THE scale of Britain’s pothole crisis has been revealed by a new map of major hotspots.
The past year has seen a massive jump in claims for damage related to potholes, each costing drivers hundreds to repair.
New data compiled from 18 local authorities by the RAC show some regions experiencing spikes in claims by up to 366%.
The Club also compiled a list of worst offenders based on the number of claims per mile of road under the council’s jurisdiction.
By that metric, Surrey came out worst with 3,418 claims made for just 3,410 miles of road – a rate of one claim every mile.
Behind that, Hampshire, Essex and Hertfordshire were all tied on two in a poor outing for the Home Counties.
They were followed by Kent and Lincolnshire on four, with Gloucestershire rounding out the top five on five.
Perhaps even more shocking, though, was the fact that many of the lowest-ranked regions also approved the lowest proportion of claims.
Gloucestershire County Council, for instance, rejected a staggering 98% of the 829 claims lodged in 2023.
Likewise, Essex County Council refused 95% of its 2,560 claims while Kent Council turned down 92% of its 1,884.
Surrey County Council’s rejection rate was down to 86% but, by virtue of receiving the most claims, they rejected the most in raw figures.
Almost 3,000 applications for compensation were turned down in the county last year.
Even when councils did pay out, the average amount was just £260, around 43% less than the £460 average repair bill, according to the RAC.
Meanwhile, data from nine of the councils the Club contacted showed that 74% of the claims they rejected were denied on Section 58 grounds.
This means that the claim was refused because officials were not aware of the pothole or potholes that allegedly caused the damage.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “These findings are a stark reminder that the ongoing poor condition of many of the UK’s local roads is burning holes in the budgets of both local authorities and drivers.
“Even if a driver successfully pursued compensation, the average sum paid out of £260 is often well below the cost to fix a pothole-damaged car, for anything more serious than a punctured tyre.
“When it comes to the true extent of the problem, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg, as almost the same number of councils refused to tell us why they threw out pothole claims compared to those that did.
“We have long argued that local authorities need greater certainty of funding so they can tackle to the root cause of the UK’s pothole plague.
“For this reason, we’re pleased they’ll receive £500m soon to start the process of improving their road networks.
“It’s vital that this money is used by councils not to merely fill potholes, but to carry out preventative maintenance – through surface dressing roads at regular intervals to stop roads falling apart in the first place. Roads that are beyond reasonable repair should be resurfaced.”
