Pothole damage to car tyres

Mamanicola

How do I go about claiming for pothole damage to my car tyres? The potholes on sharp bends in the road near us are unavoidable. I have already lost two tyres. Reports to the council are going unanswered. Thank you.

Hintza

Has it been reported? Check here and if not add it.

http://www.potholes.co.uk/

AdrianC

Mamanicola wrote: »

The potholes on sharp bends in the road near us are unavoidable.

Really?

EVERY SINGLE car going round that bend knackers a tyre?

mttylad

And you know about them yet still drive over them?

They are not unavoidable - take another route.

Ultrasonic

The only way a 'pothole' is unavoidable is if it it the full width of the road. Otherwise slow down and drive round it. This may appear inconvenient but rather less so than repeatedly destroying tyres!

The potholes website posted above is your best source of info for claims. But I doubt you'd be able to make a second claim for a pothole you clearly knew was there.

Mamanicola

The pothole is on a corner on the main road into our village. If there's a car close behind me, I am unable to stop to let oncoming traffic pass and then go round the pothole. Some cars have thicker tyres and suffer less damage. I avoid this road wherever possible, but the last time my neighbour got a puncture there, he spoke to 3 other drivers, all of whom had stopped on that same stretch of road because of flat tyres from the same pothole.
To the practical and helpful responses, thank you very much.

Mamanicola

The second tyre I lost was on a very narrow lane with high banks on either side, that I took to avoid the pothole-on-the-corner road. This narrow lane has TWO potholes, one on the left and one on the right, exactly opposite each other. Obviously, I do not use this road any more either.

GwylimT

When did you first inform the council? After a certain time (I can't remember how long) the council are liable as they know about the problem and chose not to act.

I know how annoying potholes can be, where I used to live the roads had walls each side, not much you can do to avoid pot holes on those apart from never leave the village. I had three successful claims against the council until the pothole was eventually filled, until it once again came back within a few months.

Ultrasonic

Mamanicola wrote: »

The pothole is on a corner on the main road into our village. If there's a car close behind me, I am unable to stop to let oncoming traffic pass and then go round the pothole.

I realise you don't want to hear this, but you must be able to stop. If not, you are driving too fast. No arguments. If a vehicle is close behind you should slow down earlier. Ask yourself what you would do if you got to the bend and found something at the same position that you absolutely had to stop for?

You should always drive at a speed such that you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear on your own side of the road (this is common sense but FWIW see Highway Code rule 126). Deliberately not doing this when approaching a pothole that you know is there and has destroyed tyres on you car in the past is quite frankly stupid.

I'm not saying any of this to score points, you really do need to consider how you are driving for your own and other people's safety.

AdrianC

Mamanicola wrote: »

The pothole is on a corner on the main road into our village. If there's a car close behind me, I am unable to stop to let oncoming traffic pass and then go round the pothole. Some cars have thicker tyres and suffer less damage. I avoid this road wherever possible, but the last time my neighbour got a puncture there, he spoke to 3 other drivers, all of whom had stopped on that same stretch of road because of flat tyres from the same pothole.

What if it'd not been a pothole, but an anvil, fallen off the back of a truck? Or a basket of kittens, fallen from the back of a car driven by a nun...?

System

Mamanicola wrote: »

The pothole is on a corner on the main road into our village. .

As you are now aware of it then you approach that corner a lot slower with the expectation of stopping if required