Official Statistics

Road conditions in England to March 2022

Published 3 November 2022

Applies to England

About this release

This annual release presents information on the condition of roads in England, covering surface condition, skidding resistance and highway maintenance treatments and expenditure

Automated survey machines and visual surveys are used by Local Authorities and National Highways (NH) to monitor the condition of the road surface.

Figures in this report only include Local Authorities with valid data available. Data is available for fewer London Local Authorities for the last 3 years in this release, due to changes to how surveys in London were carried out. We estimate that this has had limited impact on the headline figures.

Main points

The condition of local roads has been broadly stable over time, with the proportion of roads that should be considered for maintenance for the year ending March 2022 being largely unchanged from the previous 12 months.

To the year ending March 2022, Local Authorities reported the proportion of:

• local ‘A’ roads that should have been considered for maintenance was 4%, unchanged for the past 3 years

• ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads that should have be considered for maintenance was 6%, unchanged for the past 6 years

• unclassified roads that should have been considered for maintenance was 15%, a small improvement from 17% in the previous 12 months. Unclassified roads continue to see greater yearly fluctuations than other roads

Chart 1: Trend in the proportion of local roads that should have been considered for maintenance, in England, by road type, shown as an index where the year ending March 2008 = 100%, year ending March 2008 to the year ending March 2022 (RDC0120)

Categorisation of road condition

Definition of road surface condition categories:

Red: Should be considered for maintenance. Treatment may or may not be required, but the road should be investigated fully.

Amber: Maintenance may be required soon.

Green: No further investigation or work is needed.

Figure 1: Examples of roads categorised as red, amber, and green

Important information about comparing the road condition data across different types of roads

Road surface condition categories are based on multiple parameters collected by Surface Condition Assessment for the National Network of Roads (SCANNER) machines and scored against different definitions for different types of road. This is so that maintenance is prioritised for roads that are more frequently used. This means that the proportion of ‘red’ roads is not comparable across road classes (for example, “A”, “B”, “C” and “U”). For example, an A’ road categorised as red could be in identical condition to a ‘B’ road categorised as amber.

Road Condition Surveys Used by Local Authorities

Although current requirements specify that SCANNER surveys should be carried out by Local Authorities on their classified road network (Motorways, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads), other surveys have been used by Local Authorities. In the year ending March 2022, 80% of Local Authorities used SCANNER surveys on their ‘A’ road network and 79% used it on the ‘B’ and ‘C’ networks. This is a fall from 99% on ‘A’ roads and 98% of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads in the year ending March 2018. The data in this publication is based on responses from both those Local Authorities using SCANNER and those who have supplied alternatives.

In response to the changing landscape of road condition monitoring surveys available to Local Authorities, the Department for Transport (DfT) are working to produce a new Data Standard to allow for multiple technologies but ensure data comparability and integrity across the different survey approaches. A position paper for the Data Standard has been published on this review of road condition data and technology.

Condition of Local ‘A’ Roads

Local ‘A’ roads and motorways account for around 9% of the Local Authority managed road network in England and carry approximately one-third of all traffic. Local Authorities are required to carry out SCANNER surveys on 90% of their ‘A’ roads and motorways over a 2-year period, therefore the data presented for the year ending March 2022 was collected between April 2020 and March 2022.

Chart 2: Percentage of local ‘A’ roads categorised as red, amber, or green in the years ending March 2021 and March 2022 (RDC0122 RDC0123)

In the year ending March 2022, 4% of local ‘A’ roads were categorised as red. The majority of roads were categorised as green at 72%, followed by amber at 24%. These proportions remained the same as those seen in the year ending March 2021.

The percentage of local ‘A’ roads categorised as red has remained at 4% since the year ending March 2020. Despite a slight increase from 3% in the year ending March 2019, the proportion of these roads categorised as red is still below levels seen in the year ending March 2008.

Chart 3: Proportion of local ‘A’ roads categorised as red, year ending March 2008 to year ending March 2022 (RDC0120 RDC0121)

The proportion of roads categorised as red varies across the country, as demonstrated in Chart 4.

Chart 4: Proportion of Local Authority managed ‘A’ roads that were categorised as red, by Local Authority, year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2022 (RDC0120, RDC0121, Interactive Map)

Of the 109 Local Authorities that provided data for the year ending March 2022, 46 Local Authorities reported 2% or fewer red ‘A’ roads, while 3 Local Authorities reported greater than 10%.

