Pothole claims guide discussion
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I successfully claimed off a contractor (I think it was Lafarge) because they left roadworks in an unsafe state with a big pothole right across a cycle lane. Take pictures of everything, don't accept the initial rejection and be prepared to go to the small claims court.
But also be prepared to lose. We don't reject claims for fun, we always have a valid reason, which, more often than not, is confirmed by the courts.0 -
Hit a pothole when pulling back into the inside lane on the M6 (between J17 and J16). It was so deep it caused a blow out. The whole experience was very frightening and I was fortunate to be able to get to the hard shoulder safely.
I decided to claim from the Highways Agency because that stretch of the M6 was a series of pot holes and poor tarmac.
The best advice is persevere. The forms sent to me were phrased to make me give up before I started - so negative. However, I was so angry I completed every step (hurdle) and eventually they compensated me for the replacement wheel and tyre I required.
My advice - ask for compensation, keep all the evidence, bills etc and keep pushing them.
Good Luck
Hi Cassie,
Thanks for sharing your story - how long did it take you to complete the whole process? And (if you don't mind telling us) how much did you get back for damages?
We're looking to add in more success stories and yours sounds like it'd fit well,
Thanks,
Rebecca0 -
Hi
Can we have advice what to do when the responsible authority says it is not responsible, because the pothole is down to a third party, eg, a utility supplier, who did not complete the repair work to the right standard, hence a pothole. This happened to us last year and the authority denied responsibility on these grounds. We argued that the highways authority was responsible for the roads and the contractors it appoints to undertake any works to repair the roads, and that we ought not be responsible for chasing around after their failed contractors, since contractually that ought to be the role of the organisation commissioning the work. We were sent on a wild goose chase to try to get a round £200 worth of repair work refunded.
Many thanks.
Hi Shazzak,
We're working on a smaller guide right now on what to do if you hit a pothole on a private road (eg: one owned by a supermarket).
The same legal principle applies - the private company in question still has a legal duty to keep the road safe (the rules are set out in the Occupiers Liability Act (OLA) 1957 for England, Wales and N Ireland - in Scotland it's the Occupiers Liability Act (OLA) 1960).
However, the process for claiming is slightly different though. As soon we the guide is up we'll let you know,
Thanks,
Rebecca0 -
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Heaven forbid anybody might actually look where they're going?!
We shouldn't have to spend all our time looking at the road surface navigating in and out to avoid holes, this is dangerous as it causes cars to veer around the road into the path of bikes and peds on the inside and oncoming traffic on the other side.
There's a road near me (well several actually) that do not have any deep potholes but the surface is riddles with uneven surfaces, cracks, undulations and rippled and lumpy tar. It is extremely uncomfortable to drive over and causes you to make dangerous manoeuvres when driving the road.
It won't get fixed as there is no part of the road with a deep pothole, although I am sure there are a few over 40mm deep, and I believe that this is the depth they have to fix them. This used to be 20mm but this was changed (most likely by Labour who waged a war on motorists), yet we pay nearly £60 Billion, and increasing, in motoring taxes.
There does not seem to be any 'alarm bells ringing' in local authorities and government and there is an obscene, almost deliberate, lackadaisical attitude to the repair and maintenance of our roads.
I remember 20-30 years ago you'd always see the workers out patching and fixing roads, and the repairs then were a lot better than they are now, many still survive (just) to this day. When was the last time you seen one of them little road rollers they used to use for flattening out repairs, answer is they don't they just shovel grit in the hole and then the next rain shower washes it out.0 -
StringyBob wrote: »They do, otherwise we pay. Simple. Ask any decent highway engineer and they will tell you how fast potholes can form.
Stringybob can I ask you what quality of materials do you use on roads now? I noticed many repairs now seem to be like a a big sticky clump of stones that you can literally push back out the hole with your feet, so I can only imagine what happens when a car drives over it.
Most of the holes I see repaired seem to be back to their original state within a few weeks ,especially in Winter. I've heard a lot about volumes of traffic causing more holes but I really don't think that's the issue if the road was properly stripped back and relaid with a quality base and top layers properly sealed and drained.
