New figures suggest the UK has seen an increase in pothole-related breakdowns, with around 10% more RAC members affected.
In total, the RAC’s index shows 2,830 individual members – up from 2,547 in 2016 – suffered a vehicle breakdown likely attributable to poor roads surfaces, including broken suspension springs, damaged shock absorbers or distorted wheels.
Across all quarters of 2017 the number of ‘pothole’ faults was up on the year before it, with RAC patrols attending 11% more callouts in the final three months of 2017 than it did over the same period in 2016. In this final period around 1.2% of all callouts was likely to have been pothole-related.
The RAC called for 'ring-fenced, long-term funding' for local authorities to improve the situation, as it suggested the country could be going backwards on its pothole problem.
The RAC’s chief engineer David Bizley said: 'After several years in which the surface quality of our roads appeared to be improving, the latest analysis of RAC breakdown data suggests that for the third successive quarter we have gone backwards.
'The higher rainfall in the last quarter compared to 2016 and the snowy and icy conditions that much of the country experienced into December are likely to be significant factors.'
He added: 'We want to see local authorities given the certainty of ring-fenced, long-term funding from central government sufficient to enable local authorities to bring all of the UK’s roads up to a standard that is fit-for purpose.
'Drivers contribute around £40bn of motoring based taxation a year and many will feel that they are having to endure roads that are substandard and therefore getting poor value for money.'
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