Pothole plague reaches more than 2 million according to research from Go.Compare
● Derbyshire County Council tops the list of UK counties with the most potholes, with 215,787 reported*
● 2.4 million potholes reported across England and Wales
To mark National Pothole Day (15th January), Go.Compare Car Insurance can reveal the top ten counties in England and Wales whose roads are most peppered with potholes.
Topping the peak pothole list was Derbyshire County Council, which reported 215,787 potholes between January 2020 and December 2022.
Two more northern counties took the 2nd and 3rd place spots, with Durham and Lancashire County Councils featuring respectively, with more than 180,000 potholes reported in the same three-year period.
The comparison site submitted more than 300 Freedom of Information requests to councils across England and Wales to find out which areas had the most pothole reports. This research discovered that 2.4 million potholes were reported across England and Wales between January 2020 and December 2022.
In total, five counties reported more than 100,000 potholes on their roads, with Surrey and Northumberland County Council taking the 4th and 5th spots on the list.
|
|
Councils |
Number of reported potholes (2020 - 2022) |
|
1 |
Derbyshire County Council |
215,787 |
|
2 |
Durham County Council |
189,821 |
|
3 |
Lancashire County Council |
189,461 |
|
4 |
Surrey County Council |
142,564 |
|
5 |
Northumberland County Council |
132,319 |
|
6 |
Oxfordshire County Council |
79,795 |
|
7 |
Kirklees Council |
73,721 |
|
8 |
Somerset County Council |
59,185 |
|
9 |
Staffordshire County Council |
58,689 |
|
10 |
Kent County Council |
58,284 |
Across the UK, motorists' frustration is being fuelled by potholes on the roads, with a recent survey from Go.Compare finding that 48% of motorists name potholes as their biggest motoring worry.**
Tom Banks, car insurance expert at Go.Compare commented: “With winter weather making road conditions difficult, the continued plight of the pothole is evidently frustrating for many drivers. Whether because of the risk of accidents or the costly repairs they can cause, the pesky pothole is a common enemy of UK drivers. While there is little that drivers can do to change the quality of the roads, there are things that they can do to limit the risks to their cars, and wallets.
“Make sure you always take caution when driving, especially on unfamiliar roads. If you are really worried about potholes, then planning your route before your travel and taking care to avoid narrow and rural roads could help you avoid roads which are less maintained.”
For those unfortunate enough to have sustained damage to their vehicles by hitting a pothole, Tom advises: “Make sure you report it, whether you intend to claim or not. As long as it is safe to do so, collect evidence to identify the potholes, take note of its location and get a photo of the pothole. You should also photograph and damage it has caused to your car or van and use this when reporting it to the relevant authority.
“Pothole damage to your car can be costly, so it is important to make sure you have an effective car insurance policy in place. A fully comprehensive policy will mean that should your journey not run as smoothly as intended, your pocket is protected.”
Learn more about claiming for pothole damage, here: https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/guide/potholes/
Contact Information
Rubie Barker
Notes to editors
Notes to editors:
*Data obtained through FOI or readily available on council websites, from date ranges varying 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2022. All further stats are from this source unless stated otherwise.
**On 7th-11th April 2023, a survey of 1543 randomly selected motorists from Great Britain was undertaken by Maru Public Opinion and executed by Maru/Blue. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%. The results have been weighted by age, gender, region and social grade to match the population, according to Census data. This is to ensure the sample is representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
For further information please contact:
Lynsey Walden – lynsey.walden@gocompare.com
Kath Chadwick – Kathryn.chadwick@gocompare.com
Or you can call 02920 020360.
Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @Go.Compare
About Go.Compare
Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
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