Pothole-related breakdowns reach seven-year high, RAC data shows
- Perry Richardson
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Pothole-related breakdowns have surged to their highest second-quarter level in two years, with RAC patrols attending 6,575 incidents between April and June 2025. That’s a 9% rise on the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the RAC Pothole Index.
The increase includes damage to suspension springs, shock absorbers and wheels — all of which are commonly affected by deteriorating road surfaces. Although the first three months of the year typically see the worst pothole damage due to winter conditions, this Q2 figure is the highest since 2023.
Over a 12-month period to the end of June, RAC patrols responded to 24,763 pothole-related call-outs, averaging 68 a day. That’s more than 500 up on the previous 12 months ending March 2025.
Suspension spring failures remain the most frequent issue, with 4,779 incidents recorded in Q2 alone. That marks a 23% increase compared to 3,887 in the same quarter of 2024. The RAC has also seen more drivers choosing to get these repairs done at home through its mobile servicing team, rather than visiting a garage.
The RAC attributes the unusually high springtime figures to a cold start to the year. Freezing conditions in the first quarter, colder than the same period in 2024, accelerated pothole formation as water froze and expanded inside road cracks. Roads lacking surface dressing were particularly vulnerable.
When pothole breakdowns are viewed as a share of total RAC call-outs, the figures reveal a further trend. In Q2 2025, pothole-related issues made up 1.2% of all breakdowns. That’s the highest second-quarter percentage since 2018, up from 1% last year.
Simon Williams, RAC head of policy, said: “Although English councils received a record amount of funding for roads at the start of the new financial year in April, it’s too early to notice the benefit of increased maintenance programmes.
“We can clearly see the cold winter weather at the start of the year has left its mark and caused an ‘unseasonable high’ in breakdown volumes during a quarter when we’d typically expect a reprieve.
“With second-quarter RAC call-outs 9% higher than the same period last year, we hope English councils have been putting their allocated funding pots to good work in the summer surface dressing season which runs from April to September. We hope drivers will soon start to see the results of both the preventative maintenance and resurfacing works they have done.
“We’re urging all highways authorities to think ‘prevention over patching’ when it comes to their maintenance work. After filling the most severe potholes as permanently as possible, preventative treatments like surface dressing are by far the most effective because they stop potholes appearing in future. Now councils have long-term certainty of funding, they can plan surfacing dressing works, along with resurfacing roads that are beyond repair.”
