The UK’s leading organisation designed to protect motorists has called for the introduction of five-year warranties to ensure drivers are covered if they need repairs after going over a pothole.
The Pothole Partnership has called for highway contractors to provide a five-year warranty on every non-emergency pothole repair.
The Partnership, which comprises members including The AA, JCB, British Cycling, and the National Motorcyclists Council, has made the call on National Pothole Day (Thursday, January 15).
It comes as new research shows 613,638 pothole‑related callouts in 2025, with a staggering average of 1,681 every day.
While the AA research shows a slight year-on-year improvement, it warned that the issue remained serious, with 58,275 callouts in December 2025.
Motorists are being hammered by the costs associated with driving over a pothole, with average repair costs soaring to £350, and a total of around £215million per year for AA members.
When scaled up to all UK drivers, pothole incidents make up £645million, a concerning £66million increase compared to estimates from 2024.
AA President Edmund King said: “Potholes are more than an irritation – they cause damage, disruption and danger on a daily basis.
READ MORE: Labour exposes England’s pothole crisis with damning new data – how does your council rank?
The Pothole Partnership has called for nationwide changes to improve pothole repairs
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“Despite billions spent by successive Governments, our patrols still attended more than 600,000 pothole‑related breakdowns last year. That is simply unacceptable for a modern road network.”
The data also found that councils across the UK use 78 different methods to fill in potholes, with one local authority admitting that it does not measure repair longevity.
Another council reported the completion of 31,000 pothole repairs across a year, although more than 2,200 of these locations needed to be repaired multiple times.
Experts have consistently backed the use of the JCB Pothole Pro, which can deliver long-lasting repairs at four times the rate and at half the cost.
The Pothole Partnership has called for the JCB Pothole Pro to be used to repair road issues
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The Government is now being urged to introduce a five-year warranty proposal that would place responsibility on the contractor who completes a repair.
If the pothole needs to be fixed within five years, the contractor must complete the repair for free.
The calls come just days after the Government published the first league table of how local highway authorities are fixing potholes, with just 10 per cent being awarded a green rating.
In total, 13 authorities were in the red category, including Bedford, Bolton, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Greenwich, Kensington and Chelsea, Leicestershire, North Lincolnshire, Slough, Suffolk, Waltham Forest, West Northamptonshire, and Westmorland and Furness.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood has pledged to fill in more potholes across England | PA
Mr King added: “A five‑year warranty on every non‑emergency pothole repair would be a game‑changer. It shifts the focus from short‑term patches to long‑lasting repairs and ensures accountability from those carrying out the work.
“Drivers, cyclists and motorcyclists deserve roads that stay fixed – not ones that crumble again within weeks. The damage costs drivers hundreds of thousands of pounds and can cost those on two wheels their lives.”
A Government spokesperson said: “This Government is ending the pothole plague on Britain’s roads. We’re already investing £1.6billion this year to help local authorities resurface local roads.
“That will fix the equivalent of up to seven million extra potholes over the next financial year.”