RAC reacts to new data showing road surface dressing volumes have increased since last year

Reacting to new data from the Road Emulsion Association (REA) that shows an increase in surface dressing using bitumen emulsions - a preventative form of road treatment to help protect against potholes - RAC head of policy Simon Williams said:

“It’s very good news for drivers that more roads were surface dressed between April and September this year than in 2023 as this should prevent thousands of potholes appearing.

“We hope the preventative road maintenance tide has well and truly turned as last year’s surface dressing figure dipped to a 12-year low. The fact so little surface dressing was carried out last year helps explain why drivers are so angry and frustrated with potholes, something we’ve very clearly seen in research for this year’s RAC Report on Motoring with 56% of drivers listing the poor state of local roads as their number-one motoring concern.

“Surface dressing seals roads from the damaging ingress of water, extending their lives by preventing potholes appearing in the first place. Positively, we’ve also noticed the Government heeding our call for councils to do more preventative maintenance. We believe greater use of surface dressing and other preventative maintenance treatments can finally bring an end to the degradation of our much-relied-on local roads.”

More details about potholes, including RAC's own data on pothole-related breakdowns, can be found on the RAC website.