UK’s Pothole Pandemic

I live in a small village in the Kent countryside and one of our methods of staying in touch with the community is our local Facebook group. There are several reoccurring topics in this Facebook group including parking issues around the local school, visitors who think it’s a good idea to try driving through the river at the local ford and 99% of the time end up broken down and of course, the state of our roads.

Living out in the countryside with limited public transport means that most people in my local area really rely on their cars to get around. When the roads are damaged in any way it can mean that locals can’t get to the shops, to school to pick up children or just to get out and be social which is really important for the older members of the community.

Out of all the damage that happens to our roads, potholes have to be the most frustrating due to the amount of damage they can cause and the amount of time it takes for the local council to do anything about them.

Potholes are holes in a road surface, usually asphalt, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the surface. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. They tend to form during the winter months when water is trapped and freezes, breaking up the asphalt.

I spotted this study from LeaseCar UK who recently conducted an investigation into which UK council has paid out the most compensation for pothole claims. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Kent is the 4th highest area of pothole compensation claims in 2018-2019 with 2,048, following Surrey County Council (3,533) claims, followed by Hampshire (2,665) and Hertfordshire (2,190).

On their website, Kent County Council says they are continuing to fix potholes as part of their £7.5 million Pothole Blitz. Since the beginning of the year, they’ve fixed over 26,000 potholes in response to over 14,000 received fault reports.

The Council is regularly checking Kent’s roads and pavements for potholes and other defects. When they find a problem, they log it for repair. Busy routes are inspected frequently but quieter routes are inspected less often. The council prioritise pothole repairs according to how unsafe they’re making the road. Not all potholes are a priority, but they do aim to fix all that are identified.

I am lucky that I have never had any major damage from a pothole, but I have heard stories from locals who, unfortunately, have. The main problems cars are likely to suffer (assuming you avoid a catastrophic loss of control) is damage to wheels and tyres, which could affect your suspension and your steering alignment, leading to your vehicle pulling to one side. Repairs for pothole damage can come in the £300 – £500 range and usually require an insurance claim.

LeaseCar UK want to hear your pothole stories – whether it’s damage that has been caused to your vehicle or a nuisance pothole that has been in your local area for a long period of time. Share your stories on social using #PotholePandemic.