Across the United States, drivers are paying a growing price for deteriorating roads, with potholes a growing issue. What starts as a small crack in the pavement can quickly turn into a pothole capable of causing extensive property damage and injuries.
Driving on deteriorated and congested roads costs the average U.S. motorist more than $1,400 per year in added vehicle operating costs and lost time, according to national infrastructure data.
At CR Legal Team, we conducted a study to measure the true cost of potholes, from car damage to road taxes. The problem has become so widespread that potholes now cost American drivers billions of dollars every year. They also place increasing pressure on cities and states that are already struggling to maintain aging infrastructure.
How Potholes Form
Pothole damage is an extremely common feature of U.S. roads, particularly in the colder regions. Although January 15th is observed as National Pothole Day in the US, pothole season usually starts around March: winters featuring anomalously heavy rainfall and extreme temperature dips can accelerate their appearance.
Potholes occur due to moisture and temperature change: this is what creates the freeze-thaw cycle that leads to their formation. They usually start small, with water from rain or melting snow getting into small cracks in the road.
When temperatures drop, the water that runs into the small cracks freezes and expands, putting pressure on the surrounding pavement. When temperatures rise, the ice melts, leaving vulnerable empty spaces beneath the road surface.
As this freeze-and-thaw process repeats, the road’s inherent fragility increases. Cars and trucks passing over those damaged spots further weaken the pavement until the surface eventually gives way, resulting in a pothole.
“In addition,” suggests AAA’s Car Doctor John Paul, “A pothole can then fill with water again, refreeze, melt, and further weaken the asphalt, until the pothole becomes a car-eating crater.”
Extreme weather swings are accelerating this process nationwide. Pothole-related breakdowns hit a five‑year high in July 2022, with AAA reporting a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in tire‑damage callouts.
America’s Growing Pothole Problem
The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the nation’s roads a D+ grade, and nearly 40% of major roads are still considered to be in poor or mediocre condition.
With almost 4 million miles of roads stretching across the country, some estimates suggest there are more than 55 million potholes nationwide. That works out to roughly 13 potholes for every mile of road.
Public Frustration Is Growing
In Worcester, Massachusetts, a resident recently got people talking during a city meeting by showing just how drivers have to weave around potholes, hoping to push officials to speed up repairs.
In Tacoma, Washington, city leaders have rolled out a maintenance push called “Pothole Palooza,” which is focused on fixing or preventing around 9,000 potholes as part of a wider effort to deal with worsening road conditions across the city.
Potholes Are Creating Legal Challenges
The Kansas Supreme Court recently looked at a case dealing with whether cities can be held responsible for pothole damage, which is part of a broader ongoing debate about who’s actually accountable for keeping roads in safe condition. Similar lawsuits are popping up around the country, with drivers trying to recover costs for vehicle damage and injuries they believe were caused by poorly maintained roads.
In Los Angeles, the city reportedly spent around $5 million in a single year settling pothole-related claims, showing just how costly these issues can become for local governments when road conditions go downhill.
Nashville Incident Shows the Real-World Cost
In April 2026, a large pothole on Interstate 40 reportedly damaged more than 20 vehicles in just a few hours. For some drivers, the impact led to repair bills approaching $1,000 to replace blown tires, fix bent rims, and repair suspension damage.
Local officials later warned that additional potholes were likely as several days of heavy rain moved into the region, prompting advisories for Nashville drivers to expect worsening road conditions.
A Funding Gap Remains
Since late 2021, more than $591 billion has been set aside through federal infrastructure programs to improve transportation systems. Even so, experts still estimate there’s a roadway funding gap of roughly $684 billion over the next decade. Rural areas face disproportionate risks: although only 19% of Americans live in rural regions, 47% of roadway fatalities occur there, often on deteriorated roads.
The Hidden Safety Risks of Potholes
Most drivers see potholes as an annoyance, but they can be much more serious than that. Hitting a pothole can deliver a surprisingly hard impact. Some experts compare it to striking an object at roughly 35 miles per hour.
Depending on the size and depth of the pothole, the impact can cause:
- Tire blowouts
- Bent or cracked wheels
- Suspension damage
- Steering problems
- Loss of vehicle control
For EV owners, the pothole risk is compounded. An EV is roughly 20-30% heavier than a gas equivalent due to its battery pack, with roadside data confirming that EVs suffer twice as much tire trouble as combustion cars, much of it due to weight and pothole damage: the low-profile, low-rolling-resistance tires fitted to most EVs increase the chances of alloy and tire damage during a severe pothole impact.
