Citroën launches Better Roads Manifesto to support tighter pothole controls

Citroën is calling for a greater use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in monitoring and reporting of potholes and tighter controls on utility companies as part of a package of improvements detailed in its Better Roads Manifesto, launched today.

The report by Citroën sets out six key points for Local Highways Authorities and councils to address, to improve the quality of the British Local Road Network (LRN).

It includes a call for utility companies to be held to greater account to ensure roads are repaired properly after groundworks have taken place.

Citroën believes fixing Britain’s pothole plagued roads could unlock savings of at least £5.5bn by reducing accidents and improving efficiency.

Road defects are currently responsible for 6% of Britain’s fatal or serious collisions.

Crashes cost the public £54.7bn a year; 6% of that is £3.3bn. And the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) believes reforming funding to introduce a five-year strategy would save local highways authorities £2.2bn.

The cost to the public of Britain’s broken local roads network is revealed in Citroën’s Better Roads Manifesto, along with calls for changing to funding strategy, legislation around road defects and attitudes.

Citroën’s Better Roads Manifesto has been compiled in conjunction with Dave Gaster, a qualified highways engineer with more than 25 years’ experience working with local Government.

Citroën conducted exclusive research into British drivers’ attitudes to road defects and used Freedom of Information requests to reveal how the country’s 154 local highways authorities are responding to the pothole crisis.

The report revealed more than a quarter of drivers (28%) have lost control of their car either avoiding a pothole, because of debris from a pothole or a combination of both.

The research also showed that British drivers are willing to pay more for improved roads – 56% would pay more council tax, and 49% support an increase in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), if all of the proceeds were spent on roads.

The manifesto recommends reforming how local highways authorities inspect roads, using AI to cut costs, improving data quality and speeding up targeted repairs, as well as giving local highways authorities greater powers to ensure utility companies properly repair the trenches they dig.

It also suggests introducing a five-year plan for road funding by Government, creating a national standard for road repairs, using volunteers to increase manpower at no extra cost, and developing a road cleaning strategy to remove dangerous surface debris.

Greg Taylor, managing director at Citroën UK, said: “Our roads are a constant source of concern for drivers, which is why there is so much discussion around them for car manufacturers.

“For decades, Citroën has been making some of the most innovative and comfortable cars on the road – constantly adapting our technology to tackle the challenges of today’s roads and ensure our famous magic carpet ride for every passenger.

“Our latest C5 Aircross features the best of our Advanced Comfort® innovations and offers best in class comfort.

“However, there is only so much that Citroën can do – that is why we have worked to pull together this manifesto.

“Simply calling for more funding isn’t realistic, so we are suggesting some simple, cost effective and logical steps that national government, local highways authorities and the general public can get behind to give this country the quality of roads that we all deserve.”

An FOI submitted by Citroën explored how LHAs deal with the potholes they face, from initial reporting to inspections, the time it takes to fix them and the street sweeping that keeps the roads clear of debris.

A quarter of local authorities sweep all their roads at least once every three months while some do not sweep their roads at all.

The FOI requests found a variation in the time it takes local authorities to respond to reports of road defects.

While some attend and fix potholes within hours, around one in seven LHAs said it might take up to three months to fix a hole.

Stoke-On-Trent said the longest its residents might have to wait to have a hole fixed was 357 days.

49% of local authorities geo-locate potholes when inspectors scan the roads for defects, while 47% do not use geo-location, meaning they have no accurate data about where potholes really form and may be sending teams to repair road defects without pinpointing where the real problems lie.

Kingston Upon Thames does not carry out in-person inspections.

Citroën said it is working with AI-powered road monitoring tool STAN.

It scans the road while driving, taking multiple images of defects and problem areas that are then uploaded to a central database that LHAs can buy access to.

This data can then be used to do preventative maintenance, as well as help LHAs understand better where defects are and how to resolve them.

The research also found that there is no consistent definition between LHAs of what constitutes a pothole.

Some consider a pothole to be 40mm deep; some think a defect must be 80mm deep; others define a pothole as 75 mm wide, while some believe a hole in the road isn’t a defect that needs repair until it’s 300mm wide.

Gaster, said: “British roads are in a historically poor state. Unless we do something now, we continue to store up a raft of issues that will need to be dealt with.

“The findings of this report are deeply concerning, but the suggested remedies are practical logical and, if implemented, will make a profound difference to the roads in this country.”