New “game-changer” solution to UK pothole crisis suggested

The UK’s Pothole Partnership group has come up with what has been described as a “game-changer” solution to the problem of potholes on the country’s roads.

A campaign against potholes is one that comes across as incredibly petty, on the surface. Like, do we really need national organisations to be putting significant effort into telling authorities that holes in the road are bad?

Evidently, we do, the evidence being the state of the roads in the UK, which are littered with holes and cracks which often seem to take an incredible amount of time to be fixed – only for them to reappear a few weeks or months later because the relevant authority cheaped out on the original repair.

Potholes are annoying to everyone, even the people who feel the necessity to have an off-road truck or a colossal SUV as their in-town runabout. For bikers, though, they present a more substantial risk, because rather than causing just costly damage to the vehicle they can also cause a crash for someone on two wheels, and crashes cause injuries to riders and potentially much worse.

An announcement from the Pothole Partnership on 15 January, which is also National Pothole Day in the UK (possibly the most undesirably named ‘national day’ of them all, but we get the point), has revealed a “game-changer” solution to the pothole problem, though, according to the UK’s National Motorcyclists Council.

The solution, it says, is to issue five-year warranties on non-emergency pothole repairs. This would ensure “pothole fixes stay fixed and are not just patched and re-patched,” the NMC says.

“While the NMC very much welcomes progress made by the Government on this issue since the Pothole Partnership engaged constructively with the DfT, feedback to the NMC’s members from motorcycle riders reveals there remains a real need to move pothole repair standards to the next level and require that repairs are guaranteed for five years,” said NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch.

“We are still seeing too much ‘patch and dash’ repair work going on, which, when these fail is not only extremely hazardous for motorcyclists and cyclists, but leave a legacy of additional gravel and debris from the failed repair on the highway – a further hazard for riders. 

“We urge Ministers to adopt the Partnership proposals, so we can finally see robust long-term repairs become the norm rather than the exception, so finally getting on top of the UK’s pothole problem.”

The AA says it attended over 600,000 pothole-related incidents in 2025 and that the average repair cost was around £350.

“Potholes are more than an irritation – they cause damage, disruption and danger on a daily basis,” said AA President Edmund King.

“Despite billions spent by successive governments, our patrols still attended more than 600,000 pothole related breakdowns last year. That is simply unacceptable for a modern road network.

“A five year warranty on every non emergency pothole repair would be a game changer. It shifts the focus from short term patches to long lasting repairs and ensures accountability from those carrying out the work. 

“Drivers, cyclists and motorcyclists deserve roads that stay fixed – not ones that crumble again within weeks. The damage costs drivers hundreds of thousands of pounds and can cost those on two wheels their lives.”

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