When looking at the proportion of ‘A’ roads categorised as red over time:

• 79% of Local Authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of ‘A’ roads categorised as red between the years ending March 2013 and 2022, where data was available for both time periods

• looking at shorter term trends, 60% of Local Authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of red ‘A’ roads since the year ending March 2019

Condition of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads

‘B’ and ‘C’ roads together account for around 28% of all roads in England. Local Authorities are expected to carryout SCANNER surveys on 85% of their ‘B’ road and 80% of their ‘C’ road networks over a 2-year period. The data presented for the year ending March 2022 will have been collected between April 2020 and March 2022.

Chart 5: Percentage of Local Authority managed ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads that are categorised as red, amber or green, in the years ending March 2020 and March 2022 (RDC0122, RDC0123)

In the year ending March 2022:

• for ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads, 6% were categorised as red

• while 28% of roads were amber

• the majority of roads were green, at 66%

Since the year ending March 2021, there was an improvement in the proportion of roads categorised as green, from 64% to 66% for year ending March 2022. There was a slight fall in the proportion of amber roads, from 29% to 28%, and red remained at 6%. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Chart 6: Proportion of Local Authority managed ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads that were categorised as red, years ending March 2008 to March 2022 (RDC0120, RDC0121)

After reaching a peak in the years ending March 2010 and March 2011, where 10% of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads were categorised as red, the proportion fell to 6% in the year ending March 2016. Figures have remained stable at 6% since the year ending March 2016.

Chart 7: Proportion of Local Authority managed ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads that were categorised as red, by Local Authority, years ending March 2011 to March 2021 (RDC0120, RDC0121, Interactive Map)

In the year ending March 2022, around a quarter of Local Authorities reported 2% or fewer red ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads, while 7 Local Authorities reported greater than 10%.

When looking at the proportion of ‘‘B’ and ‘C’ roads categorised as red over time:

• where data was available for both time periods, 87% of Local Authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads categorised as red between the years ending March 2013 and March 2022

• more recently, since the year ending March 2019, 66% of Local Authorities reported an improvement or no change in the proportion of red ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads

Condition of Local Authority managed Unclassified Road

Local Authorities are only expected to survey their unclassified roads over a 4-year period, with data presented for the year ending March 2022 primarily being collected between April 2018 and March 2022.

Unclassified roads continue to see the greatest change from year to year, likely caused by the size of the unclassified road network, the variation in road surfaces, less frequent surveys and the greater mix of survey types used. Visual surveys remain the most common survey type at 60% but this is a fall from around three-quarters in the year ending March 2017.

Chart 8: Proportion of unclassified roads categorised as red, years ending March 2008 to March 2021 (RDC0130, RDC0131)

The proportion of the unclassified road network categorised as red has fluctuated between 15% and 18% since measurement started in March 2007, and currently stands at 15%.

Strategic Road Network

The Strategic Road Network (SRN) is made up of the motorways and major trunk roads in England that are managed by National Highways (NH). These roads account for around 2% of the road network in England but carry approximately one-third of all traffic. TRAffic-speed Condition Surveys (TRACS) are carried out on the full SRN each year. The year ending March 2022 data was collected between April 2018 and March 2022 with most of the data from the last 2 years.

For roads that make up the SRN in the year ending March 2022:

• for motorways, 4% should have been considered for maintenance

• for ‘A’ roads, 7% should have been considered for maintenance

Both of these figures have remained at the same level since the year ending March 2019.

Chart 9: Percentage of NH managed roads that should have been considered for maintenance, by road type, years ending March 2008 to March 2022 (RDC0201)

National Highways’ management of the SRN is also monitored by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), who produced a report covering April 2021 to March 2022 on this, which includes a road condition metric and target. Overall, 95.5% of the SRN did not require further investigation in the year ending March 2022, exceeding the target within their key performance indicator of at least 95%. This key performance indicator has now been met for the last 5 years.

The methods used by NH to calculate this measure of condition vary from those presented in this report for surface condition and skidding resistance, therefore are not directly comparable. See the Technical Note for further information on these differences.

Skidding resistance

Skidding resistance surveys are undertaken by Local Authorities and NH. They provide a measure of the road surface contribution to the frictional forces developed between a vehicle’s tyres and the road when accelerating, braking, or cornering.

