Dramatic pothole compensation claim rise despite increase in road repairs

Has written for dozens of magazines and websites, including most of the world’s biggest bike titles, as well as dabbling in car and technology journalism.

Posted:

30.01.2019

62% rise in pothole repairs while compensation claims up 304%

IN 2018 Highways England repaired 22,862 potholes, up from 14,104 in 2017. It also paid compensation following damage report claims of £81,500 in 2017 rising spectacularly to £329,379 last year. But what exactly is a pothole?

It seems like a pretty straightforward question – after all, you know one when you see (or feel) it – but the answer actually changes depending on where you live.

That’s because Britain’s roads are cared for by a network of 207 Local Highways Authorities, each with their own budgets, problems and priorities, and each allowed to come up with its own set of rules that defines when a road defect becomes a pothole that needs fixing. And even once a pothole reaches that critical threshold there’s an equally diverse set of response times and reactions. The overall result is that a pothole that gets fixed within hours on one stretch of road might be left for much longer – or allowed to get worse – if it was just a few yards away, across the boundary into another LHA’s territory.

The vast variation between different areas is highlighted by a set of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests sent out by the RAC Foundation late last year. Of the 207 Authorities, 190 provided enough data for the RAC Foundation to pull together a comprehensive comparison of the varying thresholds and response times around the country.

The results show that, encouragingly, most (75%) of the LHAs now adopt a ‘risk-based approach’ to fixing potholes. That means rather than ticking specific boxes about pothole dimensions before triggering a repair, LHAs assess the potential dangers, both to people and vehicles, and base their decisions to fix holes on those risks. However, most still have dimensional thresholds that the potholes must exceed before they even enter the risk-assessment phase, and there’s a wide disparity of those thresholds across the nation.

The RAC’s FoI revealed that in some parts of the country (12 LHAs) there’s no specific threshold, and any reported road damage will automatically be risk-assessed. In another 37 LHA, small potholes between 20mm to 30mm deep would get assessed, while at the other end of the scale there were 26 LHAs that won’t even initiated a risk-assessment, let alone a repair, until the hole is more than 50mm in depth. For car drivers, that could be the difference between an uncomfortable thump and a puncture or dented wheel rim. For motorcyclists the stakes are rather higher.

Even the chance of a pothole being recorded in the first place varies from place to place. Although there is a Code of Practise for LHAs that recommends checking primary and secondary roads once a month, link roads once every three months and local roads once a year, only 28% of LHAs actually follow that guidance. In all, the RAC Foundation discovered there are 109 different inspection frequencies used between the 190 authorities that responded to its investigation. As well as these inspections, authorities will also check on potholes reported by the public; so if you see or hit a pothole that looks like it poses a danger, it’s worth reporting it as it could be weeks or months before the next scheduled check on any particular piece of road.

Even once a pothole has reached the threshold of size required for a risk-assessment, there’s a wide variation in response times depending on the LHA area that it falls within and the results of that assessment. But even then, there’s still a broad spread of responses.

In some areas, potholes assessed to be in the worst category will be fixed ‘immediately’, with 8% aiming to be on the case within an hour for the most dangerous holes and 42% aiming at a two-hour limit. But here the postcode lottery for potholes is clear once again – in Harrow, for instance, the worst holes will be fixed within 30 minutes, while in Coventry the target time for fixing holes of the same class is five days.

Reactions to less severe potholes are similarly diverse, with 18% of LHAs aiming to fix the least-urgent ones within 28 days, while 25% will leave it until the next ‘programmed works’ on that stretch of road and 13% will simply monitor the hole, leaving repairs until it gets bad enough to slide into a riskier category.

If you want to know how your local authority does, check out the full list of responses to the RAC Foundation’s Freedom of Information request below.

Away from LHA roads, potholes are also an increasing problem on motorways and strategic roads operated nationwide by Highways England. A Freedom of Information inquiry in December revealed that Highways England repaired 22,862 potholes in 2018, up from 14,104 in 2017. It also showed that the amount of compensation paid following damage report claims rose spectacularly, from £81,500 in 2017 to £329,379.

