The RAC and Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) have jointly called on councils to be more proactive on prevention measures for potholes.
The RSTA says many highway authorities are ignoring preventative treatments that typically could be applied from year five after a new road surface is laid to keep roads in good condition for longer.
Instead, many are leaving them untreated and allowing potholes to form, before eventually having to replace the top layer of asphalt, often after 10 to 15 years, at a far greater cost.
Following RTSA and RAC’s assertion that roads with congestion cost the UK economy more than £30bn every year, ringfence funding has been proposed as a method to improve local roads.
UK government road condition data analysed by the RAC shows half of local highway authorities in England did not use any form of preventative maintenance on their A roads in the 2023/24 financial year.
For B, C and unclassified roads, 36% of authorities failed to carry out any of this work.
The same data showed a huge decline in the percentage of the overall road network receiving preventative treatments.
This is further supported by road maintenance industry figures which show just 34 million square metres of surface dressing was applied in 2023, compared to 64 million square metres in 2012.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The ‘reactive only’ maintenance approach which so many local authorities rely on is particularly expensive, as it means only a small proportion of the road network is actually being treated.
“This has very clearly contributed to the situation we are in today with large volumes of potholes and roads in poor condition.”
Achievements and innovations in road safety will be recognised and celebrated at the fourth annual CiTTi Awards on 25 November 2025 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector!
