Had a crash that was the road's fault, what now?

prowla

this page is too wide

gilbert_and_sullivan

Far too many drivers don't look where they are going.

Assessing the road surface at all times is as much part of driving as anything else, mostly applicable to bikers if they wish to stay upright, but equally important to all road users, not to bash your car wheels in pot holes, or to splash pedestrains from water standing in puddles if you are driving a lorry.

Wouldn't have thought it was hot enough to melt the tar yet, but even a few years ago in the days before the global warming scam when we used to get
summers this was a regular problem.

The road is not to blame here, lack of observation is.

System

harveybobbles wrote: »

I'd just be claiming of the car that hit you and let their insurance squabble about road surfaces.

The OP wasn't hit by a car

DKLS

Might be worth the OP doing a handling skills course, the roads will never be entirely safe.

http://youtu.be/M9MVY8swO5M

ILW

I would suspect OP is riding on a CBT and has never been properly trained or tested.

GAZ237

harveybobbles wrote: »

I'd just be claiming of the car that hit you and let their insurance squabble about road surfaces.

If you go onto google street view, you can send a link like this:

http://goo.gl/maps/YVz3A

To do it, look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9BIq4Mr5tk

Do you actually read the threads before you post in them?

Happychappy

Love the description "it was the roads fault" brilliant, made my day ; ) thanks

fivetide

I've had a similar experience OP so I know what you are talking about.

I think you've been unlucky and I think you'll need to be very lucky to get anything out of the council. Looks like you are going about it the right way now but have a look at things like Draggin Jeans which are kevlar reinforced if you don't want the full kit.

Ynayesta

Thanks for all the replies guys, absolutely I am inexperienced, and this has certainly taught me to look that extra bit harder for defects etc. Especially as this one is hard to see, I've been down the same road again today - work - going in the other direction, and it's still there but there's some other patches similar to it that have white lines around them, so I'm assuming they're patching that bit of the road up atm.

I actually have full kit, only I was stupid enough to be wearing everything but my trousers - again that's taught me I'll be wearing them from now on. I apologise for how terrible I am at explaining things, and still don't know how to get a photo from my phone on here.

Another two wheel accident has happened there last night, on the same stretch/road at least. The whole road is quite poor - they are around here, I'd love to take a video around with me and record all the roads.

I don't want anything out the council other than to get the road seen to atm. As well as some other parts that are pretty bad, we're on the edge of the city here so I think they've forgotten about us.

Yus I am riding on a CBT, but I've been taking lessons on my days off to build my confidence, focusing on driving defensively atm. I'll ask about handling.

Anyway thanks again for all the advice people. x

rtho782

As a biker myself, I understand how horrible roads can be. More than once I've nearly dropped my bike on dodgy road surfaces.

The council have theoretical liability for the state of the roads but it only works if the defect had been reported to them. If mud/oil has been left on the road by an unknown farmer/road user, you theoretically have a claim against the Motor Insurance Bureau, but there are limits on claiming from them, you can't claim for property damage without a certain amount of personal injury.

I think you may well be best off putting this down to experience, it is possible to lock the front brake on a bike and it tends to have disastrous consequences as your front wheel is your steering/balance etc!

I've chucked an ER6-f down the motorway after hitting debris that buckled my front wheel and burst my tyre, so I'm not acting like I'm some amazing rider, but you should be constantly scanning the road surface and looking for defects. Also, be very very careful with sharp braking, it is always better to ramp to maximum braking than grab a handful.

Other than that, if you stay in biking for more than a 125, pick a bike with ABS. Lots of hardcore bikers will tell you it ruins the "experience" and takes away from the "skill", but I personally love that I can grab a handful of front (or rear) brake when upright or going round a corner and just let the ABS do it's job.