UK's potholes cause significant damage, but the supposedly premium bullet proof German brands are the worst.

• Mercedes Benz R-Class most susceptible to suspension damage
• Average repair bill for pothole damage is £350
• Vulnerable vehicles more than 15 times worse than the most robust cars  

With weather conditions like the Easter weekend’s Storm Katie creating the perfect conditions for the annual pothole epidemic, a new study of 3-8 year old cars from Warranty Direct reveals the Mercedes Benz R-Class (06-15)* and Saab 9-3 (04-12) are the cars most likely to suffer suspension damage.

Hyundai’s Santa Fe (06-12) and the Land Rover Discovery 3 (04-10) have the next most susceptible suspension, with 13.9 and 13.3 percent respectively of Warranty Direct customers claiming for axle & suspension damage annually.

Potholes are typically at their most prevalent on Britain’s underinvested road network between January and April, as heavy rainfall undermines the lower structural layers of roads, creating cracks then more potholes,** increasing the likelihood of suspension damage.

The recent Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey revealed that local authorities spent a total of £118.4m*** filling 2,190,026*** potholes across England and Wales in the last year, but also paid out an additional £13.5m*** in compensation claims.  

With the average repair bill for pothole damage now £350,**** Warranty Direct’s database of 50,000 live policies shows that the most vulnerable cars are more than 15 times worse than the most robust models.  

At the opposite end of the scale, the Ford S-Max (06-15) and Nissan Qashqai (07-14) share top billing as the cars least likely to be affected***** by the UK’s pothole-ridden roads; both boast an impressive clean sheet when it comes to model claims relating to axle & suspension damage.

Top 10 cars with the highest % chance of an annual axle & suspension related claim

Number	Make	Model Group	Year	% chance of an axle & suspension related claim annually
1	MERCEDES-BENZ	R-Class	(06-15)	15.82%
2	SAAB	9-3	(04-12)	15.05%
3	HYUNDAI	SANTA FE	(06-12)	13.98%
4	LAND ROVER	DISCOVERY 3	(04-10)	13.37%
5	MERCEDES-BENZ	GL-Class	(06-15)	12.61%
6	VAUXHALL	ASTRA	(04-12)	11.56%
7	LANDROVER	RANGE ROVER	(02-13)	11.28%
8	BMW	X5	(07-13)	11.27%
9	MERCEDES-BENZ	E-Class	(06-09)	11.17%
10	MERCEDES-BENZ	CLS-Class	(05-10)	11.15%

Warranty Direct managing director, David Gerrans, said: “The variation you see in suspension damage from one model to another is remarkable.

“Potholes are a major factor in causing axle & suspension failure and any vehicle regularly driven over impaired road surfaces or used for commuting over pothole-strewn routes will ultimately incur damage eventually.

“Components such as bushes, track rod ends, drop links, springs and dampers are all susceptible. Visit our Potholes.co.uk site for detailed advice on how best to make a compensation claim^ for any vehicle damaged by potholes.”

The cost of pot holes in the United Kingdom just gets worse, and we the driver end up paying out again.

The poor condition of the nation’s roads has hit drivers’ finances hard over the last twelve months, a new study reveals today.  Research for Kwik Fit, the UK’s largest automotive servicing and repair company, has found that in the last year British motorists have had to fund repair bills totalling £684million as a result of damage caused by hitting potholes¹.

Across the country, 6.3million drivers suffered damage from hitting potholes in their car, with motorists having to pay out an average of £108.60 for repairs to tyres, wheels, suspension, exhausts or other bodywork. 

The vast majority of this financial burden is falling on motorists – the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, also published today, reveals that only £13.5m has been paid out in compensation in England and Wales, just 2.1% of the total cost of damage².

Hitting a pothole is most likely to have caused damage in Yorkshire & Humber and London, where over a third (37% and 35% respectively) of drivers hitting a pothole had to make repairs.  Welsh drivers were most likely to be financially unscathed from the impact of a pothole, although even here, 17% faced repair bills.

Kwik Fit found that collectively, the greatest financial impact has been on drivers in the South East, who have had to pay a whopping £108,149,130 for repairs caused by potholes, followed by drivers in London, with the capital’s roads causing £91,368,450 worth of damage.

