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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Research from the RAC has shown that existing junction boxes exhibit design flaws that may see drivers facing unjust fines if left unchanged. 

The markings, which are used at junctions to prevent gridlock, have been found to trap drivers through no fault of their own. Some have also been poorly maintained so that drivers will have difficulty seeing where the markings start and finish. 

Head of RAC roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, said: “junctions have been installed in completely the wrong places, boxes are larger than they should be and ones where buildings or street furniture obstruct drivers from seeing where boxes end, making it impossible to assess whether there is enough space beyond the junction for their vehicle to fit into.”

Surprisingly, there are no current legal requirements for authorities to meet standardised design criteria, which will prove problematic when the new enforcement law comes into practice. 

On the back of their findings, the RAC has appealed to the Government to improve its guidance on yellow box rules. They have called for changes to clarify the specific purpose of box junctions and to issue standard design regulations, maintenance guidance, and enforcement directives. 

Sam Wright, the chartered engineer for Transport for London, said: “The key design principle is that yellow boxes should be no bigger than is necessary to prevent vehicles obstructing through movements. They are not designed for, and serve no purpose in, situations where vehicles are travelling in the same direction.

“The second main condition is that drivers should have adequate visibility beyond the box to be able to make a clear judgement before entering it. It’s not just that drivers need to see the end of the box, they need to see that there is space beyond the box for their vehicle to fit without any part of it overhanging. In the case of a car that will be five to six metres. For larger vehicles, it will be up to 15 metres. 

“I think designers should have to take a car out in a rush hour to see if they can negotiate the box without stopping, before insisting that others do the same.”

Despite the potential pitfalls, the research showed that 57% of drivers are generally in favour of yellow box junction enforcement. However, these changes could result in confusion and poor outcomes for drivers, as well as a high number of appeals. 

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Smart motorways use the hard shoulder as a running lane with variable speed limits. However, 84% of motorists surveyed believe safety is compromised by the permanent removal of the hard shoulder. This figure has risen from 68% in 2019.

The technology-led motorway network was initially designed to increase the efficiency of UK roads and save drivers time. Plus, avoiding the need to build an additional motorway lane was both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

Despite the intended benefits, motorists’ problems with the roads seem to be on the rise. The number of drivers who believe the distance between emergency areas is too far has also increased from 49% to 61% in just two years.

RAC head of roads policy and public affairs lead, Nicholas Lyes, said: “Our research reveals the enormous strength of feeling among drivers of all ages about the safety of all-lane-running smart motorways…it seems the only thing that will truly satisfy most drivers is the reinstatement of the hard shoulder.”

The RAC report also found that motorists do not have faith in the authorities’ abilities to respond to live-lane breakdowns. Only 30% of those surveyed said that they trusted National Highways’ ability to ‘detect a stationary vehicle in a running lane and act accordingly’.

Lyes goes on to discuss how dynamic hard shoulder schemes, which only open the hard shoulder to traffic at busy times of the day, could be a potential solution. He said: “These schemes could be made the new standard as they still offer somewhere to stop away from live traffic in the event of a breakdown during quieter times, while still accommodating more traffic at busy times.”

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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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