The Pitfalls of Potholes: A Closer Look at South African Roads

Posted by Hippo on 17 July 2024

green car driving through a large pothole

South Africa has the 10th largest road network in the world.That’spretty impressive for a developing country with arelatively small population.

What’s not so impressive? Potholes. They’re a problem.

As a Hippo in-the-know, we'rehere to shed some light on the current road conditions in South Africa, how we got here, and where (we think) we’regoing next.

The State of South Africa’s Roads

state of pothole roads in south africa

In October 2022, former president of the South African Roads Federation (SARF) Mutshutshu Nxumalo claimed that there were more than 25 million potholes on South Africa’s roads.

The South African National Road Agency (SANRAL) quickly refuted this. Their reasoning? With a 168,000-kilometre network of paved roads, we would have around 149 potholes per kilometre.

That might seem tough to believe. Unless you’ve driven on any road in Johannesburg, East London, or Durban recently. Or if you’ve gone down the R708, a major road in the Free State, where you’ll run into a pothole every 29 metres. Or if you use the R31 in the Northern Cape. Or if you catch on that they’ve conveniently excluded gravel roads in their count.

Many roads are cracking and crumbling (which can, of course, lead to potholes). Collapsing culverts—which direct water underneath the road to prevent flooding—cause sinkholes. Events like rockfalls create obstructions and can damage road surfaces.

All in all, we’d say the state of South Africa’s roads is far from lekker.

Which Province Has the Worst Roads?

This isn’t a competition that anyone wants to win, so fortunately it’s a tie!

According to one of South Africa’s most popular short-term insurers, Johannesburg and Pretoria (Gauteng), Potch (North West), Bloemfontein (Free State), and Pietermaritzburg and Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) account for the most pothole claims.

A Roadmap of How We Got Here

factors that contribute to the formation of road potholes

Ever wondered why South Africa’s roads are riddled with potholes? Well, it's a bit of a saga.

About 80% of South Africa’s roads have exceeded their 20-year design life. Plus, there’s a substantial road maintenance backlog, with the work estimated to cost over R200 billion. What’s more, neither SANRAL nor municipalities have the money they need to keep repairing these old roads.

This, along with more and more extreme weather conditions in South Africa, means that we’re driving towards disaster.

Where We’re Going: What’s Being Done to Fix Roads in South Africa

In an ideal world, the authority that’s responsible for the road would be the one to maintain and repair it. So, SANRAL would take care of the 21,000 kilometres of national roads and municipalities would look after the remaining 600,000 kilometres of gravel and tarmac.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, so this doesn’t happen.

On the bright side, we live in a country full of extremely clever people. Certain businesses have created pothole-reporting apps that drivers can use to register potholes. Those companies then send teams to fix the road, often leaving some kind of marking on the tarmac to indicate that they made the repairs.

Taking the Long Road Home

Seeing as these pesky road craters are now part of our driving experience, it's essential to know how to safeguard your vehicle. While we can't magically erase potholes from our paths, we can certainly minimise their impact on our cars.

traffic cones in a large pothole in the middle of a road

While we can't magically erase potholes from our paths, we can try to minimise their impact on our cars. If you see a pothole coming up and can’t swerve out of the way, here are some tips to minimise damage:

Hold the steering wheel firmly: Keep a firm grip to maintain control of your vehicle as you hit the pothole.

Avoid braking on impact: Don’t brake directly over the pothole as this can cause more damage to the suspension and tires. Instead, let your car roll over the pothole.

Drive straight: Keep your wheels straight as you drive over. Turning while hitting a pothole can cause more damage to your tires and suspension.

Distribute the weight evenly: Try to position your car so that the pothole is between your wheels, if possible, allowing the suspension to distribute the impact evenly.

Inspect your vehicle afterwards: Find a safe space to pull over as soon as possible to inspect your tires, rims, and undercarriage. Be realistic about whether you can drive further, as you don’t want to increase any damage. If you’re unsure, rather call for a tow service.

Sometimes, Potholes Are Unavoidable

If you do run into a pothole and it results in an accident, you can claim from the authority that’s responsible for the maintenance of the road. (That’s SANRAL for national roads and the municipality for local roads.) Alternatively, you can claim from your insurer.

Claiming from SANRAL or the municipality will likely be a long, painful process. On the other hand, claiming from your insurer could very well end up increasing your monthly premiums.

If you have tyre and rim cover with your insurer, you can use this to claim for pothole damage. It’s an add-on to car insurance made specifically for incidents like pothole damage. So, rather than making a full claim from your insurance with a hefty excess, you can claim from your tyre and rim cover and likely pay less in excess. add-on to car insurance made specifically for incidents like pothole damage. So, rather than making a full claim from your insurance with a hefty excess, you can claim from your tyre and rim cover and likely pay less in excess.

It's up to you to decide how best to get your vehicle fixed if it's damaged by a pothole.