Potholes are more than a nuisance — they wreck tyres and suspensions, throw cyclists, injure pedestrians, and cost cities billions every year. Yet most go unreported because people assume "someone else will call it in," or because the official process feels like shouting into a void. This guide shows you exactly how to report a pothole on your road so it actually gets fixed — and why a public, photo-backed report works better than a phone call.

The 60-second version

If you only have a minute: open OpenStreetProblem, tap Report, take a photo of the pothole from a safe spot, confirm the GPS pin, and submit. Your report goes live on the public map immediately, where neighbours can upvote it and local authorities and contractors can see it. That's it. The rest of this guide explains how to make your report as effective as possible.

1. Document the pothole

A clear photo is the single most important thing. Snap one in daylight, ideally with a common object — a shoe, a water bottle, a drink can — next to the hole for scale. OpenStreetProblem's AI estimates severity from the image (Low, Medium, High, Critical), but a well-lit, in-focus photo helps it judge depth and width accurately. If the pothole is full of water, photograph it anyway and note the depth in the description — water-filled potholes hide their true depth and are some of the most dangerous.

2. Pin the exact location

When you report on OpenStreetProblem, the app uses your GPS to drop a pin. If you're reporting from home later, drag the pin on the map to the exact spot. Accurate location is critical — a pin in the wrong lane means a repair crew drives straight past it. Add a nearby landmark in the description ("outside number 14", "just before the bus stop") so the crew can find it even without checking the coordinates.

3. Who is responsible for fixing potholes?

This is the question that stops most people from reporting — they don't know who to tell. The answer depends on the road. Local residential streets are usually maintained by your city or borough council. Major roads, dual carriageways and highways are typically the responsibility of a national or regional highways authority. The good news: with OpenStreetProblem you don't need to figure this out. You report the location, and the public record is visible to whichever authority and contractors cover that area. No phone-tree, no "you've reached the wrong department."

4. Let the community verify

After your report goes live, neighbours can upvote it and add their own verification photos. This is the part traditional reporting can't do. A single complaint is easy to ignore; 47 residents verifying the same pothole with timestamped photos is a public accountability signal. Reports with multiple confirmations rise in priority and are far more likely to get attention from authorities or maintenance contractors.

5. Track progress in real time

Unlike calling a hotline and hoping, OpenStreetProblem shows you the live status of your report: open → acknowledged → in progress → resolved. You'll get notified at each step, so you know exactly when the repair crew shows up — and there's a permanent public record if it doesn't. Here's how repair tracking works in detail.

6. Why most pothole complaints get ignored — and how to beat it

Traditional methods — calling 311, filling out a council web form — route your complaint into a queue with no transparency. There's no way to see how many other people reported the same hole, no way to add evidence, and no follow-up. Community-driven reporting changes the dynamics: more verified reports on a single issue mean a stronger signal and faster action. We break down exactly why complaints get ignored here.

Pothole vs road damage: which should you report?

A pothole is a discrete hole in the road surface. If you're looking at broader problems — wide cracking, a sunken patch, crumbling road edges, or a missing manhole cover — that's road damage, and it's worth reporting too. Not sure? Report it as a pothole; the AI reclassifies it. For the wider cases, see how to report road damage and get repairs done.

Ready to report a pothole?

The street outside your door doesn't get fixed because one person grumbled — it gets fixed because the problem became visible and impossible to ignore. Browse potholes reported near you or sign up and report one in 60 seconds.