Local Highway Authority	Response times for defects, most serious first	Depth of pothole needed to get assessed
Aberdeen City	2 hours , 7 days , 28 days , 3 months	35mm
Aberdeenshire	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , Programmed works	Risk based
Angus	24 hours , 5 days , 28 days , Recorded - may be included in next available programme	40mm, 75mm wide
Argyll & Bute	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , monitor	40mm
Barking and Dagenham	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 27 days , Planned works	Risk based
Barnet	2 hours , 48 hours , 7 days , 28 days	50mm
Barnsley	24 hours , 1 month	50m, 150mm wide
Bath and North East Somerset	No data	No data
Bedford	2 hours , 24 hours , Within 8 weeks	25mm, 150mm wide
Bexley	1 hour , 90 days	40mm, 200mm wide
Birmingham	1 hour , Next day , 7 days , 28 days , 3-6 months , 6-1 year , Monitor	Risk based
Blackburn with Darwen	4 hours , 2 days , 10 days , 15 days , 20 days (25 days)	40mm, 150mm wide
Blackpool	24 hours , 5 days , 5 weeks , Consider for planned works	40mm but with discretion of inspector
Blaenau Gwent	No data	No data
Bolton	2 hours , 24 hours , 14 days , 28 days , Consider for future planned works , Review at next inspection	40mm
Bournemouth	36 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Not defined	40mm
Bracknell Forest	1 hour , 24 hours , 28 days	50mm and <0.25sqm
Bradford	24 hours , 5 days , Next available work programme	40mm
Brent	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Monitor/planned works	30mm, 100sqcm2
Bridgend	24 hours , 28 days	40mm
Brighton and Hove	24 hours , 28 days , Recorded	40mm
Bristol	2 hours , 10 days	40mm
Bromley	2 hours , 10 days , 35 days	30mm
Buckinghamshire	2 hours , 2 days , 5 days , 28 days , planned works	40mm, 300mm wide
Bury	2 hours , 7 days , 28 days , 60 days , Next available programme	40mm
Caerphilly	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days (all others)	40mm
Calderdale	2 hours , 1 day , 5 days , Agreed timescale	40mm
Cambridgeshire	2 hours , 5 days , 21 days , 12 weeks	20mm, 75mm wide
Camden	No data	30mm
Cardiff	2 hours , Next working day , 28 days , Programmed works	30mm, 0.09sqm
Carmarthenshire	2 hours , 24 hours , Programmed works	40mm
Central Bedfordshire	2 hours , 5 days , Programmed works, unless within 10m of a Cat 1 defect (then treat as a Cat 1)	50mm, 150mm wide (two directions)
Ceredigion	Within 24 hours , 5 days , 20 days , Assessment and inclusion in short/medium term programmes	20mm
Cheshire East	1.5 hours , Next working day , 5 days	50mm
Cheshire West and Chester	1.5 hours , 24 hours , 5 days	50mm
City of London	3 hours , 7 days , 7 week if road/lane closure is needed	20mm
Clackmannanshire	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Monitor/next available programme	40mm, 100mm x 100mm
Conwy	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , consider for planned maintenance	30mm, 150mm wide
Cornwall	48 hours , 48 hours , 72 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Next available programme	40mm
County Durham	24 hours , 14 days , 3 months , 1 year	40mm, 300mm wide
Coventry	5 days , 40 days	40mm
Croydon	No data	No data
Cumbria	Immediate , 1 day , 5 days , 1,3,6 or 1 year , Next programmed works , Monitor	40mm
Darlington	No data	40mm
Denbighshire	2 hours , 10 days , 4 months	50mm, 300mm wide
Derby	1 hour , 36 hours , 13 days , 28 days , Recorded/next available works , Monitor	40mm
Derbyshire	Next day , Risk based , Planned works	40mm
Devon	2 hours , Next working day , 7 days , 28 days , Monitor	40mm, 300mm wide
Doncaster	2 hours , 5 days , 25 days , Planned works programme	40mm, 250mm wide
Dorset	2 hours , 32 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Planned works	20mm, 300m wide
Dudley	24 hours , 7 days	20mm
