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How many times when driving have you swerved to avoid a pothole, or worse – not realised until it’s too late and driven straight into the pit?
Potholes are everywhere, and they can cause a lot of damage to our vehicles.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to Southampton City Council revealed that 4,971 potholes were reported within the city district by the public in 2022, and a further 5,204 potholes were repaired by the council that same year. Analysis of additional FOI data by insurance comparison site GoCompare revealed that Southampton is one of the slowest for pothole repairs, with repairs taking an average of 79 days!
And whilst you can claim damage expenses from the council, it’s not often you will be successful – the table below shows how many successful pothole related claims have occurred over the last few years.
Year | Number of potholes reported | Number of potholes fixed | Number of pothole claims | Number of successful pothole claims | Average pay out per successful claim |
2017 | 1,262 | 3,085 | 212 | 4 | £525.57 |
2018 | 2,327 | 5,229 | 220 | 1 | £107.89 |
2019 | 1,924 | 3,422 | 126 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 1,878 | 3,496 | 149 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 1,510* | 3,629* | Data unknown | Data unknown | Data unknown** |
2022 | 4,971 | 5,204 | Data unknown | Data unknown | Data unknown |
The most obvious damage from an unfilled pothole is a puncture, as drivers will immediately feel the effects, not all damage caused by potholes can be seen or felt until it’s too late.
Besides a puncture, the most common damage caused by pothole are bulges, cracks, and lumps in the tyres as well as buckled wheels. The initial impact between a car and a pothole can even knock out the tracking and wheel balancing of the vehicle, and exacerbate wear and tear on the suspension system.
As tempting as it is to swerve to avoid a pothole, doing so can actually cause more damage. In harsh weather conditions, swerving can exacerbate the loss of vehicular control, which can increase the chances of collisions with cars travelling in the opposite direction.
Vehicle damage in this case can range from moderate – a few scratches – to extreme; not to mention the risk of increased insurance premium and damage to others. New tyres can cost anywhere from £40 - £130 per tyre, depending on the make and size. Coil spring replacements can set you back an average of £225 for the front and £172 for the rear. Cracked alloys on the other hand can average anywhere from £70 - £125.
To get your car back in tip-top shape after hitting a pothole could therefore easily put you over £100 out of pocket – which is far more than the average pay out for successful claims.
To keep your tyres in good shape, Snows recommends the following:
Worried about your tyres? Book in now for your free Pothole Damage Check with your nearest participating Snows dealership^.
Notes
*Data only available from Jan – Aug for 2021
**Whilst the average pay out per claim for 2021 is unknown, a separate FOI request revealed that a total of £78,336.62 was paid out by Southampton City Council in 2021 due to potholes and/or road defects, although the distribution between potholes and road defects was not clarified.
^Full list of participating Snows dealerships:
Snows PEUGEOTSnows JeepSnows Alfa RomeoSnows FIATSnows AbarthSnows CitroenSnows Vauxhall
