Pothole breakdowns double in just three months

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Fri, 25 Apr 2025

The RAC says its patrols attended over 9400 pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2025 – more than double the number in the last three months of 2024.

The number of pothole breakdowns now equates to 1.5% of all RAC breakdowns, significantly up on same period last year.

What’s more, breakdowns caused by wear and tear from poor road surfaces are also up 19%.

These include damaged dampers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the recovery service’s pothole-related breakdown data is a reliable reflection of the true state of UK roads and that it "sadly shows the pothole plague is as prevalent as ever."

He points out that RAC patrols have been to the aid of almost 10,000 members in the first three months of this year who have broken down due to the effects of driving on substandard roads – a huge rise compared to the same period a year ago.

Although the government has recently given English councils record funding to fix roads, latest Department for Transport data shows how vital the funding is.

1 in 5 councils have more than 10% of their minor roads in 'red' or 'poor' condition.

Derbyshire is the authority with the most B- and C-roads in 'red' condition – almost 4 in 10 – followed by the London boroughs of Merton and Havering on 34% and 26% respectively, with Nottingham fourth on 26%.

In contrast, five authorities have 85% or more of their minor roads in 'green' condition, indicating no further investigation or work is needed.

They include the London borough of Bexley, Sunderland, Middlesborough, Newcastle upon Tyne and Walsall.

"Suffering a breakdown due to wear and tear caused by the poor quality of roads is frustrating beyond belief, particularly as the average cost of repairing anything more than a puncture is £460," says Williams.

"Drivers shouldn’t have the bear the brunt of these costs – they’re only having to because the roads have been allowed to get into such a dire state."

Ask HJ

Did hitting a pothole break my car?

In October I hit a pothole at speed. Immediately afterwards warning lights came on and the car started juddering and wouldn’t accelerate properly. Luckily there was a refuge close by and I pulled over. When we came to a halt there was a lot of smoke coming out of the exhausts and a strong smell of fuel in the cabin. I called the roadside assistance and the car was recovered and spent five weeks at the closet dealership while it was tested and repaired. A fuel sensor and spark plugs were replaced and the final diagnosis was that I had put bad fuel in the car as apparently the fuel had separated when the technicians drained the tank. I’m really flummoxed as to how I could have driven 100 miles at speed on bad fuel only for this to manifest the instant that I hit the pothole. It would be great if someone could explain this to me please as the dealership can’t.

It does seem unlikely that putting bad fuel in your car would have caused this issue to occur at the exact moment you struck a pothole, but there are a few factors to consider. Firstly we would be asking what exactly the technicians meant by 'bad fuel' - if this was the case we would want to try and trace where the fuel was purchased and investigate further. It is also worth bearing in mind that fuel added to the tank would not immediately enter the engine unless the tank was almost empty, so even if the fuel was bad you would have been able to drive normally for some time. If you are unsatisfied with the technician's explanation you may wish to consider having the car inspected by an independent engineer.

Answered by David Ross

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