Damage to car in county lanes - council liability?

Ukimooky

Hi!
My commute involves driving on country lanes.  Recently a fallen tree had been cleared from the lane but on one side the trunk overhung the road slightly.  Due to overgrown hedges at this time of the year, I didn't see this until too late when it took off my wing mirror.  The council are saying that as the tree is on private land they have no liability but I wasn't driving on the private land, I was driving on the council lane!  Council also say that they were unaware of the hazard until I reported it, but I guess until someone had encountered similar damage the council wouldn't have been notified.
Does anyone think I have a case or shall I just swallow up the repair bill and move on?
Thanks  

Mildly_Miffed

You drove into a stationary object.

No, it is not anybody else's responsibility.

Cutting the hedge back would be the landowner's responsibility, not the council's. It is actually illegal to cut most hedgerows between the start of March and the end of September because of nesting birds.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hedgerow-management-rules-cutting-and-trimming

CliveOfIndia

I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on.  Firstly, if the council weren't aware of it, how could they be expected to deal with it?  I'm fairly sure they don't have hundreds of patrols out full-time, just looking for things to repair.

Secondly - and I don't mean this nastily - you collided with a stationary object.  It's not like the tree jumped out in front of you.

As far as the repair goes, it depends to a large extent what sort of car you've got.  If it's just a standard door mirror with no electricals inside it, it's usually very easy to source a replacement either online or from a scrapyard, and fit it yourself.  Admittedly it's more involved if there are electrical components inside.

Mildly_Miffed

CliveOfIndia said:

As far as the repair goes, it depends to a large extent what sort of car you've got.  If it's just a standard door mirror with no electricals inside it, it's usually very easy to source a replacement either online or from a scrapyard, and fit it yourself.  Admittedly it's more involved if there are electrical components inside.

A couple more multiplugs to disconnect from the old one and reconnect to the new one. That's about it.

MyRealNameToo

You hit a static object that was there to be seen and avoided - 100% your responsibility.

The last scenario they gave us during our liability training in Motor Claims was where a jobs worth had been told to move 5 lampposts and widen the road by cutting back the pavement. The problem was there were 6 lampposts but the company did what it was told and left the one lamppost now freestanding in the road. 

Driver going up the hill at dawn the next morning, saying sun was low so difficult to see so only going 10-15 MPH in a 30 drove into the lamppost. The case was litigated and the judge determined that the driver was clearly not driving appropriately for the road conditions given he was unable to see a 6m tall lamppost but as the council have a heightened duty of car the driver was 90% liable and the council 10% liable. 

Brie

I've clipped my wing mirror a couple of times on stationary objects (our gate posts normally) but haven't done any  real damage (slight scratch to paint?).  To take the mirror off completely suggests going at a good speed.  Now I know that a lot of amazingly narrow and twisted lanes are designated as B road and so 60 mph is allowed.  But given that country lanes (as you describe them) can have all sorts of hazards, like mud and tractors going mighty fast, I'm surprised you be going fast enough to do significant damage to your car. 

Meanwhile - it might be an urban myth but I thought that the council weren't responsible if they hadn't been told there was a hazard.  That at least is the line I've heard when someone has hit a brand new pothole and haven't been able to claim. 

Mildly_Miffed

Brie said:

Meanwhile - it might be an urban myth but I thought that the council weren't responsible if they hadn't been told there was a hazard.  That at least is the line I've heard when someone has hit a brand new pothole and haven't been able to claim. 

It's absolutely true.

Also, where they ARE aware, they have a period of time to repair it - depending on the classification of the road.

But that's for defects in the surface that are the council's responsibility. A tree in a hedge to the side of the carriageway is the landowner's responsibility.

Car_54

Brie said:

I've clipped my wing mirror a couple of times on stationary objects (our gate posts normally) but haven't done any  real damage (slight scratch to paint?).  To take the mirror off completely suggests going at a good speed.  Now I know that a lot of amazingly narrow and twisted lanes are designated as B road and so 60 mph is allowed.  

The classification of a road (A< B or C or none) does not determine its speed limit. 60 is the default for any single carriageway road without street lights.

Ukimooky

Thank you all for your comments.  I'll repair the damage and won't pursue any claim, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
Thanks for helping.

MyRealNameToo

Ukimooky said:

Thank you all for your comments.  I'll repair the damage and won't pursue any claim, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
Thanks for helping.

Still not missing anything 

facade

Just drive down the middle of the lane like everyone else who has ever been caught like this.

Ignore the people who make comments like "Can't you drive? Don't you know how wide your car is?"

I know exactly how wide my car is thankyou, and missing the hedge by 3" like the Driving Gods that they are means it only takes one badly cut back branch sticking out 3.5" as I am concentrating on missing their mirror by 1" on the other side to cause me a lot more trouble than either them waiting for me to pass or me stopping at a wider part for them to pass me.

Stub branches are well camouflaged against the backdrop of the hedge.