RAC report identifies growing driver concerns over state of local roads

New research and analysis from the RAC show drivers’ despair with “the woeful state of Britain’s local roads” has reached the highest level ever.

For the first time a majority of drivers (56%) surveyed for the annual RAC Report on Motoring say the condition and maintenance of roads for which councils are responsible was their top motoring concerns, up seven percentage points compared to 2023 (49%).

Frustration with local roads is 21 percentage points ahead of drivers’ second biggest concern, the cost of insuring a vehicle, and 24 ahead of the third biggest issue which is the cost of fuel.

A record, and growing, proportion of drivers are also reporting that local roads they use are in a worse state than the 12 months before.

This year, almost three-quarters (73%) of drivers say the condition of the local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago, compared to 67% last year and just 49% who said the same thing in 2019.

Just 6% of drivers believe local road surfaces have improved this year compared to last, a statistic that underlines the desperate state many councils now find themselves in when it comes to looking after some of their most vital assets.

More than a quarter of drivers (27%) say their vehicle has suffered damage as a result of potholes in the last 12 months, a figure which rises to 32% among those who live in rural areas.

The RAC’s figures show that the problem of substandard local roads is more acute in rural areas, where 81% of drivers say conditions are worse in 2024 than in 2023, and in suburban locations where the proportion is only slightly lower at 78%. Both figures are record highs.

But even in towns and cities, a majority of respondents – 53% – believe the condition of local roads they regularly drive on is worse than a year earlier. Across the UK, the greatest proportions of drivers who report the condition of local roads as being bad are those in the East Midlands (85%), the South East of England (83%) and the South West (79%).

While potholes and other surface defects are the main problems affecting local roads, poor drainage and a lack of adequate run-off in wet weather are also significant issues, noted by 61% of drivers, with 58% noticing faded road markings and 34% poor signage visibility.

The fact that many roads are slow to drain in wet weather may be exacerbating the dangers potholes pose to drivers, especially when those potholes are hidden by standing surface water. This is backed up by the fact that 86% of drivers see potholes as the road defect that poses the greatest safety risk, followed by 50% who say it is poor drainage. Four-in-10 respondents (38%) meanwhile believe faded road markings are one of the biggest hazards.