As Labour delivers the biggest-ever investment to end Britain's
pothole plague, the damage done to England's roads by the Tories
has been revealed.
New analysis shows that around 2,500 miles of road – the
equivalent of the entire Route 66 from the Midwest of
America to the Pacific Coast – fell out of the top category
for road condition in the Tories' last two years.
Between 2022 and 2024, the percentage of A roads with a ‘green'
road condition fell from 72% to 68% and the percentage of B and C
roads in top condition fell from 66% to 63%.
That means around 1,000 miles of A roads and around 1,500 miles
of the B and C road fell out of the top-rated category.
Tory neglect also meant the number of pothole incidents soared –
reaching a record high of 648,000 in 2023 and resulting in more
than 3.5 million pothole-related incidents since 2018.
Since that time, drivers have been forced to spend almost £10
billion on vehicle repairs caused by pothole damage.
Notes:
- Between April 2022 and March 2024:
-
- The percentage of local ‘A' roads categorised as green
(no further investigation or work needed) fell from 72% to
68%.
- The percentage of local ‘B' and ‘C' roads categorised as
green fell from 66% to 63%.
- That's the equivalent of around 1,000 miles of local ‘A'
roads and around 1,500 miles of the ‘B' and ‘C' road network.
DfT, ‘Road conditions in England to March 2024', 17 December
2024,
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-conditions-in-england-to-march-2024/road-conditions-in-england-to-march-2024
- Pothole incidents reached a record high of 647,000 under the
Tories, with a total of over 3.5 million pothole-related
incidents attended by the AA since 2018.
|
Year
|
Total Incidents
|
|
2018
|
665,702
|
|
2019
|
611,895
|
|
2020
|
489,455
|
|
2021
|
520,557
|
|
2022
|
558,052
|
|
2023
|
647,690
|
|
2024
|
643,318
|
|
Total 2018-2024
|
3,524,774
|
AA, ‘Pothole Partnership Reveals Improving Picture on
National Pothole Day', 15 January 2025,
https://www.theaa.com/about-us/newsroom/national-pothole-day-2025
- According to the Kwik Fit Pothole Impact Tracker, drivers
spent almost £10 billion on vehicle repairs caused by pothole
damage between 2018-2024.
Kwik Fit, 'Potholes Cost Nation's Drivers
£1.5bn in Repairs', 24 April 2024,
https://www.kwik-fit.com/press/potholes-cost-nations-drivers-over-a-billion-pounds-in-repairs
