Over one-in-10 call-outs in the last six months attended by NRMA patrols have related to tyre failures as the organisation is urging drivers to be cautious with heavy rainfall impacting on the quality of roads.
Analysis conducted by the NRMA found that since July last year the NRMA roadside assistance responded to around 56,000 call-outs for tyre and wheel damage despite traffic volumes across the state heavily impacted by COVID restrictions.
Each year the NRMA responds to over one million breakdowns. Throughout the 2021 financial year over 13 per cent of the total call-outs for NRMA patrols related to tyre and wheel damage.
Sustained periods of heavy rain across the state has seen significant damage to roads with a growing number of potholes and shoulder-width damage. Fixing damaged roads during the pandemic and while rains continue has added further pressure to councils.
Despite traffic volumes heavily impacted across the state due to COVID restrictions call out numbers for tyres and wheel remains high since July, with the top five local government areas across NSW:
1. Blacktown 2,581
2. Central Coast 2,580
3. Canterbury-Bankstown 2,451
4. Northern Beaches 2,126
5. Sydney 1,805
6. Parramatta 1,744
7. Inner-West 1,592
8. Sutherland shire 1,511
9. Cumberland 1,404
10. Bayside 1,322
In addition, 2,647 breakdowns for wheel and tyre damage were conducted by the NRMA in the ACT
Spokesperson Peter Khoury urged motorists across NSW to report potholes to their local council as continued rain would only cause further damage to the road network.
“Local councils and the NSW Government have a tough job maintaining the road network with the heavy rains we have experienced throughout 2021 and so we urge the community to drive safely and be patient,” Mr Khoury said.
“We should expect to see continued roadworks across the state as these damaged roads are fixed and it is therefore important that drivers should patience behind the wheel as we would expect delays while the work is being done.
“We also encourage local councils and the NSW Government to work together to get these roads fixed as quickly as possible – NRMA patrols see first-hand the damage these potholes can do to vehicles and we know there are safety risks to driving on poor quality road surfaces.
Contact: John Macgowan