Tiremakers such as Michelin confirm higher EV tire susceptibility, suggesting EV tires wear out 20% faster on EVs than on a gas car.
Compared with similar gas cars, a study from Recharged reported that EV tire wear occurs between 15% and 30% faster, depending on model and driving style, and many long‑range EV batteries weigh between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds, adding even more force during a pothole strike.
How Potholes Contribute to Crashes
Research shows that pothole-related incidents make up about 1% of all road accidents. That might not sound like much, but it still adds up to thousands of crashes every year.
When a driver hits a pothole and loses control, it can lead to anything from a collision with another vehicle to running off the road or hitting roadside objects.
Pothole concerns are widespread: 64% of U.S. drivers say they are worried about potholes, including 74% of drivers in the Northeast, where freeze‑thaw cycles are most severe.
The Hidden Risk of Swerving to Avoid Potholes
Drivers often swerve to avoid colliding with a pothole: this corrective reaction can have calamitous side effects. They may cut off neighboring cars or force them into other lanes, causing a potential crash; that in turn may lead to blocked lanes and subsequent road rage that may then lead to further issues.
Ultimately, aggressive driving is a factor in 54% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes, with sudden swerving among the most dangerous habits flagged by AAA.
The NHTSA also suggests that about 40% of fatal rollover crashes are due to excessive speed, with sudden steering or swerving cited as a leading rollover trigger, especially on roads with limits of 55 mph and above. And safety experts warn that swerving to avoid a pothole can easily result in a collision with a tree, guardrail, or oncoming car.
Evasive maneuvers tied to road debris, including potholes, contribute to an estimated 53,000 crashes, 5,500 injuries, and 72 deaths each year, according to AAA Foundation research.
Cyclists and Motorcyclists Face Greater Risks
Unlike passenger vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles have much narrower tires that can more easily become trapped in cracks, potholes, and uneven pavement. Even a relatively small road defect can cause a rider to lose balance and crash.
Research shows that road defects play a noticeable role in cycling accidents and are often tied to serious injuries. For motorcyclists, hitting a pothole at speed can be even more dangerous, sometimes leading to a complete loss of control and, in the worst cases, life-threatening crashes.
International data underscores the danger: in the UK alone, 118 cyclists were killed or seriously injured between 2017 and 2021 due to defective road surfaces, and one in five motorcyclists reported damaging their bike after striking a pothole.
How Poor Roads Fuel Aggressive Driving
Drivers who spend their daily commutes dodging potholes, sitting through road repair delays, or paying for the same vehicle damage over and over are bound to get frustrated. After a while, that stress can start to show behind the wheel.
That frustration can show up in a few different ways:
- Tailgating other cars
- Sudden or aggressive lane changes
- Excessive honking
- Cutting off other drivers
- Road rage incidents
Over time, these behaviors don’t just create tension on the road—they also raise the risk of crashes and make driving less safe for everyone.
The Link Between Potholes and Road Rage
Traffic safety experts say aggressive driving is now a factor in more than half of all fatal crashes. And as roads continue to get worse in many areas, it’s getting harder to ignore the connection between poor road conditions and rising driver frustration.
Since 92% of US drivers now admit to aggressive behaviour behind the wheel (cutting off other cars is up 67%; angry honking is up 47% since 2016) it’s hardly surprising that the number of aggressive driving incidents rose 30% between 2015 and 2024.
Shockingly, fatal road rage shootings have doubled, with 141 deaths recorded during a single recent year. Louisiana ranks worst in the country for road rage, with New Mexico and Montana close behind: these same states sit near the top of the worst-roads tables, with potholes a blight in all cases.
The Financial Impact on Drivers
According to AAA survey data, about 44 million American drivers ended up paying for pothole-related vehicle repairs in 2022. That’s a sharp jump from 28 million drivers just the year before. And a 2023 AAA survey found that the number of drivers who suffered pothole-related vehicle damage that led to repairs soared 57% from the previous year.
Many drivers suffer repeat pothole damage, up to 3 times in 5 years. Nationally, pothole-related repairs cost drivers an estimated $26.5 billion annually. Drivers aged 35-44 appear to be the worst-affected; 31% of this demographic report having to pay for pothole-related repairs.
