Fife is the pothole capital of Scotland, according to motoring association the AA.
The Kingdom also contains the fifth-highest number of potholes reported between April 2018 and June 2021 in the UK.
Researchers at the membership group asked 51 councils across the UK about their response to “the pothole crisis”.
They found 57,051 pothole reports in Fife across the time period.
Northumberland topped the UK table with local government officials receiving 180,993 pothole reports.
Glasgow reported the next-highest number of potholes in Scotland with 38,100 defects logged in the city.
Easier to win compensation in England
The Kingdom also came out as one of the hardest parts of the UK for drivers to win compensation.
Drivers in Fife made 1,160 claims during the period with only 122, or around 10%, of them successful.
That compares favourably with Glasgow where only 3% of out-of-pocket drivers received money back.
As the government seeks to encourage more active travel, walking out to a moon-like surface won’t install confidence to would-be cyclists.”
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA.
But in England drivers appeared to be more successful in challenging the damage to their vehicles.
Success rates there varied between 30 and 50% among the councils with the most claims made, including Shropshire, Manchester and Wiltshire.
Although in Cheshire East rates remained as low as 7%.
Thousands of Fife potholes repaired
Fife Council workers did repair 55,617 potholes across the same period, but were outdone by Edinburgh where the authorities there oversaw 95,681 repairs.
The AA asked councils from across the UK how many claims they received between April 2018 and June 2021, and how many have been compensated.
A total of 43,947 pothole damage claims were made to the 51 UK councils, with 13,187 claims (30%) compensated during the same period.
Compensation is only available for potholes where it was reported and not fixed within the council’s set timescales, or they decided it could be repaired at a later date.
There were over 3,000 claims made in England, over 7,000 in Scotland, over 1,000 in Wales, and over 2,000 in Northern Ireland.
You can report a pothole on local government websites.
Why did the AA conduct the research?
Jack Cousens is head of roads policy at the AA. He oversaw the research.
“Potholes are a frustration to all drivers and are a blight on our roads.
“While they are annoying for car drivers, potholes can be fatal to those on two wheels.
“As the government seeks to encourage more active travel, walking out to a moon-like surface won’t install confidence to would-be cyclists.
“For too long, both central and local governments blame each other for the lack of funding in maintaining our road surfaces.
“It’s time both got round the table and heavily invested in smoother, safer streets.”
Councillor Altany Craik is Fife Council spokesperson for roads.
“This is a top priority for us.
“We understand the frustrations of Fifers as we work hard to tackle the issue of potholes on our roads.
“Sadly we are not where we would like to be and progress hasn’t been as fast as we would like.
“We’re investing more money over the next year to bring the backlog of repairs down and get our roads up to an acceptable standard.”
John Mitchell is a senior manager at Fife Council.
“We have over 2,500km of Fife’s roads to maintain in a safe condition. Our teams work on a priority basis, concentrating on high risk areas first.
“The backlog of repairs is coming down across Fife and we are continuing with our other planned patching work and carriageway re-surfacing plans.”
Conversation