One-third of all local roads, B and C roads in England urgently need maintenance and repair – according to the country’s Department for Transport (DfT) annual report.
The report also shows the conditions of roads in England, such as surface conditions, skidding resistance, highway maintenance treatments, and expenditures.
The data came from the annual survey conducted by the Local Authorities and National Highways between April 2020 to March 2022 provided by England’s 109 local authorities.
The DfT report also revealed that 79% of local authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of ‘A’ roads categorized as needing repairs or maintenance between March 2013 and 2022.
Research by RAC, a British automotive services company, shows that most drivers believe local road conditions have worsened in the last 12 months. Their Pothole Index suggests drivers are around 1.5 times more likely to suffer a pothole-related breakdown than in 2006.
The deteriorating road conditions, which have seen no improvements in the last two years, says RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes, could mean drivers in danger.
“Our research shows that the majority of drivers believe local road conditions have worsened in the last 12 months, and our Pothole Index suggests drivers are around 1.5 times more likely to suffer a pothole-related breakdown than they were in 2006”, says Lyes.
Metro reports that councils have paid more than £32 million (USD 36m) in compensation to people injured by potholes in the past five years. Council in England and Wales settled 5,596 personal injury claims from cyclists and other road users, with claimants getting an average of £5,746.
The articles say these figures were from 157 councils that responded to a freedom of information request from a Lime Solicitors firm.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Local roads are at great risk of becoming dangerous and need significant investment to make them safe. Smooth roads also encourage people to cycle more which would help reach our Net Zero targets.
“Our local roads cannot take another round of cuts. The Prime Minister and Chancellor should avoid slashing local road investment later this month” (Evans, 2022).
According to the Lime Solicitors, despite a large settlement, only one in four claims were settled by councils. Peter Jones, the firm’s personal injury legal director, said, “Potholes are a plague on our roads and, as our findings show, thousands of people are injured by them every year,” adding that it is the council’s job to keep highways in a reasonable state of repair because failing to do so will they will be liable for any damage or injury it causes.
Source:
Pothole problems – are road conditions set to get worse? (2022, November 7). RAC. Retrieved from https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/state-of-the-roads/pothole-problems-are-road-conditions-set-to-get-worse/
Mills, J. (2022 November 8). Pothole injury victims paid £32,000,000 in compensation over five years. Metro. Retrieve from https://metro.co.uk/2022/11/08/pothole-injury-victims-paid-32000000-in-compensation-over-five-years-17719640/
Evans, J. (2022, November 4). Third of England’s local roads are in need of repair. Yahoo sport. Retrieved from https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/third-england-local-roads-repair-124810830.html
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