DID YOU KNOW? The AA was called out to 613,638 pothole incidents in 2025 – an average of 1,681 every day – including 58,380 last January and 58,275 in December.
A coalition of motoring and cycling organisations has called for all non emergency pothole repairs to come with a minimum five year warranty, arguing that current practices are wasting public money and putting road users at risk.
The Pothole Partnership, formed two years ago by the AA, JCB, British Cycling and the National Motorcyclists Council, marked National Pothole Day today by renewing its demand for stronger guarantees on road repairs.
The alliance says that despite additional government funding for local authorities, too much money is still being spent on short term fixes that fail within 12 months.
The call came as new figures showed that the AA attended 613,638 pothole related incidents in 2025, an average of 1,681 every day. The data included 58,380 callouts in January and 58,275 in December, underlining the scale of the problem for motorists.
Edmund King, President of the AA, said that potholes were more than just a nuisance.
The Pothole Partnership is proposing that councils and contractors should be compelled to issue five year warranties on every non emergency pothole repair. Potholes not only damage cars, but they also put the lives of cyclists and motorcyclists at risk, he said.
Under the proposal, any pothole that reappears within five years of being repaired would have to be fixed again at no cost to the local authority.
King added that the scheme could reduce costs for taxpayers while encouraging higher quality workmanship.
The proposals for a five year warranty would mean that if a contractor or sub contractor fixes a non emergency pothole, a warranty for that repair would be issued for five years. If a pothole reappears within five years, it would be repaired for free of charge under the warranty. This proposal has the potential to save money for council taxpayers but more importantly, ensure the pothole is repaired correctly first time, he said.
Construction equipment manufacturer JCB, one of the founding members of the partnership, also backed the plan. The company produces the JCB Pothole Pro machine, which it says can repair potholes four times faster than traditional methods and at half the cost.
Ben Rawding, JCB General Manager, said that many councils were already seeing the benefits of using the technology.
Many councils across the UK are already reaping the benefits of using the JCB Pothole Pro which delivers a long lasting repair to potholes which is faster and cheaper than the traditional manual methods. The proposed warranty scheme would be another great initiative to drive down costs for council tax payers and, crucially, ensure permanent repairs, he said.
The partnership argues that a warranty requirement would incentivise contractors to use more durable repair methods rather than quick fixes that need to be redone within a year.
Local authorities have not yet responded formally to the proposal, but previous government statements have emphasised the need for councils to make effective use of additional funding for road maintenance.
