Britain’s roads have become the “number one issue” for drivers, businesses and the economy, the president of the AA, Edmund King OBE, has warned.
Speaking on the AA Cars-sponsored Youtube channel, The Logbook, King said that motorists are paying billions into the Treasury, while too many roads remain dangerous, badly repaired and roadworks poorly coordinated.
Interviewed by Rob Cubitt, managing director of Cubitt Cars, King said the country risks treating roads as a “periphery issue” when, in reality, they are fundamental to everyday life and the economy.
Edmund King OBE, AA president, said:
“Our country without roads is nothing. Ninety per cent of freight goes by road and 86 per cent of passenger journeys are by road. If we didn’t have the roads, the country would be at a standstill.
“There would be no goods in our shops, no exports, and people wouldn’t get to work. This isn’t a periphery issue — this is the number one issue.”
On potholes, King said drivers were paying the price for a failed “patch and run” approach, where holes are filled badly and return within weeks.
He continued:
“It is the number one transport issue for 96% of drivers. At The AA we see it first-hand. Last year our patrols were called out to 617,000 pothole-related incidents — punctures, damaged wheels, steering and suspension damage. For drivers, it is the worst feeling: dark nights, wet roads, puddles, you can’t see the pothole, and then you hear the bang.”
King called for councils and central government to move away from reactive repairs and towards proper road maintenance, resurfacing, and better use of technology.
“You can’t just keep filling in holes if the road has gone. You need to resurface that section of road. In the long term that is more cost-effective because you are called out less often, there are fewer compensation claims and the repair lasts longer. It is not rocket science to fix the roads, and yet we are doing a bad job of it.”
Rob Cubitt said the state of the roads had left many motorists questioning where their money was going.
Rob Cubitt, managing director of Cubitt Cars, said:
“Drivers feel more squeezed than ever. Fuel is up, vehicle tax is up, the cost of everything is up — and yet the roads we are driving on seem to be getting worse. People can’t help but ask: where is all our money going?”
“We all feel angry about these things, but hearing the facts makes it clear that drivers have every right to be angry. We are paying more to be motorists, but we are not seeing the standard of roads that motorists deserve.”
The discussion also addressed smart motorways, which King described as a “massive scandal” after emergency refuge areas were moved much further apart than in the original design without consultation.
King said:
“This is the massive scandal of ‘smart’ motorways. The original concept had refuge areas much closer together. Then the goalposts were moved.
“If you break down between those refuge areas, you are a sitting duck. You are at the mercy of technology spotting your vehicle, at the mercy of a red X appearing, and at the mercy of another driver obeying it. Crashes happen — and they have happened.”
King said The AA had campaigned with families affected by ‘smart’ motorway deaths and had pushed government to stop new schemes and add more emergency refuge areas, but warned the underlying concept remained flawed.
On roadworks, King said too many schemes showed a lack of coordination between councils and utility companies, with newly resurfaced roads sometimes dug up again weeks later.
King concluded that Britain needs stronger strategic leadership on transport and cars and a clear “champion of the roads”.
Image of still from YouTube courtesy of The AA
