The great British summer strikes again! Wet weather in July leads to increase in breakdown-related outages as AA received highest number of calls in five years last month
- The AA said it received a whopping 50,079 pothole warnings last month
Due to the wet weather in July, the number of breakdown-related breakdowns rose to a five-year high.
The AA said it received 50,079 calls last month due to potholes – up from 41,790 in the same month last year.
The country experienced its sixth wettest July on record this year, making potholes harder to see and hampering repair work.
Jack Cousens, head of road policy at the AA, said: ‘The rainfall in July caused more headaches for drivers with tyres, suspensions and steering mechanisms all damaged as the rain and puddles hid the potholes lurking below.
Councils had hoped for a dry summer so they could get as much repair work done as possible before the real fall and winter weather hits.
Due to the wet weather in July, the number of breakdown-related breakdowns rose to a five-year high
“They will now be under more pressure to complete their planned works before the weather really turns against them.
“As 2023 looks set to be one of the worst years ever for pothole damage, we need to invest more in local road maintenance financing.
“In addition to the financial damage to vehicles, we also see more cyclists and motorcyclists on the road at this time of year, where the damage can unfortunately be fatal.”
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end the pothole plague, which is costing motorists millions in repair costs and endangering lives.
The cost of restoring potholed local roads in England and Wales is estimated at £14 billion.
The government increased its Potholes Fund – which provides money to councils across England to tackle the problem – by £200m to £700m for the current financial year.
Shaun Davies, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: ‘Decades of cuts in funding from central government to local road repair budgets have left councils with the largest pothole repair backlog ever.
The AA said it received 50,079 calls last month due to potholes – up from 41,790 in the same month last year
“To support motorists, the government should take this opportunity to work with municipalities to develop a fully funded long-term program to catch up.”
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: ‘It is up to local authorities to maintain their highways.
“To help them do that, we are investing over £5bn from 2020 to 2025, with an additional £200m announced in the budget in March to rebuild roads across the country.
“We’ve also introduced new rules to prevent utilities from leaving potholes after street works.”