Drivers in Bucks Beds and Herts likely to have pothole related breakdowns according to RAC
Many counties across the country are tackling the issue on the roads
The RAC is raising awareness of an increase in pothole related breakdowns, across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and the rest of the country.
According to a report by the driving services company
- "Drivers endure 7,904 ‘pothole breakdowns’ during the first three months of 2024.
- "Motorists nearly twice as likely to suffer a pothole breakdown compared to 2006
- The RAC attended nearly 8,000 (7,904) breakdowns in the first quarter of 2024 due to bad road surfaces, up 53% on the last three months of 2023.
- "Pothole-related breakdown numbers up by 10% in the last 12 months from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024.
But the RAC has seen fewer patrol callouts, with rates "dropping by 22% from 10,076 last year to 7,094 in 2024."
They believe this is due to the "milder weather" we've seen this year.
Previously, the winter months have seen more "sub-zero temperatures" leading to "more surface deterioration as water gets into cracks in the road, freezes and expands."
"For this reason, the RAC doesn’t believe the decrease in pothole-related breakdowns – damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels – is a sign of road conditions improving.
"In fact the RAC Pothole Index, which measures the likelihood of suffering one of these call-outs, increased, meaning drivers are even more likely to experience damage now than they were 12 months ago."
"And compared to 2006 when the RAC first began tracking these faults, drivers are now nearly twice as likely (1.76 or 76% more likely than 2006) to experience pothole damage."
"It's disgraceful"
We went out into the East of England to speak to locals about potholes.
Nearly everyone was in agreement in disliking them with comments such as...
"You just don't see a stretch of road without any."
"The roads are absolutely disgusting."
"They're completely neglected."
"It's absolutely dreadful."
"There's thousands of them."
"It's dangerous."
Many of these individuals had their own stories of potholes causing damages to their vehicles, including springs breaking, tyres bursting and even a carbon fibre bike split in half.
Causing annoyance due to the cost of repairs and the time it takes to get sorted.
"It's a priority Issue"
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their road networks, but we are supporting them with over 8 billion pounds of extra funding - reallocated from HS2 - over the next 10 years.