Potholes, f****** things

[Arcnewal]

Driving home from work this evening I drove over a pothole which took out two of my tyres. The pothole, I'm not even joking, was more like a lake . Phoned the council to inform them about it and there response was, 'well you're the driver so you should be aware of everything on the road and avoid the potholes'. They've refused to pay out for the damaged tyres as it's my fault, apparently? There are so many potholes where I live that if I were to avoid all of them Id' be swerving all over the bloody place. Do you think I should follow this up further, as how on earth can it be my fault? Yes, I drove over the pothole but, I didn't think it would be 5000 foot deep.

[Deleted]

this is our local car killer, there is no way of avoiding it unless you take a 5 mile detour

[RobinJI]

I'm not sure about your area, but around here I know it's perfectly possible to claim from damage caused buy pot-holes, but the hole has to be over a certain size and has to have been reported to them a certain time before you hit it. Not ideal, but pretty fair when you think about it.

I'm not sure how you'd go about putting in a claim personally, but it's a subject I'm sure's been covered before. A good search should throw something up.

[Deleted]

its a joke i done this a few years back and filled the form and got nowhere

[Arcnewal]

Bloody ridiculous!!! I'd like to know where my road tax money goes? I don't think it'd even be worth claiming, not for me anyway. If they were to say no we can't give you money for the tyres, but we'll fill in the pothole I'd be more than happy. But this hole has been there for about year and is just getting bigger  .

[Mystery Machine]

Mar 20, 2014 21:01:47 GMT Arcnewal said:

Bloody ridiculous!!! I'd like to know where my road tax money goes? 

[composimmonite]

My Smart failed an MOT the other year on a broken spring. Tester says it's becoming a common problem due to potholes. Just the other day I hit one on a bend in the dark so no chance to avoid. On checking the next day found wheel rim (alloy) slightly bent so am now looking for a steel spare to temporary use so I can get it tweaked back straight.

Paul H

[Arcnewal]

Mar 20, 2014 21:08:53 GMT Mystery Machine said:

Mar 20, 2014 21:01:47 GMT Arcnewal said:

Bloody ridiculous!!! I'd like to know where my road tax money goes? 

Yes I meant car tax. Obviously I know where it goes, but it's clearly not getting spent on the right things.

[welshpug]

So its been there a year and you still drove through it?

Have you not reported it to them previously? Are they aware of it and painted yellow lines around it?


Are you aware that "road tax" does not exist and has not since the 1930's?...

[Arcnewal]

Mar 20, 2014 21:16:26 GMT welshpug said:

So its been there a year and you still drove through it?

Have you not reported it to them previously? Are they aware of it and painted yellow lines around it?


Are you aware that "road tax" does not exist and has not since the 1930's?...

I had no choice but to drive through it. Reported it to them yes, twice. And obviously that's why I just corrected myself and put car tax. 

[welshpug]

So not driving to the road conditions then.

[Arcnewal]

Mar 20, 2014 21:24:25 GMT welshpug said:

So not driving to the road conditions then.

Was you there? No you wasn't, so you don't know what I was driving like.

[Rich]

This thread..

Those are whinge bins..

[daddyglyn]

i did the same last year and was told that i couldn't claim as they had fixed it a week before. by fixed it they mean't dumping hardcore in and it not compacting it on a road which is the main route to glasgow.

[Arcnewal]

I only started the thread, yes to rant and apologies for that, but I also wanted other peoples opinions on what they think I should do. I didn't think it'd lead to me being told that I wasn't driving to the correct driving conditions and being told that road tax hasn't existed since the 30's...blah blah I made a mistake big deal.

[Johnny A]

I run steelies, they can handle a lot more punishment

[ukjeeper]

Lost both right side tyres on the Volvo 2 weeks ago to a 6" deep pothole. There's a lot of them about.

Fortunately two tyres only cost me £55, and they needed doing anyway (balding). PITA, but turned out to be a good thing. Got the other two done yesterday so they all match.

[EmDee]

Try www.potholes.co.uk/

www.Retro-Rides.org/ is for cool old cars.



No offence intended.

[kabman]

Mar 20, 2014 21:11:54 GMT composimmonite said:

My Smart failed an MOT the other year on a broken spring. Tester says it's becoming a common problem due to potholes. Just the other day I hit one on a bend in the dark so no chance to avoid. On checking the next day found wheel rim (alloy) slightly bent so am now looking for a steel spare to temporary use so I can get it tweaked back straight.

Paul H

I've got a couple of rear wheels going begging if you want one. One Starline and one Sportline. Both have a bit of curbing or bubbling paint but they are straight. I'm near Warwick.

[6P]

Mar 20, 2014 20:50:08 GMT Arcnewal said:

Driving home from work this evening I drove over a pothole which took out two of my tyres. The pothole, I'm not even joking, was more like a lake . Phoned the council to inform them about it and there response was, 'well you're the driver so you should be aware of everything on the road and avoid the potholes'. They've refused to pay out for the damaged tyres as it's my fault, apparently? There are so many potholes where I live that if I were to avoid all of them Id' be swerving all over the bloody place. Do you think I should follow this up further, as how on earth can it be my fault? Yes, I drove over the pothole but, I didn't think it would be 5000 foot deep.

As with any Third Party Claim, the defendant will always deny any liability where there is financial loss involved, however there is a Legal Minimum Standard regarding the inspection and maintenance of the Public Highway that all County Councils are required to adhere to. Failure to comply with this minimum standard will render them liable, and you will be entitled to compensation to the damage caused to your vehicle.

I see that Essex Council has a Highways Department facility to Check and Report problems with the roads.

www.essexhighways.org/Report-a-highways-problem.aspx

If you enter the location of your particular pothole, you can see whether it has already been reported or discovered during an inspection. If it is there, you can click on it and it will tell you when it was reported. If they already know about it, they have duty to affect a repair, and if that hasn't been carried out satisfactorily, in indeed at all, then you are entitled to claim. If has not been reported on their site, then you need to submit a Freedom of Information request to the Council, asking for details of when the road was last inspected, and then checking this against the Minimum Standard for Inspection in the Highways Act. If the road has not been inspected within the set time frame, then again, you are entitled to claim for compensation.