Yahoo Finance Pothole claims cost councils £72 million in compensation and legal fees
Potholes cost local councils at least £72 million over four years in compensation and legal fees.
Freedom of Information requests by pressure group Cycling UK revealed the claims related to an astonishing 43,000 potholes between 2013 and 2017 dotted around the country.
The group says that money could fix 1.4 million potholes that regularly see cyclists and motorcyclists, as well as pedestrians, injured.
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Potholes also cause millions of pounds in repair bills for car drivers.
Cycling UK said the figures show that potholes pose a significant risk of serious injury to cyclists, and that cyclists are more vulnerable to potholes than motorists.
Where a cyclist’s claim for personal injury or damage to property is successful, they are awarded on average 13-times more than motorists (£10,963.15 compared to £841.26), highlighting that potholes are more likely to cause serious harm to cyclists than drivers.
“The government must better fund local authorities so that they can quickly and proactively tackle potholes before they cause damage and injury, while also tackling the backlog of potholes nationwide,” said Keir Gallagher, campaigns officer with the group.
MORE: Pothole damage costs drivers £900m in 12 months
Its research revealed:
156 highways authorities have spent a total of £43 million (£43,322,360.20) on pothole compensation claims between 2013-17
the average spend per authority was £277,707.44 per authority.
Cycling UK estimates that highways authorities across the UK incurred direct costs of around £72 million (£72,444,910.42).
this £72 million figure represents 28% of the government’s £250 million, 5 year ‘Pothole Action Fund’ announced in 2013.
the £43 million in costs were incurred by a total of 31,563 individual claims – and therefore from (a maximum of) 31,563 potholes.
between 2016 and 2017, Devon County Council spent a total of £5.4 million on repairs to potholes, but since 2013 it has spent almost the same amount – £5.2 million on paying compensation and legal costs for pothole-related accidents from just 1,567 individual claims
Cycling UK said the failure to fix these potholes therefore cost authorities an average of £1,372.57 per pothole, whereas fixing these potholes would have cost an average of just £53 each.
The RAC motoring organisation warned earlier this month that the Beast from the East cold snap would leave a lasting legacy on Britain’s roads.
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Spokesman Simon Williams said: “Our roads were already in a poor state of repair before the extreme cold weather hit.
“Siberian weather was the last thing they needed as the freezing conditions wreak havoc with any road surface in bad repair.
“We fear this spring may see the emergence of almost as many potholes as daffodils.”
Typical damage to vehicles includes broken shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.
Separate figures published by the Department for Transport show 22 cyclists have been killed and 368 seriously injured since 2007 where a poor or defective road surface was a factor.
The DfT also revealed about 37,000 kilometres (22,990 miles) across England, Wales and Scotland fell below top standard in surveys carried out its behalf.
An extra £100m is being shared among councils in England to fund repairs to roads damaged by recent storms, transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced.