UK in pothole peril with 480,000 breakdowns caused by damaged roads in 2024

Almost half a million cars have broken down after hitting a pothole in the first nine months of 2024, with more than 50,000 incidents in September alone highlighting the UK’s worsening pothole crisis.

The AA’s Pothole Index shows that between January and September 2024, it dealt with as many as 479,656 incidents in which a vehicle was damaged or broke down after encountering a pothole. This is roughly 10,000 more compared with the same period in 2023, suggesting that 2024 could be en route to surpassing last year’s total number of callouts, which stood at 631,852 – itself a five-year high.

After weeks of heavy rain and flooding, the experts at the AA say potholes are being disguised as they fill with water, leading to tyre, wheel, steering and suspension damage. Even more vulnerable are cyclists, with the AA claiming as many as 118 have been killed over the past four years due to potholes.

This news follows publication of the Asphalt Industry Alliance’s annual ALARM report earlier this year, which estimated the cost to fix the UK’s pothole problem could be as high as £16.43 billion, and also claimed that over half of Britain’s roads have “less than 15 years of structural life left”.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh pledged prior to the July General Election that Labour would redirect the £8.3 billion from the scrapped West Midlands to Manchester leg of the HS2 high-speed rail line to fix up to a million potholes a year, and “provide councils with long-term funding settlements so roads are fixed for the long-term”.

However, nothing has been mentioned post-election regarding the state of the UK’s roads and with the Autumn Budget looming, the AA has teamed up with the likes of JCB, British Cycling, the National Motorcyclists Council and IAM RoadSmart to form what it calls the ‘Pothole Partnership’.

With the Partnership planning to meet with the Future Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood to plead its case on potholes – the AA wants extra cash and guidance for local authorities to make necessary repairs and maintenance – AA president Edmund King said that road users are “fed up” of the current road situation.

“[The government] has the opportunity to make a step change in the spiral of decline by adopting and advocating measures to permanently fix the problem, rather than the past patchwork approach,” King continued.

Road maintenance is one of the many issues motorists hope will be addressed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the upcoming Autumn Budget. The Department for Transport recently told Auto Express that a long rumoured road pricing scheme has been ruled out, but ongoing speculation suggests the Government is planning to scrap the five pence cut to fuel duty. 

Has your car been damaged by a pothole? Read here for how to report a pothole and claim for damage on your car...