The RAC received more than 3,500 calls from owners of vehicles with broken springs, damaged shocks and distorted wheels in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year.
Based on a 12-month rolling average of breakdown numbers, the RAC figures suggest that road quality is getting worse after five successive quarters of improvement.
RAC chief engineer David Bizley warned that “the most worrying aspect” is the fact that this year’s weather has been so much milder and drier than in the equivalent six months last year.
He said: “After a period of steady improvement, it is disappointing to see an unwelcome rise in the number of pothole-related breakdowns.
“We fear it would only take a spell of very cold or wet weather for the improvements of the last year or two to evaporate and for the nation to find itself in a situation when we would once again be seeking emergency funding from Government to address the worst affected roads.”
GW reader, Philip Kerkham said: “Road damage can be blamed up to a point for springs breaking [but] the way they are made can be to blame in part as well.
“I have worked on older cars with coil springs that never seem to fail.”
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