One-third of UK drivers suffer pothole damage to their cars

As many as 32% of motorists have had their car damaged by a pothole, new research by Citroen reveals.

The average repair bill for this type of damage is £141.95, with 11% of drivers having to cough up more than £251 for a pothole-related repair.

In a UK-wide survey of 2,000 drivers, almost a quarter of those whose vehicle had been damaged by a crack in the road had attempted to claim back the repair cost from their local council.

Pothole-related repairs cost local authorities a total of almost £6 million in compensation in 2019/20, latest data from The Asphalt Industry Alliance ALARM report shows.

The ALARM report found a pothole is repaired every 21 seconds in England and Wales. However, with authorities facing carriageway maintenance budget shortfalls of around £826.6 million a year, 9% of the road network is considered to be in poor condition and likely to require maintenance within 12 months.

Eurig Druce, Managing Director of Citroen UK, said: “It is concerning to find that potholes have caused damage to nearly a third of drivers’ cars across England and Wales. Local authorities have a lot of issues to solve and this will take time.”

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The Citroen study, conducted in March 2021, also shows 42% of drivers wish their car had better suspension to deal with rougher roads

In January, the RAC revealed it had attended almost 1,500 pothole-related breakdowns in the fourth quarter of 2020.

This raised concerns as, while the figures were taken when the UK was subject to travel restrictions and lockdown measures, they were still similar to numbers recorded in the same (lockdown free) period in 2019.

Speaking at the time, RAC head of road policy Nicholas Lyes called on the government to put aside 2p from the existing 58p-per-litre duty on the sale of petrol and diesel, which he said “would generate nearly £5bn of additional funds for local roads over five years”.

Lyes added: “The government’s approach of allocating funding to councils from various pots on an annual basis means authorities are always having to play catch-up by fixing potholes rather than focusing on preventative maintenance.”

Find out how to report a pothole and claim for damage.