Potholes?

jadelois

Hi, I have a query as to where council residents stand with problem potholes. Prior to this year other than the odd tyre change I have had no problems with my car, its 7 years old but has been a consistently good runner. In October last year I had to pay to have the steering rack and exhaust replaced, the guy who replaced it asked if I sped over speedbumps but with none in the area I put it down to wear and tear. Then by January I had to take the car back into the garage to have the new exhaust reattached after it had come loose. The final straw came last month when once again the steering rack went, so thats the best part of £1000 (and a whole lot of inconvenience) in less than 8 months. As a student, with mounting debt and no graduate paid job that is more than a months wages. The mechanic said that if speedbumps are not a problem then it is likely down to the potholes on the roads (of which around us there are some hideous ones with one main route to work having only recently been patched up), have I got a chance of recompensing some of this money from the council or is it a dead loss?

Many thanks for your advice

iamana1ias

Why don't you try avoiding the potholes? There are loads here, most big enough to hide an elephant, and yet in 15 years of driving I've never had the kind of damage you describe.

Dave101t

drive to the road conditions, not the posted speed limit.

cyclonebri1

It's a dead loss as you suspect. You can't be specific enough to claim anything. Even if you could you would need to show the council had been informed and had then failed to action the repairs.

Sounds like the usual dying car syndrome. ;)

jadelois

I don't purposely drive over them at speed and I do slow down as much as traffic allows but steering onto the other side of the road is a better strategy is it? Or having a car plough into the back of me when i brake to slow down for one. .. .

I avoid all potholes that are avoidable but with cyclists swerving to avoid them also and rain filling them up so they arent possible to see then I don't appreciate the way it is assumed I purposely drive in an unsuitable manner!

Thanks for the car dying suggestion, i'm not entirely convinced two steering racks in 8 months is just down to this but at least your answer is constructive.

sequence

Buy some tarmac and a roller thingy. Every time you see a pot hole, fill it in. It'll be cheaper than fixing the car, and you'll be doing your country a great service

whatmichaelsays

To make a claim against the local authority, you have to be able to prove that the council knew about a specific pothole and failed to act on it. If the road has been "patched up", then this isn't the case.

Rolandtheroadie

Is it the same mechanic that repaired everything that is saying (claiming?) it's speedbumps/potholes causing the repeat problems?
Was it a brand new steering rack? If it was, why didnt he claim against the supplier?
And if a car crashes into the back of you, chances are it's their fault.
Next time you hit a pothole, report it to the council. It may assist someone else with a claim or get it repaired quicker than after their next inspection.

jadelois

Thanks for all the advice! The mechanic said he is going to try to claim back the money for the steering rack but because its an obvious break?!? (that wasn't the word but basically it's not a faulty part) then he doesn't know that it will be sucessful. I don't imagine he is trying to rip us off as all the cars have been fixed by him over the years.

I guess my best bet is to report all the potholes I have to try and avoid on the work route each day and if it goes again I can back up my claim. Thanks all

Crabman

When reporting potholes, I suggest using an independent site such as www.fillthathole.org.uk

Sadly when motorists have tried to claim from the council and find out whether a particular defect was reported, records have been 'lost'.

You may also want to check out www.potholes.co.uk to see if anyone reported the defects there.

There is also the angle of proving that the council's own inspection regime is not proper - they claim to inspect the major roads monthly in our area yet there are numerous defects that have been present since January and were only repaired when reported individually.

Good luck.

cyclonebri1

whatmichaelsays wrote: »

To make a claim against the local authority, you have to be able to prove that the council knew about a specific pothole and failed to act on it. If the road has been "patched up", then this isn't the case.

As in post #4:o