RAC Report on Motoring 2016

RAC call to action: The state of our roads: see page 90

RAC Report on Motoring 2016

1.0 What’s on motorists’ minds?

1.3 The state of our roads For one in every seven motorists (14%), the condition and maintenance of local roads is their most pressing concern, making it the most serious issue in this year’s Report on Motoring. Problems with deteriorating road surfaces and potholes have been growing for many years now, but matters appear to be getting worse at an alarming rate, according to the drivers the RAC surveyed. In 2015, only 10% named local roads as their top concern. Almost two-fifths of motorists (38%) listed local road conditions as a top-four concern this year, up from less than a third (30%) 12 months ago.

The Government has committed to invest £6bn into local road maintenance between 2015 and 2021 8 while in the March 2016 Budget, the Conservatives agreed to set up a £50m-a-year Pothole Action Fund to deal with the most serious road-surface defects 9 . But it appears these policies have so far failed to have any material impact on motorists’ perceptions on the condition of local roads. This is not really surprising given that the Department for Transport’s own analysis suggested that there was an £8.6bn backlog 10 in local road maintenance and independent analysis suggests the backlog may be even greater 11 .

8. www.gov.uk/government/news/6-billion-funding-to-tackle-potholes-and-improve-local-roads 9. www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-for-councils-to-fill-almost-1-million-potholes 10. www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf 11. www.asphaltindustryalliance.com/images/library/files/ALARM%202016/ALARM_survey_2016_full_report.pdf

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