Pothole Bust Wheel - Council Claim?

flyingscotno1

Paranoid wrote: »

Thanks for this. In fact the main A roads round here have really major potholes and I was not refering to a residential road. I haven't seen much work going on repairing potholes, but some roadworks happening where, I would have thought (naively??) that the gangs might well have been diverted to the more urgent repairs.

The question is whether it is worth doing temporarily which in current weather will need re-doing again and be money wasted or just wait till warmer weather in April/May and do proper resurface around hole.

misssarahleigh

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

The question is whether it is worth doing temporarily which in current weather will need re-doing again and be money wasted or just wait till warmer weather in April/May and do proper resurface around hole.

not sure about the whether by you but warm, sunny an not a cloud in the sky where i am.

And i believe yes they are worth filling in temp in order to avoid damage to cars and the potential danger to other people if the car swerves/skids due to the pot hole.

ninky_2

i think you should claim.

there's a massive pothole outside our house on a busy road. we've seen several cars and vans burst tyres on it. after seeing 10 burst in 1 hour (no i'm not exaggerating) i called the police as the council offices were closed. it's not been fixed but someone came and threw a bit of tarmac into it so it's a bit less deep which has reduced the burst tyres. still see the odd one though.

flyingscotno1

misssarahleigh wrote: »

not sure about the whether by you but warm, sunny an not a cloud in the sky where i am.

And i believe yes they are worth filling in temp in order to avoid damage to cars and the potential danger to other people if the car swerves/skids due to the pot hole.

Yes, warm and sunny during the day, but no clouds means freezing below zero at night, which will mean you still have tarmac being warm and then contracting, bit of rain gets in, and boom within a fortnight you wouldn't know it has been done. This has happened about half a mile from me. There are workarounds but a proper dig out and repair at the right time will be better.

Whilst it would be better to fill them all in, in the cold hard facts of economics filling in a pothole is never as cheap as people would think- nor is resurfacing. Councils roads dept get no money at the best of times- it all goes to social care and education with roads standing with the begging bowl. Thus any repairs really need to be done to last- simply doing a rubbish patching job to temporarily fix something might be worth it for deepest and most dangerous holes to give a quick fix to prevent accidents but the little bumps and ruts are going to have to wait.

Paranoid

[Thus any repairs really need to be done to last- simply doing a rubbish patching job to temporarily fix something might be worth it for deepest and most dangerous holes to give a quick fix to prevent accidents but the little bumps and ruts are going to have to wait.[/QUOTE]

I really do not think that posters here are refering to "little bumps and ruts"

Of course a proper repair is more desirable than a temporary fix and carrying out both is ultimately more expensive. And the temptation is that the proper repair is neglected. I think that "temporary" has been the case for many years.

Whilst the councils may (and do) plead lack of funds it is certainly not due to the tax contributions of the motorists...! Nor is it an acceptable defence.

"Sorry I was shoplifting guv....I didn't have the funds to pay........!"

ninky_2

it's not just about burst tyres it can be dangerous. i remember when i was at school someone's mum came off her bike as a result of a pothole, nearly died, and was in hospital for months as a result.

if you drive a car it has to have a current mot to ensure it is roadworthy to prevent accidents. it is not much to ask that the roads should be driveworthy too.

it's not just little roads either, i've seem potholes on the motorways recently. obviously it is made much worse when we have the type of winter we have just had.

misssarahleigh

They have sent a letter saying they would like me to meet with somebody to look at the pot holes and assess them. Could i please make a meeting as the council are apparently uninsured for this damage.

Funny thing is they filled them in the week i sent my claim in!!!!!!

Crabman

misssarahleigh wrote: »

They have sent a letter saying they would like me to meet with somebody to look at the pot holes and assess them. Could i please make a meeting as the council are apparently uninsured for this damage.

Funny thing is they filled them in the week i sent my claim in!!!!!!

At least you got photos of the original state of the road. Keep those safe. Make a note of all the dates - may be interesting if they acted quickly following receipt of your claim but not after receiving the initial report.

If it was me I'd refuse the meeting - as you say - they've been repaired so it's pointless you going to look at them now. It's usually best to keep things in writing so there's an indisputable record of what's been said. A personal meeting can be more productive but there's also more scope for confusion about what was said/agreed and sympathy tales about how poor councils are.

The argument about not being insured is irrelevant. I realise some councils aren't covered for 'small' claims for damage but that does not absolve them of their legal liability and is not any concern of yours.

I'd consider replying with a firm letter stating the clear facts and giving them 14 days to pay your repair costs plus your reasonable expenses after which a court claim will be filed to include statutory interest. That may provoke a settlement figure.

misssarahleigh

Thanks for that. Pretty much what i was thinking of doing. Shall typre the letter out Monday :beer:

geri1965_2

ninky wrote: »

it's not just about burst tyres it can be dangerous. i remember when i was at school someone's mum came off her bike as a result of a pothole, nearly died, and was in hospital for months as a result.

I used to deal with insurance claims on behalf of local authorities - 99% of them were as a result of potholes in pavements or roads.

The worst one I had was a bloke on a bike - he hit the pothole, his crossbar caught him between the legs and gave him some very nasty eye-watering injuries. There were photographs on the file and they had a warning on the envelope!