As National Pothole Day highlights the scale of road damage across the UK, a partnership of motoring and transport groups is urging councils to rethink how potholes are fixed — and paid for — in the long term.

National Pothole Day has become a fixture in the transport calendar, a moment when the everyday frustration of damaged roads is given national attention. This year’s event is being marked with renewed calls for reform in the way potholes are repaired, funded and monitored, following new data that underlines the continuing scale of the problem on Britain’s roads.

According to figures released to coincide with the day, the AA attended 613,638 pothole-related incidents in 2025. That equates to an average of 1,681 callouts every day, including more than 58,000 in both January and December. The figures reflect not just the damage potholes cause to vehicles, but also the risks they pose to cyclists and motorcyclists, particularly during the winter months when road surfaces are most vulnerable.

Against this backdrop, the Pothole Partnership is using National Pothole Day to call for a shift in how local authorities approach repairs. Formed two years ago by the AA, JCB, British Cycling and the National Motorcyclists Council, the alliance has repeatedly warned that a significant portion of recently announced government funding for pothole repairs is being lost on short-term fixes. In many cases, the same sections of road are revisited within a year as previous repairs fail.

The partnership’s central proposal is the introduction of a minimum five-year warranty on every non-emergency pothole repair. Under this system, any contractor or subcontractor carrying out a repair would be required to guarantee its durability for five years. If the same pothole were to reappear within that period, it would be repaired again at no additional cost.

Edmund King, President of the AA, argues that this approach would change the incentives behind road maintenance. Rather than prioritising speed over quality, contractors would have a direct interest in ensuring repairs are carried out correctly the first time. ‘The proposals for a five-year warranty would mean that if a contractor or sub-contractor fixes a non-emergency pothole, a warranty for that repair would be issued for five years. If a pothole reappears within five years, it would be repaired for free of charge under the warranty. This proposal has the potential to save money for council tax payers but more importantly, ensure the pothole is repaired correctly first time.’

Local authorities are under pressure to keep road networks safe and serviceable, often with constrained budgets and growing backlogs of maintenance work. In that context, technologies that promise faster and more durable repairs have become an increasing focus of interest. One of the most prominent examples is the JCB Pothole Pro, a machine specifically designed to deal with potholes and larger patching operations.

Manufactured by digger maker JCB, the Pothole Pro combines three processes — cutting, cropping and cleaning — into a single piece of equipment. Using three dedicated attachments, it prepares a pothole for reinstatement without the need for additional specialist tools or extra staff. According to JCB, a repair can be completed in as little as eight minutes, up to four times faster than traditional methods and at roughly half the cost.

The machine is also designed for mobility. With a top road speed of 40 kilometres per hour, it can travel easily between sites, allowing maintenance teams to respond quickly to damage across a wide area. When it is not being used for pothole repairs, the same unit can be fitted with a range of attachments for tasks such as ditch maintenance, hedge trimming, material handling and park or garden work, giving councils greater flexibility from a single investment.

Ben Rawding, JCB’s General Manager, says a number of local authorities are already seeing benefits. ‘Many councils across the UK are already reaping the benefits of using the JCB Pothole Pro which delivers a long-lasting repair to potholes which is faster and cheaper than the traditional manual methods. The proposed warranty scheme would be another great initiative to drive down costs for council tax payers and, crucially, ensure permanent repairs.’

Northumberland County Council offers one example of how the technology is being used in practice. The authority operates a road network covering around 3,200 miles in its south east urban area. Since introducing a Pothole Pro into its structural patching programme, the council reports it has achieved nearly three times the amount of work compared with previous methods. The resulting operational efficiencies are estimated to deliver annual cost savings of between £26,000 and £28,000.

JCB also supports councils through training and familiarisation programmes. Once an operator has gained the necessary machine ticket, they receive hands-on training in their own working environment, carrying out real repairs alongside a JCB operator. The aim is to maximise productivity while improving safety, including reducing exposure to hand-arm vibration.

As National Pothole Day shines a light on the problem, the message from the Pothole Partnership is that funding alone is not enough. How repairs are specified, delivered and guaranteed matters just as much. Whether through warranty schemes, new technology or better training, the focus is shifting towards making sure today’s repairs are still holding up years down the line — for the benefit of road users and taxpayers alike.

Sponsored by JCB.