Dumfries & Galloway	No data	No data
Dundee City	4 hours , 5 days , 30 days , Monitor/next available programme	40mm
Ealing	1 hour , 7 days , 30 days	25mm
East Ayrshire	2 hours , 5 days , 10 days , 28 days	40mm, 75mm wide
East Dunbartonshire	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , monitor/next available programme	Risk based
East Lothian	24 hours , 5 days , 3 months , monitor/next available programme	40mm. 150mm wide
East Renfrewshire	2 hours , 8 days	40mm
East Riding of Yorkshire	No data	No data
East Sussex	2 hours , 5 days , 28 days	40mm, 200mm wide
Edinburgh	24 hours , 4 days , 28 days , Monitor/1 year	<40mm
Enfield	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	40mm
Essex	2 hours , County route: 2 days & Local 5: days , Considered for planned works , Monitor/non-planned timescale	50mm, 75mm wide
Falkirk	24 hours , 5 days , 4 weeks , Next available programme	30mm
Fife	24 hours , 5 days , Next available programme	40mm
Flintshire	Immediate , >40mm within 3 working days , <40mm review at next inspection	40mm
Gateshead	24 hours , 10 days , 40 days	40mm
Glasgow City	No data	No data
Gloucestershire	2 hours , 1 working day , 28 days , 3 months	40mm
Greenwich	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days , Other	40mm
Gwynedd	24 hours , 3 months	40mm
Hackney	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , 56 days	20mm
Halton	2 hours , 24 hours , 5 days , 12 days , 28 days	40mm
Hammersmith and Fulham	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days , Next available programme	40mm, 40mm wide
Hampshire	2 hours , 24 hours , 2 months	40mm, 300mm wide
Haringey	2 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Planned works	25mm, 100sqcm
Harrow	30mins , 1 hour , 2 hours , 5 days , 15 days	40mm
Hartlepool	1 hour , 24 hours , 28 days	40mm
Havering	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	40mm, 300mm wide
Herefordshire	A and B roads and prestige footways: end of the following day , 7 days , 28 days , 2 months , Consider forward planning	Risk based
Hertfordshire	24 hours, 5-20 days permanent repair, Assess and decide strategy	50mm
Highland	Within 24 hours , 7 days , 21 days , 42 days , Planned work as resource permits	No specified interventions levels
Hillingdon	No data	No data
Hounslow	24 hours , 28 days , 46 days , Next available works	40mm
Inverclyde	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , No action - recorded but might be included in next planned maintenance	<40mm
Isle of Anglesey	1hr , 24 hours , 28 days	20mm
Isle of Wight	24 hours, 28 days, Planned maintenance, Noted: no works	Risk based
Isles of Scilly	48 hours	No data
Islington	4 hours, 3 days, planned works	40mm
Kensington and Chelsea	2 hours, 24 hours, 28 days	40mm
Kent	2 hours, Next working day, 7 days, 28 days, Programmed works	50mm
Kingston upon Hull	24 hours, 5 days, Planned works programme	40mm, 40mm wide
Kingston upon Thames	2 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days, Recorded for future work programme	50mm
Kirklees	24 hours, 7 days, 28 days , Planned works	Risk based
Knowsley	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 day , Monitor/next available works	40mm, 300mm wide
Lambeth	2-24 hours , 28 days	40mm, 300mm wide
Lancashire	4 hours, 2 days, 5 days, 10 days, 20 days	40mm, 150mm wide
Leeds	Made safe or repaired by end of next day , Made safe or repaired within 28 working days , Repair by service owner	40mm
Leicester	Same day , 2 days , 5 days , 20 days	40mm
Leicestershire	72 hours , 90 days, 90 days , 1 year	Up to 40mm
Lewisham	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	50mm
Lincolnshire	24 hours , 7 days, 28 days or 90 days	40mm
Liverpool	2 hours , 25 days	25mm
Luton	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	50mm
