The East Coast and Midwest of the United States were battered by heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures for weeks in early 2026, leaving behind tens of thousands of potholes. In New York, pothole complaints to the city’s 311 system saw a 119 percent increase in late March compared to the same period in 2025, the largest year-over-year increase ever. Connecticut drivers reported more potholes on state roads in the first two weeks of March than in all of March 2025. The daily average number of pothole reports from broken-down drivers was three-and-a-half times higher in February 2026 than a year ago, according to breakdown data. The RAC said 6,290 of its members mentioned potholes when logging breakdowns in February 2026, compared with 1,842 in February 2025. Cornwall, Leicestershire and the West Midlands experienced their wettest winter since comparable records began in 1836, with England receiving 42% more rain than usual between December and February 2026.
Cities across the United States are declaring a war on potholes after a brutal winter storm season. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott wants to fill 25,000 potholes in the next 90 days, building on the 134,000 potholes the city tackled last year. Road salt worsens the pothole problem by lowering the freezing temperature of water, which seeps into pavement and helps develop potholes.
SUVs made up more than half of the 2 million new cars sold in the UK last year, with their growing popularity contributing to road damage. Recent polling showed almost one in eight drivers in parts of the UK, including London and Yorkshire, had chosen to buy an SUV or heavier car partly due to concerns about road conditions. According to Opinium research, 6% of drivers nationwide said they had been influenced to buy or bought an SUV primarily because of the condition of roads. The typical SUV exerts around five times more force on the road than the typical passenger car, and SUVs are typically 200-300kg heavier than hatchback or sedan cars. SUVs were 3% of cars on the road in England 20 years ago and are now over 30%.
Drivers are facing a significant financial toll from pothole damage. Common vehicle problems caused by potholes include distorted wheels, damaged shock absorbers and broken suspension springs. A repair bill for a car suffering pothole damage more serious than a puncture can reach £590. Tesco Insurance said the number of pothole claims it settled in January 2026 alone was slightly more than half of its total for the whole of 2025, with an average payout of £4,441. The AA had 613,638 pothole-related callouts in 2025, averaging 1,681 a day, and 58,380 callouts in January 2026. Motorists in Peterborough have made the most pothole insurance claims since 2020, followed by Northampton and Tonbridge in Kent.
The UK government is providing councils with a record £7.3 billion over the next four years to help tackle potholes. However, the scale of the challenge is massive. One in six miles of the local road network in the UK had less than five years of structural life remaining, according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance's annual report last year. The cost of repairing all pothole-ridden roads across the UK is estimated to be £17 billion, and it would take over a decade to carry out.
Emergency services and volunteers are facing unprecedented damage from potholes. In February, Sumpter Township in the Detroit metro area declared a public safety emergency over the state of its gravel roads. Five of Severn Freewheelers' bikes had each sustained £1,000 of damage since January 2026, whereas they would usually expect one or two across a typical year.