The RAC fears near constant rain so far this year has led to a sudden spike in drivers being caught out by potholes hidden in puddles.
Reports to the RAC from broken-down drivers about potholes in February averaged 225 a day, nearly three-and-a-half times the 66 a day seen in the same month last year and more than five times the 43 a day recorded throughout all of 2025.
Throughout February, 6,290 RAC members reported potholes to the RAC when logging their breakdowns via the ‘myRAC’ app or over the phone, compared to only 1,842 in the same month in 2025. Reports of potholes peaked at 336 drivers on Friday, 6th of February – more than 2.5 times the highest number seen last year (141 on 19th of December).
January saw 5,106 mentions – an average of 165 a day compared to just 63 in January 2025 – making for a total of 11,396 so far in 2026, an average of 193 a day.
In 2025, the RAC’s expert patrols assisted a total of 26,048 members who experienced damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs, or distorted wheels – the breakdowns most likely caused by wear and tear from poor road surfaces. While this figure excludes punctures, as they are most commonly caused by sharp objects, the RAC attended 20% more punctures compared to the same period last year, indicating that potholes are also impacting tyres.
Our own sub-editor, Ray Ingman, added to these statistics when he suffered damage to all four low profile tyres on his Sportbrake during one dark, wet journey home from a meeting at Goodwood. Luckily, no immediate punctures resulted, but he witnessed a layby shortly after a particularly vicious hidden pothole with five jacked up cars and one RAC van assisting!
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said:
“Met Office data shows there were nearly 19 days of rain in February, making it one of the worst Februarys in 126 years. This resulted in an enormous amount of standing water and puddles on our roads, many of which concealed potholes that sadly too many drivers fell foul of.
Although this amount of rain is difficult for the saturated land to manage, the RAC suspects that poor drainage might also be responsible, possibly because councils have not carried out as much of these works as they did in the past.
Water is the enemy of the roads as it gets in through defects, undermining the integrity of the surface from underneath. And when the temperature drops below zero, it freezes and expands, creating potholes. Preventing water from sitting on our local roads is key to their long-term health, so it’s vital that more work to improve drainage is carried out.
“Without this, drivers will continue to have to fork out their hard-earned money on fixing their cars. New tyres are expensive enough these days, but anything more serious than a puncture is likely to cost up to £590 according to our garage data. Drivers pay their fair share of tax, so it’s plain wrong that they’re having to find even more money to get their cars repaired.
We urge the Government to hold councils to account on drainage works, just as they’ve done with preventative road maintenance, which stops the formation of potholes.
The mantra for better local roads is straightforward: improve drainage so water doesn’t sit on roads, fix potholes permanently, seal roads with preventative treatments like surface dressing and micro surfacing to stop water getting in and causing damage, and resurface roads that have gone beyond the point of reasonable repair.”
Road Surface Treatments Association chief executive Mike Hansford said:
“Core road maintenance principles include the necessity to remove water from the highway, as well as sealing roads early in their life, to prevent water ingress.
Weather conditions have been very challenging so far this year, but water pooling on the road not only poses an immediate risk to road users, it accelerates road deterioration, and leads to the formation of potholes which can be hidden under water.
A multi-agency approach including local authority departments and the Environment Agency, combined with the cooperation of adjacent landowners, is essential to address the problem of surface water on the highway and therefore to reduce the risk of potholes.”
Can you recall a worse year for potholes? Comment below!
6 Responses
I used to regularly enjoy my wonderful Jaguar XK8 on British roads but I rarely drive it now because of the terrible state of our roads.
I really only keep the car for my French trips where they still have a road maintenance programme.
Avoiding potholes has added an extra dimension to driving. Perhaps it should become part of the driving test! We drove from the middle of Devon to Bristol yesterday and it was a miracle that our wheels and tyres were still intact by the end of the journey. Even motorways are not immune – and repair is not treated as an emergency. At least when there is no fuel our vehicles – and we – will be safe.
I was caught out by a water filled pothole. Damaged front offside tyre. My compensation claim is pending with Yorkshire Water.
I recently had an alloy wheel on my XKR fractured by a pothole. Aside from the cost of damage to cars, there are equally important safety problems created by potholes.
1. While driving I now have to focus at least half of my attention on the road surface itself instead of looking ahead to anticipate approaching hazards and the behaviour of other traffic and pedestrians.
2. On our local roads I often have to veer into the opposite lane to avoid potholes. If there is oncoming traffic and I cannot cross the centreline, the alternative is almost an emergency stop to reduce the speed at which I hit the pothole in my own lane. This is not ideal if there is a vehicle behind.
More should be made of the road safety aspect to add to the argument for better road maintenance.
The problem is exacerbated by the poor quality of repairs. A stretch of local B road has had several repairs but the running surface is worse than before repairs were made. It looks as if the tarmac was laid by ladle from a helicopter hovering at 50 feet. Repairs were made without cutting around the potholes. Heavily fluxed tarmac just dumped in the hole. This tarmac is so soft the traffic, allowed to run on it straight away is just compressed leaving a hollow for water to gather, resulting with the tarmac rapidly failing and the pothole returning. All a result of the failure of local authorities to monitor sub contractors
As a driving instructor I am now having to teach my learners how to avoid potholes safely.