Beyond the pothole: what could help improve our roads?

A freshly repaired stretch of road can make an everyday journey feel noticeably better. No familiar bump, no rattling coffee cup, and one less thing to watch for on the way to work.

But keeping roads in good condition involves more than filling the holes we can already see.

Road maintenance ratings published by the Department for Transport, alongside proposals reported by the RAC, offer two different perspectives on the issue: how local authorities are performing today, and what might help them maintain roads more effectively in future.

How does your area measure up?

The Department for Transport’s local road maintenance map lets people explore ratings for local highway authorities across England.

Each authority receives a red, amber or green rating. The overall assessment combines road condition, maintenance spending, and how well the authority follows maintenance best practice. Green is the highest rating, followed by amber and red. (maps.dft.gov.uk, gov.uk)

That makes the map a useful starting point if you’re curious about the roads where you live. It also gives some context beyond the pothole you pass every morning.

The overall colour needs a little interpretation, though. Because it combines several measures, it isn’t simply a pothole count or a verdict on every road in the area. A green rating doesn’t mean every street is free from damage, while a red rating doesn’t tell you the condition of a particular route.

For a fuller picture, the published ratings show the separate assessments alongside the overall result.

Could better maintenance save billions?

An RAC article published in August 2026 reports on Citroën’s Better Roads Manifesto, which proposes changes to how roads are inspected, maintained and funded.

Citroën puts potential savings at £5.5 billion, bringing together estimates of fewer collisions and more efficient highway spending. That is a proposed benefit, rather than money already saved or a guaranteed reduction in government spending. (rac.co.uk)

The distinction matters. A headline figure can draw attention to the scale of an issue, but the outcome depends on what changes were introduced, how much they cost, and how well they worked.

The proposals reported by the RAC include using AI to support road inspections, longer funding plans, more consistent repair standards and stronger oversight of repairs after utility works. These are ideas put forward by Citroën, rather than an agreed national programme. (rac.co.uk)

Looking beyond the latest repair

One theme running through the discussion is prevention.

The DfT’s assessment considers the proportion of maintenance spending used for preventative work, as well as authorities’ resurfacing plans. Its approach recognises that maintaining a road network involves work before serious defects appear, alongside responding to existing damage. (gov.uk)

For road users, an individual repair is often the most visible sign of progress. Work intended to preserve a surface may attract less attention, even though it forms part of the wider maintenance picture.

It’s therefore useful to ask more than how many potholes have been filled. What condition are the roads in? What work is planned? And how is an authority balancing immediate repairs with long-term network maintenance?

What could technology contribute?

The RAC reports that Citroën is working with an AI road monitoring tool that captures images of road defects during journeys. The information can help authorities locate problems and plan maintenance. (rac.co.uk)

The potential is straightforward: better information could support better decisions about where work is needed.

But identifying a defect is only one part of the process. The value of a monitoring system ultimately depends on whether its findings lead to appropriate action. Judge technology by the improvements it helps deliver, alongside its cost.

A clearer view of the roads we share

The ratings and proposals serve different purposes. One helps explain current maintenance performance; the other contributes ideas to the debate about future improvements.

Neither can tell us when the pothole around the corner will be repaired. Together, though, they offer a useful way to look beyond individual bumps and consider how roads are cared for as a whole.

Curious about your area? Explore the DfT road maintenance ratings map and see what drives its overall colour. For practical advice following an impact, our separate guide explains what drivers should know about potholes.