Per individual driver, the costliest damage was suffered in the east of England, where drivers had to pay an average of £163.68, nearly three times as much as drivers in Wales, where the average repair bill was £61.83.  Welsh drivers have collectively faced the lowest bill of all regions at £12.4million, less than half the cost to drivers in the north east of England, the second lowest region.

2015-16 saw the wettest November-January period on record, and surface water has been a significant factor in many drivers hitting potholes.  31% of motorists who hit a pothole in the last twelve months say they did so because it was hidden by water and they thought it was just a puddle.   

Kwik Fit found that nearly half (46%) of those hitting a pothole said they would have risked colliding with other traffic if they had swerved around it.  4% of those hitting a pothole were honest enough to admit that they were driving too fast, and couldn’t stop in time.

Region	Number of drivers suffering pothole  damage	Average cost of repairing damage	Total cost of repairs for all drivers
South East England	941,000	£114.93	£108,149,130
London	733,000	£124.65	£91,368,450
Yorks & Humber	720,000	£120.00	£86,400,000
South West England	721,000	£119.01	£85,806,210
Eastern England	457,000	£163.68	£74,801,760
North West England	687,000	£87.01	£59,775,870
Scotland	521,000	£109.02	£56,799,420
West Midlands	609,000	£87.59	£53,342,310
East Midlands	365,000	£86.33	£31,510,450
North East England	343,000	£72.66	£24,922,380
Wales	201,000	£61.83	£12,427,830
Great Britain	6,298,000	£108.60	£683,962,800

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “We all understand that council budgets are stretched right across the country, but this research shows the financial burden being placed upon individual motorists.  And that’s purely the repair bill - it doesn’t take into account the inconvenience to people in having their cars off the road for repairs.  One pothole can cause misery for countless motorists, so it’s vital that local authorities make it as easy as possible for people to report the presence of a pothole.  But we would also encourage drivers to do their bit by reporting the ones they see and not relying on others to do it.

“Fortunately not everyone who hits a pothole suffers damage, but alloy wheels and low profile tyres make our cars more vulnerable to costly repairs when we do.  Sometimes damage won’t appear obvious immediately, so we encourage anyone who has hit a pothole to keep checking their tyres and wheels in the days afterwards.  If they have any concern that there may be damage they can come into any Kwik Fit centre and we will get their car up on our ramps to have it checked out.”

The forth road bridge closure will not only delay millions of drivers, but cost millions to fix.

The Road Haulage Association is deeply concerned that the Scottish Government do not seem to fully appreciate the economic impact that the closure of the Forth Road Bridge will have on the haulage industry in Scotland.

“The knock-on effects for hauliers are already beginning to bite”, said RHA chief executive Richard Burnett (@RHARichardB). “Although we welcome the dedicated HGV route on the A985, the additional cost to hauliers is immense. 

The extra cost for a single HGV to replace what is in effect, a 2.5 mile journey with a detour that can amount to approximately a 60 mile round trip will add an extra £30 in fuel costs alone. With an estimated 10,500 HGVs using the Bridge each day, the additional operating costs for the industry will be well in excess of £600,000 per day.

“Already we have had reports from members who have had no alternative but to ask their customers for a rate rise. A request that has, unsurprisingly been met with a great deal of resistance.

“In addition to the increase in operating costs, the overall efficiency of the haulage industry in Scotland is already being greatly reduced as a journey that would take 30 minutes can now take up to three hours if the route is congested.”

The RHA welcomes the announcement from the Department for Transport that there is to be to temporary and limited relaxation of drivers' hours regulations but remains concerned  that many operators will be unable to complete their contracts during the course of a normal working day.

“This current state of affairs in unsustainable and we shall be pushing the Scottish government for compensation”, continued Richard Burnett. “Hauliers, already working to tight margins simply cannot absorb these extra costs.

“We need answers. Why, despite regular routine inspections, were these defects not picked up before? And why did they became so serious so quickly?

“The major distribution centres based on the north, Fife side of the River are totally reliant on an efficient, swift transport system. The run-up to Christmas is the busiest time of year for these companies and the system, through no fault of its own, has broken down.