Pothole compensation claims made to councils in Britain rose by 90% between 2021 and 2024, according to analysis by the RAC motoring group.
The study also found that only a quarter of claims made by motorists in 2024 resulted in payouts.
However, the RAC noted that the number of claims fell in 2024 compared with the year before.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said “ever-increasing pressure” on budgets was affecting councils’ abilities to fix roads, while the Department for Transport said the government was spending £7.3bn over the next four years on improving road surfaces.
Potholes have become a major bugbear for many drivers. Repair bills can be costly, and they can also cause injuries to passengers, cyclists or pedestrians.
The RAC said data it had analysed indicated that 53,015 compensation claims claims were made to 177 local authorities in 2024.
That was up from 27,731 in 2021, although it marked a fall from the 56,655 seen in 2023.
In 2024, just 26% of claims led to a payout, with an average sum of £390 given to claimants.
The RAC estimates that a typical repair bill for a family car with damage worse than a puncture from a pothole is £590.
Potholes can cause damage to shock absorbers and suspension springs, and can also distort wheels.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams told the BBC: “It does seem that councils have a variety of different criteria for what they class as a pothole.
“Often they have to be four centimetres deep and so many centimetres wide.
“If you hit one, it can cause a real jolt to the car and serious damage… not just damage to vehicles, it’s also a serious road safety danger, particularly on two wheels.”
RAC asked 207 councils about pothole compensation claims. Of the 177 that responded, Derbyshire County Council saw the biggest increase in claims over the three-year period, from 224 to 3,307.
However, Derbyshire councillor Charlotte Hill, the council’s cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said claims had fallen by 72% since May 2025.
“Going forward, Derbyshire highways can become more proactive rather than reactive, and work to make repairs before they become an issue for residents,” she told the BBC.
Glasgow City Council and Oxfordshire County Council saw the next biggest increases between 2021 and 2024.
In a statement, Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport management, said the emphasis “should be on maintenance work to prevent potholes forming in the first place, which is much more cost-effective than repairing them afterwards”.
“That is why we have invested nearly £14.5m since 2024 on the largest surface dressing programmes we have carried out for at least 20 years.”
Surface dressing is a preservation treatment aimed at avoiding potholes forming.
The BBC has contacted Glasgow City Council for comment.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said the government was investing £7.3bn over the next four years to help councils resurface roads.
“This will turn the tide on years of underinvestment in our road network, allowing local authorities to move away from expensive, short-term repairs and invest in proactive maintenance and prevent potholes from forming in the first place,” they said.
A Local Government Association spokesperson said that “ever-increasing pressure on budgets has impacted their ability to do so as much as they’d like” regarding road maintenance.
“New funding for roads will help turn the tide on the gradual decline of local roads, but this will take time to shift from simply filling potholes reactively – which pothole compensation laws require – towards a more proactive, sustainable approach.”.
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