Open petition: Introduce an offence to the Highways Act for failure to maintain public roads

Created by Barry Ricks
Closes on 22 November 2026

Drivers and owners of vehicles used on the public highway can commit an offence if their vehicle is not maintained in a roadworthy condition. Introduce a similar legal offence to the Highways Act to prosecute responsible Authorities for failure to maintain the roads they are responsible for.

We believe that despite adequate tax revenue the public roads infrastructure has been poorly maintained and often poses a risk of damage to vehicles and to the safety of road users. The Highways Act 1980 places a duty of care on Authorities but without any sanction for failure to do so. We are concerned that Authorities have developed defensive procedures to deter and limit private claims whilst continuing to avoid their obligations under the Act. To correct this, we want sanctions for 'failure to maintain' to be set within the Act.

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