeth Atter said her 89-year-old mother had been knocked out after falling in a pothole in Caversham, near Reading.

Ms Atter said her mother also “broke her nose and glasses and was badly shaken up” when she fell five years ago.

Another reader, Richard Underhill from Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire, said his Porsche needed two tyres replaced after he hit a pothole.

“A car in front of me at the tyre depot had hit the same pothole,” he said.

But claiming for compensation can prove time-consuming and costly.

Richard Broadbent from Cirencester put a claim in to Gloucestershire County Council after the wheel of his Volkswagen Golf was damaged in May last year when his wife was driving his daughter to school.

A bent wheel and split tyre cost the family £189.60 to repair.

The legal battle lasted more than a year before the out-of-court settlement was agreed, in which the council paid for the damage to the car and Mr Broadbent’s legal costs, with no admission of fault.

After being rejected twice for compensation by the council, Mr Broadbent, a former Metropolitan Police officer, submitted a claim to the county court.

Mr Broadbent said he was extremely surprised by how strongly the council fought his claim, given the weight of evidence he gathered.

Gloucestershire County Council said it was “very sorry for the distress caused” to the Broadbent family over the issue, but said its policy is to “defend claims robustly and fairly to protect the public purse”.

“In this case, despite our strong defence new information provided questioned the original decision and our contractors made the commercial decision to settle this case,” a statement added.

But Mr Broadbent is one of few drivers who bother to stay the course when trying to claim compensation over pothole damage to vehicles.

Louise Thomas, an insurance expert at price comparison website Confused.com, told the BBC the majority of drivers end up paying for repairs out of their own pocket because it is quicker and more convenient, adding that claiming on insurance could see future premiums rise.

“What they should do is go to the council. Councils are responsible for maintaining roads, therefore they’re also responsible for paying out any claims for damage to your vehicle,” she said.

According to the RAC, almost three-quarters of drivers said the condition of local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago. The motoring group said its research suggested the problem of potholes was worse in rural areas.

It said its own data showed there were more than 25,000 pothole-related breakdowns in the 12 months to the end of June.

“Unfortunately our roads are deteriorating, there’s no question about that. This is really unacceptable, given the amount of money that drivers pay in motoring taxation, we estimate that to be around £45bn,” said Simon Williams from the RAC.

The previous Conservative administration had pledged to put an extra £8.3bn towards road maintenance in England over the coming decade.

As part of that, £150m in additional funding for last year and this year has already been given to councils.

Both the RAC and the Local Government Association (LGA) called for the new Labour government to commit to maintaining those spending plans.

Claire Holland from the LGA said council, who are responsible for local road maintenance, had “limited resources” and a backlog of repairs costing some £16.3bn.

The Department for Transport said it was supporting local authorities to fix “up to one million more potholes a year”, but did not say how much money would be allocated.