RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, said that quote: “It’s vital that this money is used by councils not to merely fill potholes, but to carry our preventative maintenance - through surface dressing roads at regular intervals to stop roads falling apart in the first place.”
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00:00New research by the RAC has revealed that council pothole compensation claims have doubled within a year.
00:07The research went on to report that of the huge rise in year-on-year claims,
00:1117 councils paid out just over 3,000 of the claims of the over 20,000 claims which were submitted by drivers.
00:18As a result, it was found that 5 councils refused 9 in 10 pothole claims in 2023.
00:24Furthermore, it was found that 7 in 10 councils refused claims because they didn't know potholes were there.
00:30Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire councils both stated that every single claim they refused
00:35was because they did not know that a particular pothole existed.
00:40Of the claims which were paid out, the RAC estimates this equates to an average of around £260 per claim.
00:47This is reportedly around 43% less than the amount drivers can expect to pay
00:52if their car needs to be fixed for anything more serious than a puncture.
00:56Rachel Reeves has pledged that £500m has been given to the Potholes Fund in order to help repair roads and help drivers.