The number of motorists suffering from pothole-related breakdowns increased by a record number in the first quarter of 2021. That’s according to a new report by the RAC.
The breakdown giant said 4,694 drivers phoned for assistance after hitting a pothole in the first three months of 2021 – the equivalent of 52 drivers every day.
This figure represented a three-fold increase in the number of pothole-related breakdowns from the last quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021 (up 3,233 from 1,461 in Q4 2020) and is the largest rise between quarters the RAC has ever seen, it said.
This is despite the UK spending much of the first quarter of this year in lockdown with lighter than normal traffic volumes. The RAC added that, had traffic been at pre-lockdown levels, the figures would have been even worse.
The RAC said its figures ‘highlight the parlous state of many roads which have been ravaged by the colder winter weather that affected much of the UK between January and March’ and claimed many councils are ‘unable to properly repair the hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of roads they are responsible for.’
Call for long-term road maintenance
Echoing comments made by the Asphalt Industry Alliance earlier this month, the RAC called on the government to provide long-term funding to help fix Britain’s roads.
“Pots of funding announced annually may help fill some potholes, but they don’t cure the problem over the long-term by dealing with underlying major surface defects. Nor do they allow local authorities to plan routine maintenance. Figures as bad as the ones we are publishing today should herald a watershed moment where authorities finally acknowledge the perilous state many roads are currently in and take decisive action to bring them up to a reasonable standard,” said Nicholas Lyes, RAC head of roads policy.
He continued: “We appeal to the Transport Secretary and the Treasury to take a fresh look at road funding, given the data we are publishing today. Potholes are a sign of broken roads, but they are also a sign of the broken nature of how the roads are looked after and paid for.
“The UK Government and local authorities must break the cycle and commit to doing something differently – if they don’t, all road users will continue to suffer unnecessarily.”
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