Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Industry & Market News

Pothole-related breakdowns up 25% year-on-year in Q3 – RAC

29% of drivers said that vehicles have suffered pothole-related damage over the past 12 months.

3 min read
Share
pothole breakdowns Q3
ADVERTISEMENT

The RAC found that pothole-related breakdowns were up 25% year-on-year in Q3 2025, with its patrols attending 5,035 pothole-related breakdowns.

29% of drivers said that their vehicles have suffered pothole-related damage over the past 12 months.

The RAC said that the increased number of pothole-related breakdowns in Q3 serves as an ‘early warning sign’ of what is to come in the colder, wetter months of Q4.

Over the 12 months to the end of September 2025, drivers suffered pothole-related damage on 25,758 occasions, 11% more than in the same period than the year before.

The RAC attended an average of 71 pothole-related breakdowns per day in this period.

Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said: “Confirmation that more drivers fell foul of potholes this summer compared to last is troubling.

“If nothing else, it underlines the gargantuan task of getting the roads that millions of people rely on back to a respectable standard after years of neglect.

“Every pothole breakdown means hassle, frustration and ultimately cost for drivers – up to £590 for anything worse than a puncture.

ADVERTISEMENT

“For those on two wheels, they’re an out-and-out danger.”

An RAC survey found that 12% of drivers said that local roads are in a better condition than they were last year, up from 6% who said the same thing a year ago, while 59% said that local roads are in a worse state than last year, down from 73% who said the same in 2024.

Williams said: “But the tide might finally be turning. Despite the disappointing breakdown figures, a small but growing proportion of drivers tell us their local roads are in a better state than 12 months ago.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The Government is also applying pressure on councils to do the right thing when it comes to maintaining the roads, requiring each authority in England to set out precisely what preventative maintenance it has done and plans to do – something we have long called for.

“As a country, we’re a long way off having the roads that everyone deserves.

“But we hope the rot has at least been stopped, and that new multi-year funding settlements give local authorities the certainty they need to plan and deliver better road maintenance programmes.

“This will not only fix the roads that are in a desperate state, but prevent future potholes from appearing in the first place.”

Mike Hansford, chief executive at the Road Surface Treatments Association, said: “It’s important highway authorities consider using cost-effective preventative maintenance treatments on roads that are currently in good condition, to keep them that way for longer.

“We’d also encourage them to repair potholes and other damage as permanently as possible and, where appropriate, treat these roads the following summer to stop water getting in and causing further damage.

“On extensively potholed roads, where replacement is required, they can even save money by recycling the existing materials into the new road.

“Highway authorities that adopt these practices report some of the best condition roads in the country and some of the lowest numbers of potholes per mile of network.”

Related

ADVERTISEMENT