Small businesses are counting the cost of pothole damage to their vehicles, leaving them, not only out of pocket, but at risk of losing business.
New research from the Federation of Small Businesses has revealed almost half have been negatively impacted in the past 12 months. This includes damage caused to work vehicles, as well as occasions where business owners and staff were unable to reach customers, missed meetings or were involved road accidents.
Over a third say pothole damage has cost them more than £100 in that time, according to the data based on a survey of 1,341 small business owners. A quarter were forced to pay out more than £300 in the same period, while potholes have caused over £500 worth of damage for more than one-in-ten.
With an additional £500 million pledged at the Budget to fix roads over the next year, the FSB says it’s crucial that local authorities ring-fence funds specifically for potholes and local road maintenance, as well as publish these plans, making sure this money is not absorbed into wider transportation or general funding pots.
It also wants to see a national pothole damage compensation claim form template introduced and properly advertised by all local authorities, guaranteeing a fast and simple claim process that links directly with a national pothole reporting app. Many small businesses are unaware that it’s their right to claim this money back, and local authorities should be forthcoming in helping those affected.
We were pleased that additional funds have been promised by the government at the Budget – we now need to see this plague of potholes being fixed rapidly and efficiently
Policy Chair Tina McKenzie said: “Potholes are a major blight on our roads and as our new research clearly shows they are causing untold misery to small business owners across the country, resulting in major financial and reliability issues.
“One we spoke to has been forced to pay out for three new tyres in the space of 12 months. Another who provides healthcare workers to care homes and hospitals, regularly gets calls from staff saying they can’t get to their shift due to pothole damage, impacting both her business and her clients’ staffing levels.
“Small businesses are currently under the cosh with increasing costs across the board. Having to pay out to fix costly damage from a vehicle or dealing with other disruption is the last thing they need.
“We were pleased that additional funds have been promised by the government at the Budget – we now need to see this plague of potholes being fixed rapidly and efficiently, resulting in a major improvement in our roads.”
None of this will surprise the RAC which reported they had attended nearly 7,904 breakdowns in the first quarter of the year due to bad road surfaces, up 53% on the last three months of 2023, a clear sign that the UK is “suffering a pothole epidemic as roads continue to crumble”.