UK roads in ‘miserable state’ as pothole-related breakdowns surge
The state of UK roads is “miserable”, a motoring services chief has said, as vehicle breakdowns rose by 9% in the last year due to potholes, new figures have suggested.
The RAC reported some 27,205 callouts to breakdowns due to poor road surfaces received in the year to the end of March.
That compares to 24,906 during the previous 12 months, the RAC said.
Pothole-related calls were down by 22% in the first three months this year compared with the same period in 2023, but RAC said this was due to milder weather rather than new roads reducing the damage.
The impact of hitting a pothole can damage a vehicle’s suspension affecting important components like shock absorbers, springs and ball joints, resulting in poorer handling and uneven tyre wear.
Dodging ‘pothole bullets’
RAC head of policy Simon Williams acknowledged the lower callouts during the first three months but said it was “important not to lose sight of the bigger picture and the ongoing miserable state of our roads”.
Referring to RAC analysis, Mr Williams said drivers are now twice as likely to suffer a breakdown due to “sub-standard road surfaces” compared to 2006.
He added: “While many would rightly say the roads are terrible, we believe they would have been far worse had we not had such a mild winter.
“We feel drivers have dodged the pothole bullet as the lack of widespread sub-zero temperatures has masked the true state of our roads.”
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Robot fills potholes in roads using AI
The cost of rectifying pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales has been estimated at £16.3bn.
In October 2023, the government announced it would provide £8.3bn of extra funding in total until 2034 to fix potholes in England.
This was part of the Network North strategy to use money saved by scrapping the planned extension of HS2 to Manchester.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their road networks, but we are supporting them with £8.3bn of reallocated HS2 funding over the next 10 years, the biggest ever increase in funding for local road improvements which comes on top of an existing £5.5bn fund.
“Local authorities received the first £150m of this increase within weeks of announcing our additional funding in October, and will receive a further £150m this year to continue improving local roads.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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