Driving on the Moon

April 2021

The RAC, a British automotive services company, says many roads ‘resemble the surface of the Moon’, after revealing a 37% year-on-year rise in pothole-related breakdowns.

The motoring organisation said that in the first quarter of 2021 its patrols went to aid 4,694 drivers whose vehicles had most likely broken down after hitting a pothole.

Cars showed the ‘classic symptoms’ – broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers.

In total, 2.4% of all breakdowns attended by RAC patrols between January and March were pothole-related – up from 1.6% during the same period in 2020, and the highest proportion seen since 2017.

RAC Head of Roads Policy and Public Affairs Lead Nicholas Lyes described many roads as being in a “desperate state”, which indicated that some councils are “simply patching up potholes rather than fixing them properly”  In places, he said, road better ‘resembled the surface of the Moon.’

He added: ‘What is undeniably clear is that all road users, whether on two wheels or four, are paying the price for a lack of long-term maintenance for roads they use regularly.’

Share this