There has been a surge in the number of drivers impacted by pothole breakdowns during wet weather this year.
Research from the RAC reportedly found that the daily number of pothole-related breakdown reports it received last month had risen by almost three-and-a-half times since February last year.
A total of 1,842 RAC members are said to have referenced potholes in their breakdown reports in February 2025, compared to 6,290 members this year.
The data revealed that heavy rainfall played a part in the increase, with RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, revealing that an ‘an incredible amount of standing water and puddles on our roads’ had been ‘hiding potholes which sadly too many drivers fell foul of’.
Additional research from the Met Office has confirmed that this February was one of the worst in 126 years in terms of rain.
Commenting on February’s weather and road conditions, Mr Williams said: ‘While this amount of rain is hard for the saturated land to cope with, the RAC suspects that poor drainage may also be to blame, possibly as a result of councils not carrying out as much of these works as they have done in the past.’
He added: ‘Preventing water from sitting on our local roads is key to their long-term health, so it’s vital more work to improve drainage is carried out.’
Mr Williams also said that the RAC calls on 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’.
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