Government 'failing on road maintenance'

New research from the road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists( IAM) found 67% of motorists think Whitehall is doing a bad or a very bad job of maintaining the nation's roads.

A third of drivers (34%) think that their local council is cutting spending on road maintenance.

60% of drivers don’t know if budgets are being cut, suggesting councils are performing poorly on informing and engaging with local residents.

52% think that local councils are doing a bad or very bad job of looking after local roads.

IAMchief executive Simon Best said: "Despite the government’s pothole review, there is a high level of dissatisfaction with the efforts of authorities to keep our roads safe and smooth drive or ride on.

"The government need to convince motorists that they have a real cure for the pothole pandemic. This can only be achieved through clear communication on new policies, more sharing of resources, sustained long-term funding and a continued commitment to eradicating the maintenance backlog of crumbling British roads."

Response to this article from the Department for Transport :

“We are determined to help councils tackle potholes which is why we have increased funding by more than 27 per cent in this parliamentary term compared with the last one. All in all, we are providing councils in England with more than £10 billion from 2010 to 2021 for local highway maintenance, with clear guidance on ensuring it is used efficiently.

“This includes an additional £183.5million on top of our annual funding specifically to help areas damaged by bad weather this winter.

“This long-term funding will help councils maintain their roads effectively, and it is now important for local government to understand how any suggested backlog has increased and what measures councils can take to address it.”