Pothole claims up 90% in three years, says RACGetty ImagesThe number of pothole-related claims fell last year. Pothole compensation claims made to councils in Britain rose by 90% between 2021 and 2024, according to analysis by the RAC motoring group. The study also found that only a quarter of claims made by motorists in 2024 resulted in payouts. However, the RAC noted that the number of claims fell in 2024 compared with the year before. The Local Government Association (LGA) said "ever-increasing pressure" on budgets was affecting councils' abilities to fix roads, while the Department for Transport said the government was spending £7.3bn over the next four years on improving road surfaces. Potholes have become a major bugbear for many drivers. Repair bills can be costly, and they can also cause injuries to passengers, cyclists or pedestrians. The RAC said data it had analysed indicated that 53,015 compensation claims claims were made to 177 local authorities in 2024. That was up from 27,731 in 2021, although it marked a fall from the 56,655 seen in 2023. In 2024, just 26% of claims led to a payout, with an average sum of £390 given to claimants. The RAC estimates that a typical repair bill for a family car with damage worse than a puncture from a pothole is £590. Potholes can cause damage to shock absorbers and suspension springs, and can also distort wheels. RAC head of policy Simon Williams told the BBC: "It does seem that councils have a variety of different criteria for what they class as a pothole."Often they have to be four centimetres deep and so many centimetres wide."If you hit one, it can cause a real jolt to the car and serious damage... not just damage to vehicles, it's also a serious road safety danger, particularly on two wheels."RAC asked 207 councils about pothole compensation claims.
