Potholes: UK roads as ‘surface of the moon’ after record increase in breakdowns, RAC says | UK News

Many of the UK’s roads look like “the surface of the moon,” the RAC said, after a record increase in the number of pothole-related breakdowns the company has dealt with.

In the first three months of this year, the breakdown company received nearly 5,000 calls for vehicles likely damaged by potholes, about three times more than in the last three months of 2020.

The total of 4,694, (up from 1,461), was its largest increase between quarters and represented about 2.4% of all its calls.

Warped wheels, broken suspension springs, or damaged shocks are some of the typical pothole issues that RAC patrols have faced.

The company’s chief traffic officer, Nicholas Lyes, said: “Many drivers have to use roads which in places look better like the surface of the moon.”

Many roads, he said, are in a “desperate state”, indicating that some councils, which are responsible for repairs, “just fix potholes rather than fix them properly.”

“Considerable damage” was also caused by the coldest January in the UK since 2010, Mr Lyes said.

Britain has shaken at an average temperature of just 2.2 ° C (35.9 ° F), according to the Met Office, and potholes are formed by water seeping through cracks and expanding when frozen.

Mr Lyes also wants to see a shift in public policy to favor longer-term maintenance, urging ministers and councils to “commit to doing something differently” by setting aside funds over a five-year period.

A spokesperson for the Association of Local Authorities defended the councils’ efforts.

He said: “Despite the pandemic, the councils have worked hard to fix our roads, fixing a pothole every 19 …