'Pothole get-out-of-jail card being used by councils'

Gloucestershire County Council said they are trialling innovative methods to improve road conditions

Just 2% of pothole damage claims against Gloucestershire County Council are successful, new analysis shows.

This figure is the lowest of all 18 local authorities surveyed, with the other councils they approached paying out on an average of 20% of claims.

The council said it did does not "have to use taxpayers’ funds to pay out on many claims as we have a robust system of inspections and repairs in place".

Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC said: "There's a get-out-of-jail-free card for councils that they don't have to pay compensation if they aren't aware of the pothole."

"Gloucestershire use that defence through all the claims they receive.

"Councils are obligated to inspect their networks, it's just a question of how much inspection is going on at Gloucestershire," he added.

RAC's head of policy Simon Williams told the BBC councils are obligated to inspect their network for potholes

"As an individual you can report the pothole yourself, and that will be very good if someone else actually does end up hitting that pothole and suffering damage."

The RAC also found that the council paid £327 on average to drivers per claim in 2023 – 29% less than the £460 on average drivers pay for anything more serious than a puncture.

Abdul Nasir, manager at Discount Tyres Gloucester, told the BBC: "There's no other thing that can cause the damage to the tyre if you're driving on a smooth surface, so there must be a reason.

"The reason is the condition of the roads," he added.

A Gloucestershire County Council spokesperson said: “All claims are reviewed in accordance with national guidelines when they are assessed.

"We are also trialling innovative methods to improve road conditions. A spray injection patching machine and Roadmender machine have speeded up pothole repairs, plus Find and Fix teams have repaired 22,326 smaller potholes ahead of schedule before they got worse.

"We have over 30 teams out on the network every working day, working to improve the condition of our roads and have repaired 35,911 potholes this year.

“Potholes can develop quickly on roads, particularly in winter, so it is not possible for councils to inspect every road or repair every pothole immediately.

"Every day we are inspecting roads and fixing any potholes that are a safety concern either the next working day for critical ones or within 28 days."