IAM RoadSmart welcomes news about potholes

IAM RoadSmart has strongly welcomed today's (11 March) £2.5 billion shot-in-the-arm for filling the huge backlog of potholes - but warns a long-term plan is urgently needed to cure the problem for good.

The new investment was announced in today's budget by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. 

A past survey of more than 7,000 IAM RoadSmart members showed a clear majority (88%) think the condition of our roads have deteriorated in recent years and over half those surveyed (56%) said there are many more potholes than ever before, and that they had to swerve to avoid potholes on every journey (reference 1). 

Nearly half (over 3,400 respondents) said they have experienced damage to their vehicle as a result of hitting a pothole. Some 27% said they needed to steer around a pothole every day.

An Asphalt Industry Alliance investigation found that councils in England and Wales would need to spend a total of £9.8 billion over 10 years to bring all their roads up to standard.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: "Pothole damage is not just inconvenient and expensive, it is a massive safety concern.

"Drivers and riders pay a premium through their taxes for investment in roads. It really is time to ring-fence funds for tackling this pothole epidemic, and get the problem sorted once and for all."