How Pot Hole Tracker works

Our purpose

We make road defects easier to report, track and understand. Every report creates a clear, located record with a photo, so problems can be referred to the right place and progress can be followed openly.

What happens after you report

1. Report received. You get a reference number straight away.
2. Under review. We check the photo, location and details. Optional AI checks help spot photos that do not show a road, or that show faces or number plates.
3. Referred to highway authority. Reviewed reports are passed to the authority responsible for that road.
4. Repaired or closed. We update the record when a repair is confirmed or no further action is needed.

How we identify the highway authority

We use official postcode and boundary data (from postcodes.io, which publishes ONS and Ordnance Survey open data) and OpenStreetMap road data. In two-tier areas of England, the county council is usually the highway authority. Motorways and many major trunk roads are managed by national agencies such as National Highways. In Northern Ireland, roads are managed by the Department for Infrastructure. Some local arrangements differ, so the authority shown is a best estimate.

What we do not do

• We are not a council or government service, and we do not claim to be endorsed by one.
• A report here is not a legal claim. We cannot advise on vehicle damage claims or compensation.
• We cannot guarantee repair times or road safety outcomes.

Accessibility

We aim to meet WCAG 2.2 AA. Every map has a list view, all controls work with a keyboard, and status is shown with text as well as colour. If something is difficult to use, please tell us.

Open data

Public reports can be downloaded as CSV from the live map, or used as a GeoJSON feed at http://potholetracker.org/api/reports.php.