Pothole claims against councils fall, and payouts down

Nearly 29,000 drivers made claims against councils for damage caused to their vehicles by potholes in the last financial year.

The 200 (out of a total of 207) local highways authorities in England, Scotland and Wales which responded fully and in a standard format to FOI requests by the RAC Foundation dealt with 28,971 compensation claims in 2014/15.

This compares with the previous financial year when drivers made 48,945 claims.

Councils refused the bulk of claims, agreeing to pay out in just 25% of cases (down from 26% in 2013/14). However this average masks huge differences between councils. While Bury paid out in 88% of cases and Plymouth 86%, 21 councils paid out nothing at all.

However the average settlement amount for a successful claim was up from £286 to £294.

The total value of successful claims was £2 million. 

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “One reading of these figures could be that local roads are in better condition than they were. But that does not square with councils’ own assessment that the road maintenance backlog is actually growing, not falling.

“It could instead be that many drivers are put off by the time involved in claiming against a council while councils themselves do their best to deter claimants coming forward. But 28,971 claims in one year is still a huge number – three an hour, every day of the year.

“Ahead of the general election an RAC Foundation poll found that the condition of roads and pavements was regarded as the number one transport issue amongst voters, just as it was back in 2010.

“Better roads don’t just benefit car drivers. While potholes are an inconvenience for those on four wheels, they can be a matter of life or death for those on two.

• For the full data, broken down by region, visit the RAC Foundation website