Important information before you report a pothole
We’re currently experiencing exceptionally high levels of potholes and carriageway defects across Devon’s road network. An extremely wet January, which saw parts of the County receive 200% the average rainfall amount, combined with multiple named storms and several freeze–thaw events early in the month has caused a rapid increase in damage to road surfaces Countywide.
How we’re responding
To keep the network safe, we’ve significantly increased our resources, including:
- Additional repair crews deployed across the county
- Extra inspectors carrying out assessments
- Out of hours working, wherever possible, to keep up with demand
Despite these measures, the volume of defects is unprecedented, and this is placing extreme pressure on our teams.
How you can help
Public reporting plays a vital role in helping us identify issues between our scheduled inspections. However, we want to be transparent:
- Only around one third of reports we receive turn out to be actionable safety defects under our Highway Safety Policy.
- A significant number of reports are duplicates of issues already logged, which slows down our ability to respond efficiently.
What to do before submitting a new report
To help us prioritise and reach the most urgent issues sooner, please:
- Search for the pothole first to see if it’s already been reported.
- If it has, add your name to the existing report, do not create a duplicate. You’ll still receive updates, and it helps us manage resources more effectively.
Your cooperation makes a real difference. Thank you for helping us keep Devon’s roads safe during this challenging period.
Each report we receive is assessed onsite by a trained highway safety inspector. We do not ignore any reports that we receive, however, we do have to prioritise our funding as we cannot afford to fix all of the problems that are reported to us.
We prioritise repairing potholes, on roads, that have a 40 mm (4 cm) vertical edge and are 300 mm (30 cm) wide as these are the biggest risk to highway users.
All reports should be assessed onsite within seven calendar days. Following the assessment, repairs will be carried out by the end of the next working day, seven or 28 calendar days (depending on the outcome of the assessment) if confirmed as a priority pothole.
We will repair smaller potholes, and other road surface issues, as and when resources are available and as part of our planned works programmes.
Please see the images below which illustrate a pothole with a vertical edge:
You can find out more about our pothole criteria in our safety inspection policy.
Visit our Help and Support page for frequently asked questions about potholes and other highway matters.
Before you start
If you are reporting an emergency that is very likely to present an imminent threat to life or serious injury or serious property damage please instead call us on 0345 155 1004.