AA Survey says 40% of UK roads are in a ‘Terrible’ state

40% of our roads are in a ‘Terrible’ state

We all moan about how bad the UK’s roads are after several years of extreme weather and even more years of underinvestment in road repairs. Now the AA has revealed that a survey of 29,911 of their members reveals that 40 per cent of local roads are considered to be in a ‘Terrible’ state, 34 per cent of main roads the same and just 11 per cent of local roads considered ‘Excellent’.

None of which will come as a surprise to Cars UK readers; we get endless emails on the subject from disgruntled readers bemoaning the dangerous state of our roads and asking what can be done.

Some may have been reassured by the recent budget announcement that an extra £200 million is to be spent on repairing UK roads, and by the recent government backing for an App to report potholes so they can be repaired.

But as the BBC reported recently, the real cost of repairing the UK’s bruised and battered road is actually a massive £12 billion, so the extra £200 million in the budget – and an App – are nothing more than a sticking plaster, not a solution.

Edmund King, AA President, said:

Government emergency handouts like those recently for pothole repairs are welcome but are a sticking plaster rather than a cure that will properly repair our roads for the future.

We must ensure that our politicians recognise the crisis as we come up to local and general elections.

And he has a very valid point; we all hand huge amounts to the Treasury every year to keep our cars fuelled, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that roads are kept repaired and safe on the back of that.

However, the AA does offer breakdown cover. And unless a real plan to address the repairs is forthcoming from the government, it would probably be a wise decision to take it up. After all, those with breakdown cover have already begun swamping their call centres, too.

Time to take this seriously, Mr Osborne.

By Cars UK