A new partnership, which includes Staffordshire excavator giant JCB, has been launched by road users and industry to help tackle the scourge of potholes.
It comes as shock new figures have been released by the AA which show that pothole damage to vehicles has hit a five year high.
The research, released on National Pothole Day, reveals that the motoring organisation dealt with 631,852 pothole related incidents in 2023, the highest for five years.
Now the newly-formed Pothole Partnership has unveiled a five-point pledge to help tackle the issue, and they are using it to lobby local and national government.
The coalition, which represents the interests of drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians, and road repairers, has been formed by the AA, the National Motorcyclists Council, British Cycling, IAM RoadSmart, the British Motorcyclists Federation and JCB, which manufacturers the award-winning Pothole Pro machine.
Last year pothole damage to vehicles cost a staggering £474,000,000, according to the new figures released by the Pothole Partnership.
AA President Edmund King said: “Last year AA patrols dealt with more than 600,000 pothole-related incidents which on a national scale will have cost drivers almost half a billion pounds.
“Currently, we often have a vicious circle of: pothole formed; damage caused; pothole patched; pothole reappears with more damage caused – when what we need are more permanent repairs.
“Potholes are the number one concern for 96% of drivers and can be fatal for those on two wheels so hopefully pressure from the Pothole Partnership will lead to permanent repairs.”
JCB General Manager Ben Rawding said: “Tackling the national backlog of potholes properly will involve investment in innovation and new technologies to ensure permanent fixes, not temporary repairs. Britain’s motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists deserve nothing less.”
The AA dealt with 632,000 incidents in 2023 of tyre, wheel, steering, and suspension damaged by potholes which, if rounded up on a national scale, represents 2 million vehicles affected by poor road maintenance.
This is an increase of 16.39% when compared to 2022 (543,000). As most new cars don’t come with a spare tyre as standard, pothole punctures are costing drivers more time and money.
Last month’s figure of 62,000 was an increase of 15.2% when compared to December 2022 (54,000).
