Drivers’ despair with the condition of Britain’s local roads – those which make up 98% of all roads – has reached a record high, according to figures from the RAC.
For the first time ever, a majority of drivers – 56% – surveyed for the RAC Report on Motoring said the condition and maintenance of local roads was one of their top motoring concerns, up 7% compared to 2023 (49%).
At 35%, the cost of insuring a vehicle was second, with the cost of fuel third at 32%.
A record, and growing, proportion of drivers surveyed also reported that local roads they use are in a worse state than the 12 months before.
This year, 73% of drivers said the condition of the local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago, compared to 67% last year and just 49% who said the same thing in 2019.
Just 6% of drivers believe local road surfaces have improved this year compared to last, a statistic the RAC says underlines the desperate state many councils now find themselves in when it comes to looking after some of their most vital assets.
Simon Williams, RAC head of policy, said: “It is absolutely remarkable that, on average, drivers we surveyed are far more concerned about the state of their local roads this year than they are about either the cost of motor insurance – which has been rocketing in recent years – or the cost of fuel which is still at an uncomfortably high level.
“If this doesn’t underline the seriousness of the situation we now find ourselves in, we’re not sure what does.
“The new Government simply must do something differently. Without a promise of far more funds for councils – something we will push hard for ahead of the autumn Budget – its options are extremely limited. Put bluntly, the less we spend as a nation on our roads now, the more it will cost us in the future.
“That’s the pattern we’ve been in for years now, as is clearly shown by data from ourselves and from many other parts of the industry. So, the ultimate question is this – in terms of the inevitable costs we’ll face in the future, can we really afford not to fix our dilapidated roads?”
The RAC adds that the ‘appalling state of many local roads also has clear consequences for cars’.
More than a quarter of drivers (27%) who completed the survey said their vehicle has suffered damage as a result of potholes in the last 12 months, a figure which rises to 32% among those who live in rural areas.
Punctures (47%) are the most common problem reported, followed by wheel damage (43%) and broken suspension springs (29%).
Limited funding for already insufficient infrastructure, exacerbated by too many vehicles = inevitable outcome.
Mark Armstrong, Dorset
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