The 2022 survey, polling 3,102 drivers, revealed that 58% of drivers believe local roads have become worse in the past year, an increase of 2% from last year’s statistics and up from 52% in 2020.

In contrast, a mere 4% think local roads have improved in the past 12 months, down from 6% over the previous two years.

The most common complaint, raised by 98% of respondents, was related to road surface quality and potholes. More than half (55%) of respondents rated the standard of pothole repairs in their area as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

An additional 63% said they’d noticed fading road markings, up from 56% in 2021’s survey. Another 42% of drivers reported poor signage visibility while a further 35% grumbled about roadside litter. 

Nearly half of UK drivers (45%) ranked local road conditions as their top motoring concern, although more people (55%) were worried about rising fuel costs.

Commenting on the survey, Nicholas Lyes, RAC’s head of roads policy said: ‘“Many [drivers] describe the repair work – when it’s carried out – as being substandard, which more than likely means potholes and surface defects will quickly reappear, costing yet more money to fix.

“This seems to be utter madness and an issue that badly needs addressing if drivers’ views are indeed accurate. Unfortunately, we do still have a widespread funding shortfall meaning that many councils can’t afford to maintain and improve roads as they would like to.”

Cllr David Renard, the transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, attributed the cost of living crisis to the poor condition of UK roads. He made the case that the organisation’s latest estimates show that the average cost of a pothole repair has increased by 25%, with the cost of running street lights nearly doubling.

He said: “Research shows that, even before current levels of inflation, existing levels of funding will lead to a gradual decline in road conditions.

“The Government should meet these increased costs in the upcoming Autumn Statement; otherwise they risk the current pothole repair backlog growing even longer and councils being forced to cut back on essential road repairs.”

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A new report from the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association for Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) has revealed a 37.5% increase in the cost of running and fixing street lights over the last six months.

The cost of repairing our roads has also risen, with many councils noting a 22% increase in the price of filling a pothole, resurfacing and other common maintenance costs, according to the study. 

The budgets of local authorities, which include funding for building new roads and local infrastructure, have seen an estimated rise of 21%. This has escalated the cost of delivering investment in local areas.

The LGA say that global issues, such as the war in Ukraine, are responsible for driving up the costs of bitumen, electricity, steel, lighting, cement, salt and other resources, and urged the new prime minister to help mitigate these pressures.

Cllr David Renard, a transport spokesperson for the LGA, said: “As this stark new analysis shows, councils across the country are facing unprecedented increased costs to repair our local roads, keep our street lights switched on and invest in improved local infrastructure.

“Global pressures, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as increasing inflation and a shortage of materials have all provided the perfect storm for councils and piled pressure on already stretched local budgets.

“To tackle this issue, the new Government must cover these increased costs for councils or risk road conditions getting worse or reductions in other services.

“Only with adequate long-term funding – to cover increased cost pressures and invest in local services – and the right powers, can councils deliver for our communities, tackle the climate emergency, and level up all parts of the country.”

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Sir Rod claimed that “no-one can be bothered to do it”, and explained why he and “the boys” decided to take matters into their own hands: “The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre. My Ferrari can’t go through here at all”. 

Potholes are a common menace for road users across the country. In 2021, the RAC said they received a total of 10,123 callouts for road-condition-related breakdowns, which is 19% higher than 2020 and a 10% increase on the 9,198 breakdowns in 2019.

Essex County Council however urges against vigilante repairs, saying people are “putting themselves and others at risk” with unofficial DIY jobs. Lee Scott, the council’s cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport, warned that anyone attempting repairs themselves could become liable for accidents.

Local residents on the other hand are thankful for Sir Rod’s bold action. After 6 months of reporting the pot holes on Sheering Lower Road to the council, nothing had been done to rectify the hazard. 

After the public attention from Sir Rod’s repairs, the council have now pledged to resurface the road in July. There is hope Sir Rod’s actions will draw a much needed focus on the national pothole pandemic, and will hopefully see repairs being prioritised across the country. 

Essex resident Dominic Zarian remarked, “What’s the world coming to when the local rock star has to fix a road?” 

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The motoring organisation said that in the first three months of 2021, their patrols were called to help 4,694 drivers who had most likely broken down from hitting a pothole. This equates to 52 drivers per day, despite the national lockdown in place at the time.

The RAC stated that this was a three-fold increase in breakdowns, too, when compared to the last quarter of 2020. They claimed it was “the largest rise between quarters the RAC has ever seen”.

Some typical indicators of a pothole-related breakdown are broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers. All of these issues can result in costly repairs for motorists who encounter a pothole.

Nicholas Lyes, Head of Roads Policy at RAC, said: “In many cases, the condition of many roads is now in a desperate state. Many drivers are finding themselves having to use roads that in places better resemble the surface of the Moon.

“The quieter roads brought about by national lockdowns could have been an ideal time for councils to start to fix problem road surfaces, ready for the arrival of more traffic as restrictions are eased. Sadly, our data suggests this may not have been the case and may also suggest many councils are still simply patching up potholes rather than fixing them properly.”

The company is urging the Government to acknowledge the state of the country’s roads, and to take action to tackle the problem. 

They propose that while immediate funding goes some way towards filling potholes, it is not a long term solution for dealing with underlying surface issues. Instead, local authorities must plan and carry out routine maintenance.

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Councils have revealed that funding cuts have a significant part to play in this issue, with 57 percent of them stating that they have had their repair funds reduced over the last five years.

This decline in upkeep has not gone unnoticed by the public, as almost a quarter of the local authorities surveyed said that they receive 51 to 100 pothole-related complaints every month. Although councils have become inundated with repair alerts, 55 percent do not believe that the government sufficiently understands that lack of funding is a problem.

This comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged an extra £2.5bn for road maintenance in his budget. He claimed that this would go towards filling millions of potholes every year, with the aim of addressing the country’s current road-quality crisis.

Broken sections on the road’s surface can cause safety risks for all users, but especially for cyclists. 80 percent of cyclists who took part in the survey reported undertaking a ‘dangerous manoeuvre’ in the past, in order to avoid a pothole.

Meanwhile, more of the public are being encouraged to use bikes to get around and to take advantage of any cycle to work schemes they can use. This coincides with the announcement of a £2bn package for cycling and walking infrastructure last year.

UltraCrete, a company providing highway maintenance materials, also spoke to private highway maintenance contractors in their survey. They discovered that 68 percent of them agreed that their employers need more funding for pothole repairs.

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