More than half of motorists think the heaviest vehicles should pay extra towards fixing Britain’s battered roads, a survey by Kwik Fit reveals. Fifty-six per cent believe haulage firms ought to face a dedicated ‘pothole levy’, while only 17 per cent object. A similar sentiment applies to delivery vans, with 44 per cent backing a weight-related charge and 23 per cent opposed.

Support extends to private motoring: 48 per cent want higher Vehicle Excise Duty for heavy cars, against 21 per cent who object. Kwik Fit’s 2025 Pothole Impact Tracker puts last year’s repair bills for pothole damage at £1.7 billion. The Asphalt Industry Alliance says councils need £16.8 billion to clear the maintenance backlog, up 42 per cent since 2016, while drivers’ costs have surged 150 per cent.

Operations director Dan Joyce says the funding conundrum remains, with only 26 per cent ready to pay higher tax for local repairs. “Drivers feel they already give enough and expect heavier vehicles to shoulder the extra,” he observed, warning that any levy on lorries or vans would likely be passed on to shoppers.

Age matters: 40 per cent of Gen Z and 38 per cent of Millennials would accept a surcharge, versus 18 per cent of Gen X and 15 per cent of Boomers. Despite new government funding pledges, 64 per cent of motorists still doubt their local roads will improve any time soon, even with promises stretching into the next Parliament.