Common repairs include:
- Tire replacements
- Wheel repairs or replacements
- Suspension repairs
- Steering system repairs
- Wheel alignments
- Undercarriage damage
AAA also reported receiving 1.8 million roadside assistance calls related to damaged tires during one recent winter and spring season. Roughly 11% of all roadside assistance requests involved tire damage.
The financial burden can be especially difficult for families already on a tight budget. One widely reported story involved a pregnant Tennessee mother who became emotional after a pothole on Interstate 65 caused a tire blowout. Like many Americans, she faced an unexpected repair bill she could not easily afford.
A 2021 study by Clunker Junker considered Twitter complaints as a barometer of state pothole issues. They gathered every pothole-related tweet from every US state over a year and worked out the total length of road in every state to rank states by pothole damage. By this measure, Rhode Island ranked first with 23.4 complaints per 1000km of road, while the city subject to the most complaints was Atlanta, Georgia: a shocking 529.1 Twitter complaints per 1000km of road.
In 2013, San Diego spent $1.3 million repairing over 30,000 potholes; Oklahoma City fills up to 90,000 potholes every year. As a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (passed in November 2021), the federal government is spending $1.57 million per mile to repair highways in need of attention (including those most afflicted with potholes).
The state with the highest number of roads in poor condition is Texas: 19,400 miles of highways in need of repair (as of 2020). As such, it’s the beneficiary of the most federal aid for highway programs ($26.9 billion), with an average per state of $5.4 billion.
AAA estimates the average pothole repair costs between $406 and $600 per incident, and pothole damage is 60% more common in the Northeast than in the South and West. In 2021 alone, pothole damage cost U.S. drivers more than $1,115 per motorist on average.
States With the Worst Road Conditions
Road quality varies significantly across the country.
States With the Best Road Conditions
At the other end of the rankings, states with the best road conditions include:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Nevada
- Kansas
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
States Where Road Conditions Are Worsening
Some states are also moving in the wrong direction. Between 2019 and 2024, Idaho experienced the largest increase in roads classified as being in poor condition, followed by Oklahoma and California.
Meanwhile, Minnesota, Indiana, and South Dakota recorded some of the most significant improvements.
The Northeast continues to experience particularly high levels of pothole damage. Tire repair rates in the region are significantly higher than in the South and West, reflecting the impact of harsher winters and frequent freeze-thaw cycles.
Who Pays for Road Repairs?
With 174,740 miles of highway in poor condition in the U.S. (an average of 3,426 per state), repairing those roads isn’t cheap. Ultimately, taxpayers end up covering most of the bill. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act put $454 billion dollars toward transportation projects (including the repair of potholes) between 2022 and 2026, but those efforts have failed to close the gap.
Most states don’t bring in enough from fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, or tolls to fully pay for road maintenance. Only Maryland and New Jersey actually collect enough to cover their highway spending. Everyone else has to rely on general tax dollars to make up the difference.
Additionally, drivers end up paying in less obvious ways. Poor road conditions lead to more wear and tear on vehicles, higher fuel use, and extra time spent in traffic. Altogether, studies suggest that the average driver pays $571 a year as a result of damage caused by driving on roads in poor condition.
Washington, D.C. drivers suffer the highest cost ($1,100 a year), followed by Rhode Island ($845 a year). States with the lowest annual costs include Tennessee ($209), Oregon ($256), and Wyoming ($295), highlighting the wide geographic disparities in road maintenance and funding.
New Technology May Help Fight Potholes
One notable example is the partnership between Waymo and Waze, which aims to provide cities with better tools for identifying road hazards, including potholes.
By using data collected from connected vehicles and navigation systems, local governments can identify trouble spots more quickly and prioritize repairs before conditions worsen.
The Road Ahead
Potholes may seem like a routine inconvenience, but their impact reaches far beyond a rough ride. While federal infrastructure investments are helping address some of the nation’s roadway challenges, the scale of the problem remains enormous. As experienced Charlotte car accident lawyers, we have seen the many ways in which potholes affect people’s lives.
For drivers, the best approach is still pretty straightforward: stay alert, keep tires properly inflated, check your vehicle after any hard impact, and report dangerous road conditions when you spot them.
Until roads are properly fixed nationwide, potholes will continue to be one of the most costly hazards drivers deal with every day on America’s roads.
