Pothole-related breakdowns jumped 9% between April and June – here’s how to claim for compensation if your car is damaged by a crater

A cold spell between April and June triggered a spike in pothole-related breakdowns, according to breakdown assistance provider, the RAC.

It says it received 9 per cent more callouts in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2024, which it has attributed to lower temperatures in spring taking a greater toll on road surfaces.

Winter-like conditions seen during the three-month stretch would likely have created additional potholes as water seeps into existing cracks in roads, then freezes and expands during sub-zero and single-digit temperatures.

Local roads maintenance funding for England provided by the Government for this fiscal year is nearly £1.6billion, a rise of £500million compared with the previous 12 months.

The increase is estimated to be enough to fix around seven million potholes.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: ‘Although English councils received a record amount of funding for roads at the start of the new financial year in April, it’s too early to notice the benefit of increased maintenance programmes.

‘We can clearly see the cold winter weather at the start of the year has left its mark and caused an unseasonable high in breakdown volumes during a quarter when we’d typically expect a reprieve.’

*See below our five-step guide to claiming compensation for pothole-related damage to your car 

Roads minister Lilian Greenwood observes a pothole being repaired as a new report from the RAC shows crater-related breakdowns increased 9% between April and June compared to the same period in 2024

The RAC said it ‘hoped’ English councils have been putting their allocated funding pots to good work in the summer by conducting more surface dressing than usual, with authorities typically focussing on highway maintenance between the months of April to September.

‘We hope drivers will soon start to see the results of both the preventative maintenance and resurfacing works they have done,’ Williams said.

Surface dressing is a preservation treatment which creates a new sealed and waterproof surface on roads.

A Local Government Association spokesperson said: ‘Councils take their responsibilities to maintain and upkeep roads seriously.

‘As changing weather patterns impact roads, local government seeks to innovate and find new ways to respond to the issue.

‘Greater long term funding certainty, with local roads receiving a fairer share of the £24billion roads fund over the next five years, will enable councils to invest in more preventative treatments.’

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘We are ending the pothole plague on Britain’s roads, investing £24 billion to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country over the next five years.

‘With the average driver forking out nearly £500 to repair serious pothole damage, we know fixing cratered roads is not just about pride in our communities, but the pound in people’s pockets.

‘The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they have to prove progress or risk losing a quarter of this year’s record funding boost.’

The RAC attributed the surge in pothole-related callouts to lower temperatures in spring, which took a greater toll on road surfaces

The average repair bill to linked to pothole-related car damage is £320, according to a recent report by IAM RoadSmart. Punctures, cracked wheels and damaged suspension are among the most common issues resulted from clattering through a pothole

The true cost of potholes for Britons 

Failing to avoid one of the millions of potholes on Britain’s roads can be a costly affair, according to a new study revealing the value of garage bills to fix damaged vehicles.

For those unable to steer around craters last year, the average associated repair bill rang in at £320, according to IAM RoadSmart.

However, other drivers were forced to stump up more than three times that amount to repair or replace damaged tyres, suspension components and steering parts.

Some 5 per cent say they paid more than £1,000 getting their motors fixed after driving through a pothole during the 12-month period.

The road safety charity said they are not just a ‘danger to motorists and cyclists alike’ but they have become a ‘substantial financial burden’ on drivers.

The Daily Mail has compiled a five-step guide to help drivers seek recompense if they are facing a vehicle repair bill resulting from hitting a pothole:

Are road conditions getting worse? The Government says so…

The nations motorists are having to contend with worsening road conditions, the Government has admitted. 

The Department for Transport’s Road conditions in England to March 2024 report published in December highlighted a growing proportion of busy ‘A’ roads falling into a poor state of disrepair.

The report categorises road condition by a traffic light coding system.

While the volume of ‘red’ roads – those that should be investigated fully over concerns about the condition – have remained static, the report uncovered that the number of A roads moving from ‘green’ condition (no work is needed) to ‘amber’ status (maintenance may be required soon) has jumped in the last two years.

The DfT’s latest road condition report shows the percentage of routes to receive repair treatment each year. For both major and minor roads, the volumes are shrinking despite growing concerns for the state of the country’s network

Road conditions for A roads (left), and B and C roads (right) using the DfT’s green, orange and red colour coding system. Green is a fit state but red means work needs to start immediately

Since 2022, the proportion of ‘green’ A roads decreased by four percentage points from 72 per cent to 68 per cent in 2024, while ‘amber’ roads increased by three percentage points from 24 per cent to 27 per cent in 2024.

The report also shows that the number of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads – which together account for 29 per cent of local authority managed roads in England – now classified as ‘amber’ has increased by 3 per cent, from 28 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2024.

The percentage of red road has risen from 6 per cent in 2022 to 7 per cent in 2024.

While this represents just a fraction of the country’s road network, it is equivalent to approximately 500 miles of local and rural ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads.