A North East MSP has urged the Scottish Government to explain what action they are taking to protect the country’s roads.
Lib Dem transport spokeswoman Alison McInnes was speaking after a survey ranked Scotland the worst area for potholes and road repairs in UK.
The AA report was compiled before the big freeze, further underlining the challenge facing councils.
It used a “traffic light” system with red for most faults and green for fewest, looking at issues on the highway and by the roadside, including even litter and dog mess.
The AA’s first Streetwatch report was compiled by 1900 of its members, including 150 in Scotland, checking for 12 types of road fault in their area.
They each spent one hour surveying about two miles of road between October 23 and November 12.
The weather has resulted in a large and unexpected repair bill for Angus Council.
Temperatures plunged to -9C in Angus, with the conditions causing considerable damage to road surfaces and pavements, which can deteriorate rapidly.
Ms McInnes said, “It’s no real surprise that the AA’s Streetwatch has highlighted that Scotland’s roads are the most potholed as sure as night follows day, potholes are a consequence of the snow and icy weather and we have had that in abundance this year.
“Hard-pressed councils have been forced to squeeze road maintenance budgets to pay for services such as social work and education.”
She added, “The Scottish Government has been complacent in not budgeting for the severe weather’s impact on the roads.
“The government needs to explain what action they will take to protect that asset.”