UK’s pothole danger zones revealed as 1 in 4 drivers suffers damage

More than a quarter of drivers in the UK say their cars have been damaged by potholes, with millions of people suffering personal injury due to road damage, according to new research.

A poll of drivers found that 27 per cent had needed to have their cars repaired after hitting a pothole but in the worst-hit locations almost half of motorists had suffered damage to their vehicle.

To mark National Pothole Day Select Car Leasing surveyed drivers around the country to determine the scale of the pothole problem and identify the nations’ worst towns and cities for road maintenance.

Gloucester emerged as the country’s pothole capital, with 46 per cent of drivers reporting damage to their cars - significantly more than joint second-place cities Cardiff, Coventry and Plymouth where 38 per cent of drivers experienced problems.

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The study also found that six per cent of drivers questioned - equivalent to 2.5 million people - had suffered physical injuries as a result of hitting a pothole.

Edinburgh - seventh on the list for damage - emerged as the location where drivers were most likely to have been hurt by hitting a pothole. A fifth (19 per cent) of those questioned said they had been left in pain, with injuries ranging from bumped heads and bitten tongues to back pain and whiplash. London (15 per cent), Bristol ( nine per cent) and Manchester and Oxford (both seven per cent) were among the other injury hot spots.