Manchester	2 hours , 24 hours , 5 days , 20 days	30mm
Medway	No data	No data
Merthyr Tydfil	24 hours , 20 days , 30 days , No set time	40mm
Merton	No data	No data
Middlesbrough	2 hours , 24 hours , 5 days , 28 days , Next available programme	40mm, 300mm wide
Midlothian	24 hours , 28 days	40mm, 200mm wide
Milton Keynes	24 hours , 28 days , Planed maintenance	50mm
Monmouthshire	24 hours , 10 days , 4 weeks , No set target response time	40mm
Moray	2 hours , 3 days , 28 days , 6 months	20mm, 150mm wide
Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles)	24 hours , 7 days , 1 month , 3 months/next programme	40mm
Neath Port Talbot	2 hours , 24 hours , 35 days	40mm
Newcastle upon Tyne	No data	No data
Newham	2 hours , 24 hours , 10 days , 28 days , Monitor/next available programme	25mm
Newport	24 hours , 5 days , 21 days , Planned works	40mm
Norfolk	2 hours , 4 days , 35 days , monitor/next available programme	20mm
North Ayrshire	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , No action - recorded but might be included in next planned maintenance	<40mm
North East Lincolnshire	24 hours , 3 weeks , 6 weeks , 3 months , Review at next inspection	40mm, 300mm wide
North Lanarkshire	1.5 hours , 2 hours , 5 working days , 20 working days , 55 working days	40mm
North Lincolnshire	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Programmed works	40mm
North Somerset	24 hours , 28 days	40mm, 300mm wide
North Tyneside	4 hours , 14 days , Planned works	40mm, 300mm wide
North Yorkshire	2 hours , 24 hours , 1 week , 1 month , 3 months	40mm, 150mm wide in all directions
Northamptonshire	2 hours , 5 days , 28 days	40mm
Northumberland	24 hours , 12 days , 28 days , Monitor/next available programme	40mm, 300mm wide
Nottingham	within 24 hours , 28 days , 3 months	50mm. 300mm wide
Nottinghamshire	No data	No data
Oldham	2 hours , 24 hours , 14 days , 28 days , Review at next inspection	40mm
Orkney Islands	Made safe 2 hours, 24 hours for repair , made safe 24 hours, 5 days for repairs , 28 days	50mm, 150mm wide
Oxfordshire	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days , Monitor/planned works	40mm, 150mm wide
Pembrokeshire	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , 3 months	20mm
Perth and Kinross	4 hours , 7 days , 30 days , No action - recorded but might be included in next planned maintenance	<40mm
Peterborough	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Monitor and/or programmed works	20mm
Plymouth	2 hours , 5 days	40mm, 300mm wide
Poole	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , next available programme	40mm, 150mm wide
Portsmouth	24 hours , 28 days	20mm
Powys	24 hours , 2 months , 1 year , 24 months	Risk based
Reading	3 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	50mm, 300mm x 300mm area
Redbridge	2 hours , Next working day , 3 days , 28 days , Next available works programme	40mm
Redcar and Cleveland	No data	No data
Renfrewshire	2 hours , 1 day , 5 days , 6 months , Future works	45mm
Rhondda	2 hours , 28 days	30mm
Richmond upon Thames	2 hours/same day , Next day , 7 days , 7 days , 28 days	25mm
Rochdale	1 hour , 24 hours , 20 days	35mm
Rotherham	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 3 months	40mm, 250mm wide
Rutland	2 hours (make safe) , Within 7 days , Within 7 days	40mm
Salford	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days	40mm
Sandwell	2 hours , 5 days	40mm
Scottish Borders	24 hours , 7 days , 4 weeks , Planned works	40mm
Sefton	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days	40mm
Sheffield	1 hour , 24 hours	40mm
Shetland Islands	24 hours , 5 days , 30 days , Monitor and review	50mm
Shropshire	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Programmed works	20mm
Slough	1 hour , 2 hours , 28 days	50mm
