Every year, winter weather wreaks havoc on the UK’s crumbling and poorly maintained roads. Ice, snow and rain water push the road surface apart, resulting in the deep and vicious potholes that every British driver is all too familiar with.
The collective cost of potholes is enormous. Repair chain Kwik Fit, which has been publishing its Pothole Impact Tracker report since 2013, says 12.8 million UK drivers suffered damage to their car after hitting a pothole in 2025. With an average repair cost of £137.40, the overall bill footed by motorists was a staggering £1.8 billion.
So how are potholes formed? Put simply, all roads are constructed in layers. The top layer is water-resistant and curved to drain water off the road. Over time, cracks appear due to the stresses caused by traffic, but also through constant heating and cooling. The road expands during the day, but contracts overnight.
These small cracks allow water to seep below the surface and into the underlying layers of the road. During cold nights, the water freezes and expands. This ice thaws during the day, with the water flowing into a different section of the road. The pavement contracts and leaves gaps in the surface, where water can be trapped.
Traffic causes these cracks to widen, allowing even more water to seep in and freeze during the night. This constant freeze-thaw cycle weakens the road surface. As the material breaks down, a pothole is formed.
Telling the hole story
Hit and pothole and you risk damaging your car’s wheels, tyres, steering, suspension or even bodywork. Indeed, Kwik Fit’s study found that 2.5 million drivers who chose a larger, more robust car or SUV were influenced in doing so by the condition of the roads in their area.
If you have been affected by pothole damage, read Motoring Research’s guide for advice on how to potentially claim compensation from your local council or National Highways.
Interestingly, a company called Roadmender Asphalt has developed an ‘Elastomac’ product that has been adopted by some councils. It’s a flowable material made from 70 percent recycled products, including road surface shavings and car tyres.
Elastomac welds itself to the road and delivers a totally waterproof and permanent repair. Its maker says that by eliminating the need to excavate the patch, the process requires 80 percent less material, with no waste to carry away. Contractors are able to complete five times more pothole patches per day. Let’s hope it catches on.
The UK ranks 37th out of 141 countries on the World Economic Forum’s most recent road quality index. Singapore is in first place, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Japan.
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