Drivers’ despair with the woeful state of Britain’s local roads – those which make up 98 per cent of all roads – has reached the highest level ever, scathing new figures from the RAC show.

For the first time ever, a majority of drivers – nearly six-in-10 – surveyed for the RAC Report on Motoring say the condition and maintenance of roads for which councils are responsible was one of their top motoring concerns, up seven percentage points compared to 2023 (49 per cent). Frustration with local roads is now an incredible 21 percentage points ahead of drivers’ second biggest concern, the cost of insuring a vehicle, and 24 ahead of the third biggest issue which is the cost of fuel.

A record, and growing, proportion of drivers are also reporting that local roads they use are in a worse state than the 12 months before. This year, almost three-quarters of drivers say the condition of the local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago, compared to 67 per cent last year and just 49 per cent who said the same thing in 2019. Just 6 per cent of drivers believe local road surfaces have improved this year compared to last, a statistic that underlines the desperate state many councils now find themselves in when it comes to looking after some of their most vital assets.

The RAC’s figures show that the problem of substandard local roads is more acute in rural areas, where 81 per cent of drivers say conditions are worse in 2024 than in 2023, and in suburban locations where the proportion is only slightly lower at 78 per cent. Both figures are record highs.

While potholes and other surface defects are the main problems affecting local roads, cited by almost all drivers (98 per cent) who say conditions have worsened, the problems do not end there. Poor drainage and a lack of adequate run-off in wet weather are also significant issues, noted by 61 per cent of drivers, with 58 per cent noticing faded road markings and 34 per cent poor signage visibility.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “These new figures are a damning condemnation of the commitments made by previous governments to fix Britain’s perpetual pothole plague. It’s as clear as day that councils simply haven’t had the financial support they need to bring the standard of the roads in their care up to a reasonable standard.”

“Put bluntly, the less we spend as a nation on our roads now, the more it will cost us in the future,” he added.