Pothole problems give councils a bumpy ride

A third of drivers have had their cars damaged by a pothole, according to a poll by the IAM.

The poll also reveals that 16% of respondents have been involved in, or have seen, an accident caused by a road user hitting a pothole. And 88% of the 2,600 respondents voted that pothole repair should be the top priority for local council maintenance.

Only 14% of respondents think that their council’s current performance maintaining local roads is good or very good, with more than half rating it as bad or very bad. When asked what areas of road maintenance were being done well, 50% responded ‘none’, and half also think the roads in their area are getting worse.

Welsh respondents were happiest with council road maintenance, with 27% rating it as ‘good’, while those in south east England were least pleased, with only 10% giving the ‘good’ rating.

Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said: “The public is unhappy with the state of their roads, although many realise that spending cuts are the real problem.

“80% of those polled thought that local councils should work more closely together to increase efficiency, and with no loosening of the public purse strings in sight it will take partnerships to ensure the backlog in road maintenance does not continue to stack up.”

For more information contact the IAM press office on 020 8996 9777.