Pothole definitions differ across England
Allianz UK has discovered that pothole definitions differ from council to council across England.
It found that while some councils consider a 20mm defect to be a pothole, others require it to be at least 50mm. The required width also varies, with some councils setting it at 150mm and others at 300m.
The findings coincide with National Pothole Day on Thursday 15 January.
As such, only nine per cent of drivers know what qualifies as a pothole in their area but 92% say they are impacted by poor road surfaces every day. The cost of pothole claims has doubled in the past five years, with 79% of respondents reporting they’ve had their car damaged by a pothole in the last five years.
Pothole-related incidents typically spike at this time of year due to poor weather, with data across the last five years revealing an increase of 79% in December and January.
National standardisation
Matt Cox, chief claims officer at Allianz UK, said: “We welcome the government’s recent initiative to publish clear pothole and maintenance data, to help follow best practice, as well as the biggest ever investment in local roads and the ongoing work local authorities are doing to help fix potholes.
“However, it’s confusing that pothole definitions differ across England, rather than there being a national standardisation of what constitutes a pothole, which could help to make it clearer and easier for road users when reporting them to be fixed.
“Of course, a claim for accidental damage to a vehicle isn’t dependent on definitions of what is or isn’t a pothole.”
