Local mechanic says more money is needed for Norfolk's roads, to avoid a rise in pothole damage
The AA says that callouts to vehicles damaged by poor road surfaces have increased by 2% so far this year
Mechanics can expect to see a "steady rise in business" over the next few months and years, unless more money's put into repairing Norfolk's roads, according to a local garage.
Pothole-related breakdowns are on the rise, according to the AA, with poor road conditions leading to over 50 thousand call-outs last month - the highest figure recorded for September since 2017.
"The best thing that people can do is report potholes and damaged roads to the local council"
Matthew Moore is from the Number One Motor Company, based in Heartsease: "We probably have to repair or replace about ten broken coil springs a week, now.
"We're now starting to see a lot more customers who have damaged alloy wheels, that have been buckled when they went through a pothole.
"The best thing that people can do is report potholes and damaged roads to the local council.
"If somebody has hit a pothole while driving they need to make sure they've hadn't damaged their wheels. They also need to look at whether their car is pulling violently to the left or right, due to damaged steering."
The data in more detail:
The AA says that callouts to vehicles damaged by poor road surfaces have increased by 2% so far this year compared to the same period in 2023.
In September, there were 50,244 incidents, data from the latest AA Pothole Index, shows, which was the highest number for this month on record since 2017 (50,418).
The Pothole Partnership, which includes the AA, JCB, British Cycling and the National Motorcyclists Council, is calling on the Government to deliver on its pothole manifesto commitments.
It says that pothole damage to vehicles has hit a seven-year high, with the pothole crisis is costing the economy in England alone an estimated £14.4 billion per year.
Previous research shows that the AA dealt with 631,852 pothole related incidents in 2023, the highest for five years.
The RAC recently revealed that more than a quarter of drivers (27%) say their vehicle has suffered damage as a result of potholes in the past 12 months, a figure which rises to 32% among those who live in rural areas.
Punctures (47%) were the most common problem reported, followed by wheel damage (43%) and broken suspension springs (29%).
What's the Government doing on this?
The previous government promised to put over £8 billion into road repairs between now and 2034, while Labour pledged, before the election, to fix one million a year.
Norfolk County Council says it's putting £133 million into maintaining and improving the county's roads - a £29 million increase on last year's budget.