Logistics UK responds as pothole crisis blamed on cold start to the year

The RAC has reported a 9 per cent increase in call-outs attributable to unfit road surfaces compared to the same period the previous year.

This rise is directly linked to the colder conditions experienced in the first three months of the year, which exacerbate road damage.

Severe winter weather contributes to the formation of potholes as water infiltrates existing cracks, then freezes and expands, widening the fissures.

The government has responded by pledging £1.6 billion for local roads maintenance for England, representiing a £500 million increase on the previous 12 months. The additional investment is projected to be sufficient to repair approximately seven million potholes across the country.

Jonathan Walker, Logistics UK's Head of Infrastructure and Planning Policy said: “Potholes cost the UK’s economy billions of pounds each year due to delays and vehicle damage, which is particularly concerning to our members who rely on their vehicles for their livelihood. 

"Logistics UK has been calling for long-term funding to address the huge backlog in road repairs, while work on the worst routes must be delivered swiftly."

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.

“With second-quarter RAC call-outs 9 per cent higher than the same period last year, we hope English councils have been putting their allocated funding pots to good work in the summer surface dressing season which runs from April to September.

“We hope drivers will soon start to see the results of both the preventative maintenance and resurfacing works they have done.”

The average driver in the UK spends nearly £500 per year to repair serious pothole damage to their vehicles.