Solihull	2 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Future works programme	Risk based
Somerset	1.5 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	40mm, 150mm wide
South Ayrshire	No data	No data
South Gloucestershire	24 hours , 14 days , 12 weeks , Next available programme	30mm, 300m wide all round
South Lanarkshire	immediate/4 hours , 7 days	25mm
South Tyneside	2 hours , 24 hours , 10 days	40mm
Southampton	24 hours , 6 months	40mm
Southend-on-Sea	2 hours , 24 hours	40mm
Southwark	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days	40mm, 100mm x 100mm
St. Helens	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 day , 21 day , 56 day/programmed works	40mm
Staffordshire	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Next available programme	40mm
Stirling	12 hours , 20 days	20mm
Stockport	Emergency: 2 hours , Urgent: 72 hours , Town centre and pedestrianised areas: 12 day , main route: 28 days , Estate/minor: 56 days	40mm, 300mm wide
Stockton-on-Tees	2 hours , 24 hours , 10 days , 28 days , next available programme	Risk based
Stoke-on-Trent	1 hours , Next working day , 10 days	20mm
Suffolk	2 hours , 2 days , 5 days , 10 days , 20 days , 14 weeks	25mm, 400mm wide
Sunderland	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 6 months/planned works	40mm
Surrey	2 hours , 5 days , 20 days or next work programme	40mm
Sutton	2 hours , 24 hours , 8 days , 25 days	40mm
Swansea	24 hours , 20 days , 20 days , None	50mm, 250mm wide
Swindon	1 hour , 24 hours , 6 weeks	31mm
Tameside	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days or 28 days	30mm
Telford and Wrekin	No data	No data
TfL	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , No response required	20mm, 100sqcm
The Vale of Glamorgan	Next working day , Monitor/works programme	40mm
Thurrock	2 hours , 5 days (potholes: 72 hours) , Monitor/90 days , Next planned works	50mm, 75mm wide
Torbay	No data	No data
Torfaen	24 hours , 28 days	40mm
Tower Hamlets	2 hours , 24 hours , 5 days , 28 days	40mm
Trafford	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 day , 28 days , No immediate action	40mm, 300mm wide
Wakefield	24 hours , 7 day , 28 days , Monitor	50mm
Walsall	1 hour , 24 hour , 5 days , 6 months - programmed works	50mm
Waltham Forest	1.5 hours , 24 hours , 6 weeks , monitor/planned works	40mm
Wandsworth	No data	No data
Warrington	PO & P1: 2 hours , P2: 24 hours , P3: 5 days , P4: 14 days , P5: 28 days , P6: next available programme	40mm
Warwickshire	1 hour , 24 hours , 28 days	50mm
West Berkshire	2 hours , 24 hours , 28 days , Review/programmed works	50mm, 300mm wide
West Dunbartonshire	No data	No data
West Lothian	24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Next available programme	40mm, 300mm wide
West Sussex	2 hours , 5 days , 28 days	40mm
Westminster	2 hours , 24 hours , 7/10 days , 28 days	20mm
Wigan	2 hours , 24 hours , 5 day , 10 day	40mm
Wiltshire	24 hours , Temp 23 hours, Perm 28 days , 7 days , 1 month , 3 months , Referred to Local Roads Manager , Do not meet intervention level but may do in the future	40mm, 250mm wide
Windsor and Maidenhead	3 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 14 days , 28 days	40mm, 150mm wide
Wirral	1 hour to 24 days	40mm, 300mm wide
Wokingham	2 hours , 24 hours , 7 days , 14 days , 28 days , Works to be programmed	Risk based
Wolverhampton	2 hours , 24 hours/next working day , 30 days , 90 days , 180 days	25mm
Worcestershire	1 hour , 24 hours , 7 days , 28 days , Monitor	25mm
Wrexham	2-24 hours , 90 days or prior to next inspection , Planned works	50mm
York	34 hours , 3 days , 20 days	40mm

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Dramatic pothole compensation claim rise despite increase in road repairs

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