Pothole claims soar – but for bikers the cost can be life-changing

New RAC figures reveal tens of thousands of pothole compensation claims, but for motorcyclists the danger goes far beyond repair bills, as a rider paralysed by a road defect explains.

Pothole compensation claims may be soaring across the UK, but behind the statistics are riders, like Richard Cheshire, who was left paralysed after hitting a pothole and crashing. 

New data, unearthed by the RAC via a Freedom of Information Request (FOI), shows claims submitted to local authorities have risen by 91 per cent since 2021. Yet for motorcyclists, the true cost of potholes often never appears on a balance sheet.

One rider who knows that better than most is Richard Cheshire, who, fifteen years ago, hit a pothole on his motorbike. The resulting crash left him paralysed from the chest down. He was 19 at the time of the crash.

“It has been 15 years, and the roads are a massive embarrassment,” he said to the BBC. “Nothing has changed.”

Richard was riding to work as a lifeguard in October 2010 when he struck a pothole on Netherfield Lane in Meden Vale, Mansfield. Thrown from the bike, he hit a fence and sustained catastrophic spinal injuries. He spent six months in hospital and now uses a wheelchair full-time. READ MORE...

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Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) calls for national debate the state of Britain's roads

Every year, seventy-four motorcycle KSI reports (Killed or Seriously Injured) list poor road surface as a contributory factor.  Members of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) last year voted repair of potholes as their second-highest priority.  MAG is using National Pothole Day to once again call on national and local Government to come together to find innovative solutions to this problem.  For motorcyclists, solutions can literally mean the difference between life or death.

The issue of potholes on the UK road network is nothing new.  National Pothole Day was created in 2015 to raise awareness of the ever-growing pothole problem on our roads.

Established by StreetRepairs.co.uk, MAG supports the awareness campaign to rid Britain’s roads of the pothole blight. MAG regularly encourages members to report potholes and other surface issues and promotes innovative products and repair methods to the relevant authorities.  MAG also offers to advise local authorities on prioritising the potholes that cause greatest risk to riders.

Potholes on bends, in braking zones and at junctions can cause far more than inconvenience to riders.

www.mag-uk.org

RAC Pothole Index – statistics and data for UK roads

There are an estimated two million potholes in the UK and your chances of suffering a vehicle breakdown due to road defects is almost 30% higher than 2019.

From motorways to country lanes, these road defects are one of the leading causes of breakdowns and why so many car owners have to take their vehicle to the local garage to be fixed. Currently, the Government has a pot of £5 billion to tackle the problem up until 2025. But what is the current state of our roads? Find out with the RAC Pothole Index. 

It is estimated that there could be up to two million potholes across the roads of the United Kingdom.

In 2023, information obtained data through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed the total number of potholes in England. Out of the 185 country and district councils, 81 provided a response.

From those that provided the data, there were a reported 556,658 potholes in England.

Using this information, it can be estimated that there is an absolute total of 1.2-1.5 million potholes across the whole country.

When adding up the number of Unitary Authorities in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, it can be further estimated that there could be between 400,000 and 500,000 more potholes across the entirety of the UK.

www.rac.co.uk

Thinks the roads are bad while driving a car? Try potholes on a motorbike!

Bikes are “putting their lives at risk” when they drive on Kent’s roads due to the amount of potholes.

That’s according to member of the Kent Advanced Motorcyclists Group, Nicholas Farley, who wrote to the Scrutiny Committee at Kent County Council after discovering that one in seven Kent IAM members had suffered injury and/or motorcycle damage due to hitting a pothole while riding.

His letter, which was read out by Liberal Democrat Councillor Trudy Dean at a meeting on Friday, stated that judgement about road condition was made with cars and larger vehicles in mind, but “what is simply uncomfortable for a car driver, and even unnoticeable to a lorry driver, can cause a motorcyclist to have an accident”. He wrote of how “frightening” and “dangerous” these potholes were to motorcyclists.

Farley also compared the state of Europe’s roads, which he claims are much better kept and “much easier to ride…” because “one is able, in general, to rely on there not being a deep pothole hiding round a corner”.

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Survey shows that government must move further and faster on potholes and road repairs

 

The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) is today renewing calls on the Government to move much further and faster on its commitment to improve roads maintenance. The call comes as the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) publishes its latest annual report. The 2025 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey Report reveals that the backlog of carriageway repairs in England and Wales has reached new heights at almost £17 billion, while roads are only surfaced, on average, once every 93 years. More than half (52%) – equivalent to around 106,000 miles– of the local road network is reported to have less than 15 years’ structural life remaining. Almost a third of these – 34,600 miles or one in six of the total – may only have up to five years life left.

Almost all local authorities told the AIA that in their opinion, there has been no improvement to their network over the last year, with 65% stating that conditions have declined. Over £20 billion has been spent on carriageway maintenance in England and Wales over the last decade but, due to the short-term allocation of this funding, there have been no significant improvements in structural road conditions.

Poor roads maintenance and potholes are a clear and present road safety risk to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users. The Pothole Partnership comprising The AA, British Cycling, JCB, the National Motorcyclists Council, with other supporting organisations, previously welcomed the Government’s commitment to £1.6bn funding for local road maintenance in England, but the ALARM report confirms that this is only a small part of the investment needed if we are to see real change and safer roads for motorcyclists and other roads users.

www.uknmc.org

The Department for Transport publishes an article on potholes, guess what happened the day before!

From: DoT. Published: 31 March 2023 - People up and down the country will benefit from smoother journeys, reduced congestion, and faster broadband rollout as the government clamps down on utility companies for leaving potholes behind after carrying out street works.

From 1 April 2023, new regulations will come into force for a performance-based inspection regime to ensure utility companies resurface roads to the best possible standard after street works, potentially preventing thousands of potholes from developing in the future.

The move comes as the government is investing over £5.5 billion by 2025 in highways maintenance and could help motorists save money on expensive repairs by protecting their vehicles from damage to tyres or suspension. It will also ensure cyclists and motorbike riders can drive more safely and with greater peace of mind.

The day before this article was published(!) I was up in Surrey visiting clients - driving Kim's Mini. As I was leaving my 1st client, we chatted about how bad the road surfaces were in the area (Ockham). Within 10 minutes I'd hit a massive pothole which caused a ~2.5" rip in the tyre! Fortunately the tyres on the car are of the "Run Flat" variety, so I managed to carefully drive back to Denmead Tyres @ 50MPH & have the tyre replaced @ £132. A claim has been logged with Surrey CC for this, now we wait...

UPDATE: Surrey CC told me to get stuffed (not in so many words): "...cannot make an of offer compensation in this matter..." . Fab. Their job is to keep the roads safe - they fail. We have to pay for the damage caused.

www.gov.uk

Can plastic roads help save the planet?

At MacRebur, we have found one simple, clever invention with which we intend to solve three world challenges:

• Use up millions of tons of waste plastic that sit in our landfill sites
• Reduce the millions spent on new roads, maintenance, and pothole repair
• Make our roads stronger and longer lasting

MacRebur’s carefully selected plastics, taken from old rubbish, are added into roads to improve strength and durability, whilst reducing the quantity of the oil based bitumen used in a traditional road mix.

Imagine that; your old rubbish can now make our roads stronger and longer lasting…

www.macrebur.com

www.bbc.co.uk