Scottish roads in '˜perilous state', survey finds

More than 90 per cent of drivers in Scotland say the roads are '˜considerably worse' now than they were a decade ago.

Motorists say the roads are getting worse

A study by the AA found 91 per cent of drivers believe residential streets where they live have deteriorated since 2008.

Scotland was the joint worst in the UK, along with the North West and East Midlands. Across the UK, 88 per cent of drivers on average said roads were worse.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “It is clear that despite all the talk from central and local government, not enough is being done to fix our increasingly dangerous streets.”

In Scotland, some 73 per cent of those who took part in the AA survey said roads had deteriorated “considerably” in terms of surface and potholes, compared with 67 per cent across the UK.

Only two per cent claimed their roads had improved compared with a decade ago.

More than half (51 per cent) of respondents rate their roads as “poor” and 7 per cent say they are “terrible”.

Mr King said: “Our potholed roads are in a perilous state. AA breakdown operations are rescuing record numbers of drivers whose tyres or wheels are damaged by potholes.

“The current lack of proper investment on local roads means that highway authorities are doing little more than papering over the cracks.”