Pothole claims guide discussion

techdojo

Hi there,
My wife hit a pothole on the side of the road a couple of weeks ago and not only managed to blow the tyre but also put a serious dent in the wheel.

The car is currently in for repair and with the bill for the extra tracking / alignment check to make sure there was no other unknown damage caused as a result I'm looking at around £400 (possibly more if they find any extra damage).

I went back to the spot to photograph the offending hole later the same night and noticed that it's to the left of the 'kerbside' white line and it's actually where the road ends and the adjoining land begins.

The road in question is a single carriageway rural B road and at the time of the incident a wide oncoming lorry was coming round the corner a little wide and was practically on the crown of the road, my wife moved over to avoid a head on collision and moved over the kerbside solid white line, whilst the road is paved about 12" to the left of the line there are patches where the edge has crumbled and has left several long deep "holes" almost up to the actual solid white line and it's one of these that she hit (and no she doesn't have a dash cam or the details of the lorry in question).

From what I've read so far I might have a fight on my hands getting any joy from my local council but I was wondering if anybody (@stringybob?) knows if the council could even be considered liable given the state of the "edge" of the road.

Thanks in advance.

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm not sure you'll succeed in any claim. Fundamentally, she left the road which was what caused the damage, even though with good reason to do so. As I understand it, even if the pothole was on the road itself, the council would only be liable if someone had previously reported the hole and they had taken longer than was reasonable to repair it.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

techdojo wrote: »

Hi there,
My wife hit a pothole on the side of the road a couple of weeks ago and not only managed to blow the tyre but also put a serious dent in the wheel.

I would say that the road is declared by the white line and by leaving the road, the council cannot be held responsible (unless they had done something spectacularly bad in their road design) - it is, after all the very purpose of that road marking.

Effectively what you have had is that the oncoming lorry caused your wife to have an accident - consider how you would have dealt with the situation where there was a brick wall in the same place as a pothole.

Not knowing the actual circumstances, but if there was no centre white line, then one of the issues is that the lorry was not necessarily on the wrong side of the road - it may have had to have taken the bend wide to cope with a trailing rear. Blame then comes down to a question of speed - if a road is not wide enough for two vehicles to pass safely, then both drivers should be driving at half the braking distance determined by the visibility. So even if you could trace the driver, I think that the best you could hope for would be a 50/50 split as without evidence it would simply be an argument over the facts of what happened.

Very sympathetic, but while it may be worth following up, I would not invest too much effort in pursuing the council. It may be worth a post on pepipoo.com where there may be others with legal knowledge and experience.

techdojo

That was my understanding as well (at least with regards to technically having left the road), I've already contacted my insurers and started a claims process with them - my excess is only £150 and I have a protected NCD. It was their claims advisor who actually suggested I make a claim via the council - I actually got him to repeat that (for the benefit of the tape) as it seemed to be a bit weird / fraudulent to effectively claim twice (and there is a specific note about that and then having to repay the insurance company in Rebecca's guide).

I guess I'm just going to bite the £150 bullet (too bad I've already brought the wife's Christmas pressie )

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

techdojo wrote: »

It was their claims advisor who actually suggested I make a claim via the council - I actually got him to repeat that (for the benefit of the tape) as it seemed to be a bit weird / fraudulent to effectively claim twice (and there is a specific note about that and then having to repay the insurance company in Rebecca's guide).

I think the claims advisor was probably intending to suggest that if you successfully claimed against the council, you could undo your claim and have your protected NCD reset to how it was before.

Your base premium is likely to go up as a result of the incident.

techdojo

Possibly, but I'm guessing in this I'm going to loose either way - so I might as well save my time, drop the £150 and worry about my insurance when it's up for renew (late next year) - thanks for your help.

Snoopy_rules

Just been reading on my local councils website how to make a claim for pothole damage. They want :-
Vehicle registration document.
Insurance certificate – Note: The County Council may contact your insurers to confirm this information.
MOT certificate (If required for the vehicle).
Proof of last service.
Proof of valid road tax – https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk
Supporting evidence for age of tyre(s).
Invoices or receipts for the required repairs (Note: quotations are not accepted).

Plus photos etc.
Is it normal for a council to demand logbook, service proof etc?
Seems a bit extreme just for a tyre claim.

chrisvin17

Followed the guidance and got a generic letter back from the authority saving that they are only obligated to check for holes every month. Turns out they checked the area 3 weeks and 6 days prior to my incident! I pointed out that they also have the obligation to provide signage warning of the danger and actually make an attempt to rectify it within that time frame. They did neither of these things.

They replied promptly and agreed to pay in full.

My advice is they will automatically reject the claim based on any justification they can in the hope you give up. Challenge them based on their responsibilities and obligations....and common sense!

thanks for the guidance, very happy!

Fridge03

Evening all,

Some advice please.

Am I right in saying most major A roads are Highways England controlled and who I would need to contact below?

I hit a now famous pothole on the northbound A21 just outside Tonbridge in Kent. It caused a complete failure of one tyre. Fortunately I was able to keep control of the car and pull in on a lay by to change the wheel.
I say famous, it's been reported in the local news when the road was completely shut due to 6 or so cars being stuck on it after hitting the pothole. It's been repaired once, and has opened up again evidently a few days ago. So they are well aware of it.

I have had the wheel changed and as advised by my trusted mechanic to change the opposite side at the same time so they have been fitted as a pair, which he has stated on my bill.
I also lost out on £98 of a non-refundable missed event that I couldn't make due to the incident.
Would I be able to claim for this also? I have evidence of the cost etc.
Also, do you think they would pay for both tyres or be very strict and only pay out for the one that physically suffered the damage?

Cheers

photome

Fridge03 wrote: »

Evening all,

Some advice please.

Am I right in saying most major A roads are Highways England controlled and who I would need to contact below?

I hit a now famous pothole on the northbound A21 just outside Tonbridge in Kent. It caused a complete failure of one tyre. Fortunately I was able to keep control of the car and pull in on a lay by to change the wheel.
I say famous, it's been reported in the local news when the road was completely shut due to 6 or so cars being stuck on it after hitting the pothole. It's been repaired once, and has opened up again evidently a few days ago. So they are well aware of it.

I have had the wheel changed and as advised by my trusted mechanic to change the opposite side at the same time so they have been fitted as a pair, which he has stated on my bill.
I also lost out on £98 of a non-refundable missed event that I couldn't make due to the incident.
Would I be able to claim for this also? I have evidence of the cost etc.
Also, do you think they would pay for both tyres or be very strict and only pay out for the one that physically suffered the damage?

Cheers

why would they pay for a tyre you chose to have changed,? you do not need to change tyres in pairs.

also the £98 you are claiming for hasnt been lost, as the venue has offered you a credit.