Pothole season is striking back: here's what you can do about it

How to prepare for pothole season

The state of our roads is enough to drive anyone round the bend. Forget spooky season, it’s pothole weather you need to keep on your radar as we head towards winter.

Listen, we love this season as much as the next person.

The smell of bonfires, the crisp crunch of fallen leaves, the prospect of a proper Sunday roast dinner. It’s an autumnal vibe we can fully get behind.

But the downside to autumn weather is most keenly felt on our roads – which after years of council budget cuts, are in a worse state than ever. And it’s drivers who end up paying the price when the problem is ignored.

To help you prepare, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know to get through pothole season without breaking the bank.

What causes potholes? 

We love life in the UK, for the most part.

But if there’s a downside, it’s that our beautiful island has prime conditions for creating monstrous potholes.

Yes, there are a few different factors involved, but it’s that crucial freeze-thaw cycle we see so much in British autumns and winters that make our roads a hotbed for pothole creation.

How does it happen? When water seeps into tiny cracks in the road surface and temperatures drop, that water freezes and expands.

This weakens the structure of the road. When the ice thaws, it leaves gaps and voids that become, you guessed it, troublesome potholes.

Heavy traffic and vehicle loads play their part too.

As cars and SUVs continue to grow in weight, they weaken the roads and accelerate signs of deterioration and damage – creating the cracks that moisture seeps into.

And of course, if the road has been poorly constructed or maintained, this can also cause problems.

Why are our roads already in such bad condition? 

The breakdown statistics speak for themselves

We can put our money where our mouth is – or more accurately, behind the dedicated findings of the RAC, who reported a 25% increase in pothole related breakdowns between 2024 and 2025.

In 2025, on average, the RAC have attended a whopping 71 pothole-related breakdowns a day, up from 68 the year before.

But that’s not the only important stat.

From September 2024 to September 2025, the RAC dealt with a mind-boggling 25,758 accidents directly caused by potholes. This has increased by 11% from the previous year.

Surely, you’d think councils must be doing something about this?

Not enough, unfortunately. Only 1.4 million potholes were filled in England and Wales between 2022 and 2023, which is down from 1.7 million the year before.

So why is this?

Council funding can't keep up with the problem

Essentially our roads are being harder hit than ever between wet winters and the increasing weight of traffic causing faster wear and deterioration. And after years of austerity politics (and a pandemic on top of it), our councils simply lack the funds to keep up with the problem.

Unfortunately, a council that can’t keep up means the damage to the road worsens and wait times for repairs increase dramatically.

In December 2024, the Government promised an investment of £1.6 billion to fix up to seven million more potholes in 2025 and 2026. Despite this extra funding, there have been reports of a backlog for the process.

Wait times are getting out of control

Poor Stoke-on-Trent has an average wait time of 657 days for individual pothole repairs. That’s coming up on two years to wait for a hole in the road to be patched up!

And during that wait, the damage will keep growing.

Forget patching a pothole, by that point you’re probably looking at a moon-crater in the middle of the street. You might as well resurface the entire road given how much structural integrity it will have lost waiting for a patch repair.

And think how many drivers will hit such potholes in that time – whether accidentally, or because the damaged area has grown so large it can’t be avoided – and unwittingly damage their vehicles in turn.

Locals in Plymouth clearly share this view; some are so fed up with long wait times there, that individuals have started spray painting a certain phallic body part around particularly bad holes – but we’ll leave that to your imagination. 

How potholes can damage your lease car

If you’ve ever hit a pothole unexpectedly, you know exactly how the impact jolts the car and goes all the way up your spine.

It’s not nice.

Tyres and wheels

Hit a pothole hard enough and at the right angle and you can puncture your tyres, or even blow them out entirely. You definitely don’t want to be stranded on the side of the road with a flat.

We think it’s a toss up whether it would be worse for that to happen on a dark country road, or in busy lane with a queue of furious commuters behind you as you wait to be rescued.

But there are other less obvious ways potholes can damage your car which you need to be aware of.

Suspension

Hit a pothole too fast and you can ruin your wheels and damage the suspension of your car.

This can mean wheel misalignment, which can cause you further problems and affect your steering – the last thing anyone wants is a struggle to keep the car from drifting on a busy motorway.

You can also damage the exhaust or undercarriage too if the pothole is deep enough that the underside of your vehicle hits the road surface (yikes).

Cosmetic damage

Let’s not forget the risk of cosmetic damage.

Potholes come in all shapes and sizes unfortunately, and there is danger of loose asphalt flying up and damaging the paintwork or your car. Not ideal when you have to hand your lease car back at the end of your term.

Most importantly though is the risk to your safety.

Any kind of impact on the road – whether with another vehicle, or a pothole popping up suddenly – increases the risk that you may lose control of your vehicle completely. And if it’s a bad collision, you might not have a functional car at the end of it.

Damaged roads are a hazard to all road users – drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians.

How to report a pothole near you

The wait time for a fix might be astronomical in some places, but that’s no reason not to bring damaged stretches of road to your local council’s attention.

The more people to report a specific pothole, the more pressure councils are under to deal with it.

You can report directly to your local council or use apps like Fixmystreet to do so. It’s a quick and easy way to note a damaged road which will be fed back to your local council, without the faff of having to write a lengthy email about it.

And if your car is damaged by impact with an untreated pothole, there is a chance you can claim back the damage to your vehicle. 

If you do make a claim, we’d recommend you keep receipts for any work done to correct the damage – you likely won’t see a penny of compensation without one.

Your pothole season survival guide

You’d have to be a crazy to hit a pothole on purpose, wouldn’t you?

But with so many on our roads these days, they’re becoming harder and harder to avoid.

For those of us living in more rural areas with no street lighting, they’re particularly difficult to navigate.

While we can recommend you try to avoid impact, sometimes it’s just not possible. But you can take steps to protect your car from further damage.

Keep your car fighting fit with regular maintenance

If (like this writer) you keep hitting the same infuriating potholes day after day, your suspension and steering will take a beating.

Regular maintenance and servicing catches damage early, before it turns into expensive repairs. It's especially crucial during pothole season when your car's working overtime to absorb all those jolts.

Protect yourself from end-of-lease repair bills

Your main concern when leasing? Handing back a car in a good condition without any surprise charges.

Potholes are unpredictable, but your protection doesn't have to be. There are insurance packages that cover accidental damage, if you're looking to protect yourself from additional, un-budgeted-for costs. So, pothole-related dents, scratches, or wheel damage might not cost you a penny at lease end.

Think of it as pothole insurance. You're paying to drive without constantly worrying about what's lurking around the next corner.

Just make sure you get any cosmetic damage dealt with at least a month before your lease comes to an end, to give yourself (and the insurer/garage) time to get everything sorted and patched up.

Check your breakdown cover before you need it

As we head deep into autumn, now's the time to check your breakdown cover.

The absolute worst time to discover you don't have it? When you're stranded on the side of the road with a blown tyre or damaged suspension.

Many manufacturers include breakdown cover with new vehicles, so check your documentation. You may also have it bundled with your comprehensive insurance, so it's worth a quick call to your provider.

Better to spend five minutes checking now than five hours waiting in the rain later.

Watch out for cyclists

Lastly, though you should always be aware of cyclists on the road, be even more wary in autumn and winter.

Just like cars, bicycles and the people on them are vulnerable to road conditions and the way some potholes form can pose a particular risk to those on two wheels.

So slow down, keep your distance and be mindful.