Pothole related RAC breakdowns during start of 2018 third highest since tracking began

Harsh winter continues to have an effect on motorists due to deterioration of road surfaces

Pothole related RAC breakdowns during start of 2018 third highest since tracking began
The percentage of breakdowns attributed to damage caused by potholes and poor quality road surfaces doubled from 1.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent during the last quarter of 2017.

Analysis of RAC breakdown data revealed that the proportion of pothole-related breakdowns recorded during the first quarter of 2018 was the third highest since tracking the faults began in 2006.

The percentage of breakdowns attributed to damage caused by potholes and poor quality road surfaces doubled from 1.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent during the last quarter of 2017 and includes damage to shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

David Bizley, RAC chief engineer, commented: “Few would disagree that the harsh cold weather experienced over the last three months has led to a further deterioration of road surfaces.

“While RAC patrols saw the third highest quarterly share of pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2018 the figure was not as high as we had been expecting, probably due the fact that the weather hit relatively late in the quarter.

“For this reason we feel we are likely to see more vehicles suffering pothole damage in the second quarter of 2018 compared with recent years.”

The RAC pothole index uses a base of 1.00 and for the first quarter of 2018 was 2.63 up from 2.59 from the previous year.

The higher the figure, the greater the likelihood of an RAC member suffering a breakdown caused by a pothole or other road surface defect and therefore potentially highlights issues with the surface quality of the average road.

“Roads in dire state”

“The start of the year normally sees the highest number of breakdowns attributable to poor quality road surfaces, but more telling will be how much this drops in the second quarter,” continued David.

“Ever since we started analysing these faults, this second quarter figure has dropped sharply as local authorities catch up with repairs to address the worst damage to their roads caused by winter weather.

“We will be monitoring the situation very closely to see what effect the harsh winter weather has had.

“If the index doesn’t reduce or, worse still, continues to increase then this will be a very strong indication that our roads are still in a dire state of repair.

“We know that many local authorities will be even more stretched in the new financial year and therefore having to deal with the effects of very poor weather in February and March will be a very unwelcome hit on their maintenance budgets for the next 12 months.

Additional funding

“The Government has made additional funding available through yet another emergency pothole fund, but at best this will only allow councils to patch up roads that in many cases are in desperate need of longer term preventative maintenance.

“Motorists understand that councils are under difficult financial pressures and are not able to spend as much on road maintenance as they have done in the past.

“The RAC has repeatedly called for a change of tack from the Government to give councils certainty of funding going forwards to address the huge backlog in maintenance over an agreed period.

“We are calling for ring-fencing of additional long-term funding to provide the money needed to bring our local roads back to a condition that is fit-for-purpose over a period of five to 10 years.

“For example, ring-fencing 3p for local road maintenance from the 58p fuel duty paid by motorists on every litre of fuel purchased over seven years would give councils raise an extra £9.5bn – enough, according to the recent survey of councils conducted by the Asphalt Industry Alliance, to eliminate the maintenance backlog on roads in England and Wales.

“Drivers contribute in excess of £40bn in motoring taxation a year and many feel they should not have to endure substandard roads as a result.”

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