We’ve all been there, you're driving along happily and then suddenly you hear a worrying clunk as your car thumps over a pothole.

For most of us, hitting a pothole won't cause any problems. However, a pothole can result in costly damage to a car and even personal injury for some unfortunate drivers.

Councils in England paid out more than £8 million of taxpayers’ money in 2018/19 to settle damage claims caused by potholes — with broken suspension springs, distorted wheels, burst tyres and damaged shock absorbers being among the most common claims for cars.

Potholes can cause serious injury and road accidents, too. Last year the biggest single claim in England resulted in a payout of almost a quarter of a million pounds.

Read on to learn about what to do if your car has been damaged by a pothole, how to apply for compensation and more!

What causes potholes?

Most potholes are caused by water seeping down through small cracks into the road surface, then freezing and creating gaps that widen up into gaping holes in the road. These cracks are created over time by the wear and tear of traffic, as well as the weather. 

If you think potholes always seem to be worse in winter, you'd be right. This is actually the case because cold weather causes the water that's seeped into the road to freeze and expand. Then, as this water melts and evaporates, it creates gaps in the road — which then get broken down by cars driving over them. 

To get a bit technical, some councils and local authorities define a pothole as a hole in the road that's wider than 250mm and deeper than 40mm deep (on A roads). On local roads, the pothole is defined as more than 50mm deep. 

I have seen a pothole on my road, how do I report it?

The first thing you should do is report the pothole to the relevant authority. As well as helping other drivers avoid potential damage to their car, reporting a pothole will land you in the good books of other drivers and cyclists (who can suffer serious injury from potholes).

To report a pothole in England and Wales, you can find the right authority using the Government's postcode checker. Motorways and A roads in England are managed by Highways England, which you can contact via info@highwaysengland.co.uk or the general enquiries telephone number (0300 123 5000).

You can report potholes in Scotland online to My Gov Scotland. If you live in Northern Ireland then you should report it to NI Direct.

I've driven over a large pothole and I'm worried about my car, what should I do? 

If you've hit a pothole in the road at low speed then you’re less likely to have caused serious damage to your car. With that said, it’s certainly worth pulling over to a safe place to check your car and the tyres for signs of damage. If you hit a large pothole on a faster road, like a motorway, you should definitely check for damage.

A pothole can cause your tyres to crack or become deformed. If the tyre is losing air or has any strange lumps or dents in the sidewall then you may need to replace it at the roadside or call for the car to be recovered.

If you feel a strange vibration through the pedals or the steering wheel then the suspension may be damaged. The car pulling to the left or right could indicate an issue with the steering. Either way, we'd advise for the car to be checked by a mechanic. 

Remember, you’re responsible for making sure your car is safe to drive and roadworthy. You can be fined up to £2,500 and be banned from driving for driving a car in a dangerous condition. Don't drive your car if you suspect it has a serious problem. 

How do I apply for compensation if a pothole damages my car?

The UK's highway authorities and agencies are legally obliged to maintain roads to a safe standard, which includes identifying and fixing potholes.

If the authority (like a council or Highways England) is at fault, you can claim for the damage done to your car. Potholes are inevitable, obviously, so the important question is whether it could have been fixed and whether it wasn’t because the authority was negligent.

Make some notes about the location and size of the pothole, photographs are also a smart idea. The AA recommends including a familiar object in your photo, like a shoe, to give a sense of scale. Whatever you do, don't put yourself at risk by attempting to photograph a pothole on a busy road.  

If you do need to have your car repaired then it's a good idea to get some quotes beforehand. Once you’ve compared costs, you should start the process of claiming from the relevant authority. It’s a good idea to have evidence of the quotes, invoices, receipts and whatever else you need to back up your claim.

When you get your car inspected by a mechanic, make sure the invoice is clearly itemised and dated. If possible, ask the garage to put it in writing that they believe the damage was caused by a pothole.

Contact the organisation responsible for the road and tell them what damage has occurred to your car, why you think they’re liable and the specific location where the incident took place (road name and the nearest marker post number or feature which identifies the part of the road you were on). Also include the date and time the damage was caused, as well as any evidence for the cost of repairing your car.

It’s important to note that the local highway authority can’t be held responsible for a pothole they didn’t know about. They might not have known about it if it hadn’t been reported to them or because it appeared after their road check.

Can my pothole compensation claim be rejected?

Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 gives councils a statutory defence if they can prove that they took reasonable care to make sure the road wasn’t dangerous to traffic. Essentially, this means highway and local authorities can defend against some claims if they weren't aware of the pothole or if they had in place a reasonable system of maintaining and inspecting the road.

What do I do if my pothole claim is rejected?

If your pothole damage claim is rejected, don't lose hope just yet. Councils have a formal system of road inspection and repair, which means you can ask to see the details of the council's road inspection reports to see if the council fulfilled their legal duty.

If you think your claim rejection was unfair you can use the small claims court to pursue it further — but bear in mind this can be expensive and has no guarantee of success, so you may need to seek professional legal advice before proceeding to the courts. 

Should I claim for pothole damage on my insurance?

Claiming on your car insurance is an easier process than claiming compensation from the authority that's responsible for maintaining the road. But there are some things to keep in mind. Firstly, you need to factor in the cost of the damage, your policy excess and the effect on any no-claims bonus you have.

Secondly, you can't claim twice — so if you claim on your car insurance, you shouldn't claim compensation from the council as well.

How much does it cost to fix a pothole?

According to our research, fixing a pothole is a relatively affordable process, costing an average of £70 a pop in England, however, this varies drastically as you travel up and down the country. 

We sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every council in England to uncover the best and worst councils for pothole repair costs and Torbay in Devon came out on top. According to our FOI request, a pothole in Torbay costs £18.93 to fix while Rotherham (£20) is second and Lincolnshire third (£27.33).

At the opposite end of the scale, the London Borough of Bexley has the priciest pothole repair with the council spending, on average, a whopping £398 to fill each pothole. Kensington and Chelsea was the second-worst (£355) — while the City of London rounded up the bottom three with pothole repair cost averaging at £337.