This Bad Weather Is Costing Australia’s Drivers Thousands

• Sydney’s roads are riddled with potholes that destroy tyres, rims, and suspensions, costing drivers thousands each year.
• Councils and the state government trade responsibility while repairs remain slow, temporary, and ineffective.
• Claims are nearly impossible, leaving drivers paying twice, through taxes and their own repair bills.

Australia has always been one of the great driving countries. From the sweeping bends of the Great Ocean Road to the endless straights of the Nullarbor, this is a place built for road trips. Long distances, untouched landscapes, coastal highways hugging the sea, the car is stitched into our national identity. Driving here is supposed to be a joy.

That illusion crashes the moment you hit our most populous cities. Sydney, the supposed jewel of the harbour, has some of the worst road surfaces in the country. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a hatchback or a high-end SUV; potholes don’t discriminate. They chew through tyres, snap rims, and leave you wondering: where exactly do our hard-earned tax dollars go?

Bad Sydney Weather? The Roads Are Worse

In the past year alone, I’ve had three tyres replaced thanks to these bitumen booby traps. Other drivers are coughing up for cracked rims, broken suspension, and thousands in repairs. Those on two wheels instead of four might not be lucky enough to just have to repair their bikes – grievous bodily harm anyone?

All this in a city where we pay some of the highest council rates in the country. Honestly, how hard is it to fill a pothole? I’m genuinely asking.

The problem is not just in Sydney alone. Technically, local councils maintain smaller roads, while the state governments are typically responsible for major arterial routes like Sid Einfeld. In reality, repairs happen on a slow, patchwork schedule.

Crews throw down quick-fill asphalt that cracks open again after a few weeks of rain. By the time they’re back, the pothole’s evolved into something bigger… and more expensive to fix.

What Can You Do?

If you’re unlucky enough to hit one, you can try for compensation. But good luck. Going through your insurance means losing your no-claim rating, and lodging a claim directly with the council or state requires proof that they knew about the pothole and didn’t fix it in “reasonable” time.

That means photos, timestamps, and repair invoices. Which is fine, unless it’s bucketing down and you can’t exactly park in peak-hour traffic to take a happy snap of a water-filled pothole. It’s a broken system.

Drivers shouldn’t have to gamble with insurance premiums or play amateur detective to prove damage. If anything, Sydney should be using existing tech like Waze and Google Maps to flag potholes in real time, so at least we have a fighting chance of avoiding them.

Until then, our daily commutes will stay a high-stakes obstacle course, and the only thing guaranteed to move fast will be your mechanic’s booking calendar.