In fact some of the old roads from 40+ years ago that haven't been at the mercy of the utilities diggers, or the council laying a new thin layer of crumbly tar over it (they always target roads that don't need repaired), seem to have survived quite well despite increasing volumes of traffic and no maintenance for the last 30+ years.0 -
MrCautious wrote: »I don't like this kind of thing. You are moving into the no win no fee kind of territory. The compensation culture we are becoming s not pleasant.
This.
I've been a newsletter subscriber for years but I'm unsubscribing if this is the path this site is going down. This self-serving 'blame culture' is exactly what is wrong with this country at the moment. Very disappointed.0 -
I think that it'd be far more helpful if this website did more to help resolve the problem and help local councils and Highways Department (who are responsible for road maintenance across the country) for the repair our roads.
I think this approach would would for the benefit of all road users and encourage a more pro-active response from local councils and other government departments in general.
You can find out more by going this not for profit organisation's website called <fixmystreet.com> and where you'll find that you'll be able to report anything that needs fixing to your local council and Highways.
Give it a go, you won't regret it!
Cheers
KB
PS As a new user I can't post any website links! Sorry about that!0 -
Stringybob can I ask you what quality of materials do you use on roads now? I noticed many repairs now seem to be like a a big sticky clump of stones that you can literally push back out the hole with your feet, so I can only imagine what happens when a car drives over it.
Most of the holes I see repaired seem to be back to their original state within a few weeks ,especially in Winter. I've heard a lot about volumes of traffic causing more holes but I really don't think that's the issue if the road was properly stripped back and relaid with a quality base and top layers properly sealed and drained.
In fact some of the old roads from 40+ years ago that haven't been at the mercy of the utilities diggers, or the council laying a new thin layer of crumbly tar over it (they always target roads that don't need repaired), seem to have survived quite well despite increasing volumes of traffic and no maintenance for the last 30+ years.
There are different kinds of repairs and materials used. The quickest and easiest is the shove a load of bitmac in a hole, flatten it and go. That can last between days and years. We are trying to move away from that onto hot rolled patches, top surface resurfacing and full resurfacing. These involve time and money and are on planned works, but they do reduce the amount of potholes.
Like all local authorities we are skint and budgets are being cut left, right and centre, but thankfully we haven't cut the planned works budget, as it will save us money in the long run and reduce the amount of potholes.0 -
Comments for Rebecca. Excellent resource, thanks. Can I suggest that you broaden the issue from just potholes to general state of roads. My bugbear of the moment is worn out white lines. My understanding is that authorities have a duty of care to keep roads safe. If there is an accident an unsafe state of the road for any reason may be a contributory factor and so the authorities may be liable for a claim. I travel daily across a major roundabout where lane markings have been all but invisible. Some drivers give the impression of being genuinely lost in the lanes. I wrote to the Highways Agency suggesting that the lack of paint could be a contributory factor in any accident and that they could be liable in case of an accident due to lack of maintenance. Within a month the lines had been repainted. Also include poor road design. I was knocked over recently by a hit & run driver on a "quasi" pedestrian crossing (the sort that appear to be designed for pedestrains to cross but are not road marked as a crossing). To be fair the driver probably did not realise that he had knocked me over and I was not seriously injured. The irony is that local people have been pointing out that the road design is dangerous for months/years. My point is that there are various aspects to the state of roads that the guide could address, and a comprehensive guide would be really, really useful.
I don't agree with posters who say that it is not in the public interest to claim for losses - blame culture etc. Government determines guidelines for road mainenance and the Highways Agency/Councils etc have a responsibility to follow them. If they have not lived up to that responsibility and the public suffer loss they should be compensated. If agencies feel that the guidelines are too onerous on them they should lobby government to have the guidelines amended. A clear outline of all the responsibilities of the agencies in this area, regularly updated, and summary of the legal redress would be really useful.
Finally, I only registerered today to post this message. Just wanted to add what a great resource MoneySavingExpert is. Thanks.0
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