Skidding resistance surveys are undertaken by Local Authorities and NH. They provide a measure of the road surface contribution to the frictional forces developed between a vehicle’s tyres and the road when accelerating, braking, or cornering.

In the year ending March 2022, for skidding resistance:

• of the motorways that are part of the SRN, 4% required further investigation, the same level as the previous year’s figures

• for strategic ‘A’ roads, this decreased by 1 percentage point since the previous year to 11%

• for local roads, 30% of the motorway and ‘A’ road network in England required further investigation in the 3-year period from the years ending March 2020 to March 2022. This was an increase on the 3-year period from the years ending March 2019 to March 2021

Chart 10: Proportion of NH managed roads requiring further investigation for skidding resistance, by road type, years ending March 2008 to March 2022 (RDC0210)

Maintenance treatments on local roads

Different types of treatment are applied to sections of road to preserve, repair or improve the condition of the road. These are influenced by factors such as weather, funding and nature of the defect requiring treatment. The type of road selected for treatment by a Local Authorities is likely to include a broader group of roads than just those categorised as red.

In the year ending March 2022:

• for local ‘A’ road network (excluding motorway), 5.8% and 2.7% of the minor road network (‘B’, ‘C’ and unclassified roads) received maintenance treatments, a slight increase for ‘A’ roads and a slight decrease for minor roads on the previous year

• surface dressing accounted for over half of all treatments on local ‘A’ roads and the majority of all minor roads (59% and 70% respectively)

Chart 11: Percentage of local authority managed roads receiving maintenance treatments in the year ending March 2021 (RDC0320)

Data source

For local roads, Local Authorities are required to report the proportion of road surface that should be considered for maintenance (such as, categorised as red) under the Single Data List. They are also asked to provide information on the proportion of road surface categorised as amber or green, as well as information about skidding resistance and highway maintenance treatments.

While Local Authorities are currently required to undertake SCANNER surveys on their classified roads, surveys on unclassified roads are not limited to SCANNER and other methods can be used. The condition of the Strategic Road Network is measured using TRACS.

Some Local Authorities use alternative road condition surveys to SCANNER and convert the data to an equivalent score. DfT is working with industry experts to evaluate and define an open standard to accommodate these alternative technologies.

Comparisons of road condition across different road types should be made with caution due to the differing methods used.

Further information about road condition data and surveys, see the Road Condition Statistics guide, notes and definitions and technical note.

Although most of the data used to measure road condition for the year ending March 2022 will have been from surveys carried out between April 2021 and March 2022, due to the 2-year cycle of surveys there may be some impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic seen in these statistics.

Strengths and weaknesses

Figures in this publication come from a wide range of sources. Consequently, the accuracy of figures will vary between tables. Users are recommended to refer to separately published road conditions statistics guidance for more detail on how information for each table was collected.

SCANNER data are collected using automated road condition survey machines. Although each machine is accredited for accuracy and readings fall within the accepted boundaries of the SCANNER specification for road condition, there is still variability between the results that each machine delivers. It can lead to small changes in the figures over time that are for reasons beyond the condition of the road, and above the expected range of variability that already exists within the data. Caution should therefore be taken when comparing the figures over time, particularly for the Local Authorities and regions fagged in the publication tables.

SCANNER has been the recommended survey method for local ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads. In recent years, due to the proportion of Local Authorities using SCANNER on ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ roads falling and the response rate lowering, comparable SCANNER data has fallen from 97% of all applicable LAs in the year ending March 2017 to 57% in the year ending March 2022. This is important to note as the type of survey carried out can affect the percentage of roads categorised as red. To ensure comparability of road condition information, DfT is looking to implement a data standard for local road condition monitoring. More information on this can be found in the position paper that reviews this data and technology.

More information

Other measures of condition also exist. The Asphalt Industry Alliance carry out the Alarm Survey and report on a measure of structural condition alongside other measures. The RAC also produce a pothole index using their members’ breakdown data.

The next update, Road conditions in England, year ending March 2023 and accompanying tables are due to be published in 2023. In the meantime, continued engagement with stakeholders will be undertaken to improve the usability and relevance of the statistics.

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Contact details​

Road condition statistics

Email roadmaintenance.stats@dft.gov.uk

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