The variety of pothole-related breakdowns jumped to a five-year excessive on account of one of many wettest months of July on document, figures recommend.
The AA mentioned it acquired 50,079 callouts to autos stranded on account of faults seemingly brought on by potholes final month.
That is up by almost a fifth from 41,790 in July 2022 and is essentially the most for that month since 2018.
Common issues brought on by potholes embody broken shock absorbers, damaged suspension springs and distorted wheels.
Met Office figures recommend final month was the UK’s sixth wettest July on document.
This would have made potholes tougher to identify for drivers and hindered restore work, based on the AA.
Jack Cousens, head of roads coverage on the breakdown cowl firm, mentioned: “July’s rainfall prompted extra complications for drivers with tyres, suspensions and steering mechanisms all being broken because the rain and puddles hid the potholes lurking beneath.
“Councils would’ve been hoping for a dry summer so they could get as much repair work carried out before the real autumn and winter weather hits.
“They will now be below extra stress to get their deliberate works accomplished earlier than the climate actually turns in opposition to them.
“With 2023 looking to be one of the worst years on record for pothole damage, we need to see more investment in local roads maintenance funding.
“As nicely because the monetary harm to autos, presently of yr we additionally see extra cyclists and bike riders on the roads, the place the harm can sadly be deadly.”
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The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £14bn.
The government increased its Potholes Fund – which provides money to councils in England to tackle the issue – by £200m to £700m for the current financial year.
Shaun Davies, who chairs the Local Government Association, said: “Decades of reductions in funding from central authorities to native street restore budgets has left councils dealing with the most important ever annual pothole restore backlog.
“In order to support motorists, the Government should take this opportunity to work with councils to develop a long-term, fully-funded programme to catch up with the backlog.”
A Department for Transport spokesman mentioned: “It’s for local authorities to maintain their highways.
“To assist them try this we’re investing greater than £5bn from 2020 to 2025, with an additional £200m introduced on the finances in March to resurface roads up and down the nation.
“We’ve also brought in new rules to clamp down on utility companies leaving potholes behind after carrying out street works.”
Source: information.sky.com”