The issue of holes in the road have overtaken problems such as texting while driving and driving while under the influence of alcohol according to a new report from one of the UK’s largest road safety charities.

The Safety Culture Report from IAM Roadsmart found that three out of four drivers believed that the problem of potholes is now a bigger problem than it was three years ago. The same analysis found that 68 per cent of motorists thought use of a mobile phone while driving was a bigger problem than three years ago, while traffic congestion was worse than it was three years ago for 65 per cent of respondents.

The IAM Roadsmart survey is an annual report which has been published for the last six years and focuses on the opinions of more than 2,000 motorists, with potholes clearly the biggest worry for the nation of drivers.

Nine out of ten drivers admit to have being affected by potholes in the past 12 months, one in three had changed their route to avoid a particularly bad pothole, while more than half have had to steer away or brake hard to avoid impact with a pothole.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: “The pothole situation on UK roads has now become much more than just irritating, it’s a significant threat to personal safety.

“We simply can’t have vehicles swerving into oncoming traffic or slamming on their brakes without warning to avoid them. Deteriorating roads also put pedestrians and cyclists at greater risk.

“It is clearly a sign of the times when motorists perceive potholes to be a bigger growing concern to them than drink driving and texting. And while the statistics show that the devastating impacts of using a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or using a mobile phone when driving still remain, it does highlight that it is time for government to take potholes seriously and fix the UK’s road network.”

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