Yahoo Finance Map shows how many potholes and hazards there are on your local roads
A new interactive map shows road users exactly where to expect potholes and other hazards on local roads.
The map, from Fill That Hole, lets users look up areas by name or postcode to see where hazards have been reported, as well as their severity and risk.
It comes as new research from Cycling UK found that over half of local authorities in Britain have seen their budget for road maintenance fall over the past five years.
As a result, just 7% of councils fill in potholes – which can cause damage to vehicles and increase the risk of accidents – within their target time, according to the charity.
Click the map below to access the Fill That Hole app and find potholes in your local area
The research found that 65 councils (58%) of the 112 that responded to queries about pothole maintenance budgets had reported a decrease from 2016/17 to 2020/21, when adjusted for inflation.
Estimates from the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) suggest that the total cost of fixing potholes across England now sits at £10.4bn – up from £8.99bn the previous year.
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Keir Gallagher, Cycling UK’s campaign manager, said: “With a majority of councils seeing their pothole budgets shrinking in real terms over the past five years, it’s time for the government to commit to ‘levelling up’ the local roads we all use every day, whether we’re walking, cycling or driving.”
Gallagher is now calling on the public to help bring attention to the numerous hazards on the roads by using the Fill That Hole map to report where they are situated.
A survey released in December found that pothole-plagued local roads are the UK’s most widespread motoring concern.
The RAC poll of 3,068 drivers indicated that 38% are agitated by the condition and maintenance of local roads.
Potholes are the number one complaint in relation to the state of local roads, the survey found.
Separate RAC data also show that it received 1,871 call-outs for pothole-related vehicle damage between July and September last year, the highest number for those three months since 2015.
Commenting on the figures, a Department for Transport spokeswoman said it had committed £2.5bn for local road repairs “as part of the biggest nationwide pothole programme ever announced”.
David Renard, the Local Government Association’s transport spokesman, said fixing roads was “a top priority” for councils but that they were deteriorating faster than they could be repaired.
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