Flooded roads a safety risk, warns The AA
Around a third of drivers say flooded roads pose a significant safety risk with drainage on local streets unable to cope with heavy rainfall.
in the UK say that road drainage is unable to cope with heavy autumnal rainfall and risking road safety.
Main roads are worse for puddles, pools and ‘small lakes’ compared to residential streets, although the build-up of leaves at critical points such as junctions, roundabouts and corners affects the latter more.
The biggest bugbear for drivers is persistent drainage problems that turn up in the same place, in the same weather conditions year after year.
Meanwhile, the pothole plague has made drivers even more wary of any pool or puddle of water that may be hiding a hole in the road.
Latest statistics from the AA Pothole Index show that the AA has been called out to nearly half a million incidents (497,949) this year due to pothole-related damage, with a monthly average close to 50,000.
Regional variations
The survey of 11,020 AA members found that the North West and the east of England (39%) are the worst parts of the UK for annual drainage problems on residential roads, while issues on main roads are worse in the North West and Northern Ireland (36%).
When it comes to unblocking drains and solving minor flooding, drivers in the South West (24%) say their councils are slowest in responding, while those in London say their councils are the quickest (33%).
AA President Edmund King said: “The poor state of some UK roads is seen clearly in the autumn rain when drainage fails to cope. Often it is the same underpasses that flood every year. This creates hazards for all road users and restarts the process of eroding road surfaces.
“The added danger is that these symptoms of the failure in road maintenance are seen as the norm – until a car skids, a cyclist swerves to avoid a deep puddle or pothole, an elderly pedestrian is soaked or flooding spreads to properties. Then it’s anything but normal for those affected.”
