Over £18,000 paid out in compensation last year for damage caused by potholes

Potholes and cracks

Over £18,000 was paid out in compensation to owners of vehicles damaged by potholes and damaged road surfaces, in the borough of Rochdale last year – more than three times that of the previous financial year.

Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request show that Rochdale Borough Council paid £18,256.76 compensation for 2018/19, a vast increase from £5,511.77 the previous year.

In 2016/17, just £1,820.00 was paid out.

Repairing a pothole in the last financial year cost £36.15, on average, with the council repairing 3,596 potholes in this time frame. In 2016/17, this cost an average of £39.89, reducing to a £39.72 average for 2017/18.

In 2016/17 and 2017/18, an impressive 99.9% of potholes reported were repaired.

Locally, defects are classed as potholes when they are 2.5cm at a pedestrian crossing, or 4cm on the road.

Potholes were recently named as the UK’s most frustrating road problem, according to research by breakdown cover provider Green Flag, which found 66% of motorists named potholes as the most annoying issue on the road.

On average, UK car drivers encounter seven potholes per car trip, according to Green Flag’s research.

Additional research by comparison site Confused.com found more than a third (34%) of UK drivers have suffered damage to their vehicle as a result of poor road conditions, and almost a third (31%) of motorists in the north west say they have had their car damaged by a pothole in the past.

Most of the damage reported was to the vehicle’s tyres (53%), while more than a quarter (26%) said hitting the pothole caused damaged to their suspension.

However, only one in five (23%) UK drivers tried to claim compensation for the damage they received from hitting a pothole.

A spokesman for Rochdale Borough Council said: “We will always consider legitimate pothole compensation claims. We are investing more than ever in our highways and committed to improving the condition of our road network.”