Claim for pothole damage

[Bigmuz7]

Hit a nasty pothole whilst changing lanes coming up to a round about, so wasnt going that fast, 25 mph maybe My X5 has 255 x50 R19s on the fronts and they are run flats, so pretty tough, but the impact split the bead and burst the tyre

Any of you guys had any succes taking on your local councils to come good for the replacement costs ?

My Insurance has legal expense cover (thank fek ... its one of those do I dont I options when you buy insurance and I usually dont ) so I can use that if needs be

The rim looks ok, but I'll need to get the steering etc checked

More hassle

[matt h]

Each Council ,has a different criteria, There is No industry limit.. so check to save you a load of letterwriting.
As above. you will need to check out what your council Criteria's are...
you do need before you present your evidence is to take a photo of a tape measure measurement of the offending hole, I did it and won.
I first went back, photo of tyre and remaining tread, against the hole in question, i also laid a tape measure over the hole showing dimensions of the hole and finally your contact details etc.
The hole which burst my tyre was 6 inches deep by 12.3 inches wide etc etc, and had a shrp edge, the clain took 3 weeks.

Good Luck!!

[actions]

I know our council have a clause as a friend tried. They got out of the claim and said the following

- If they have been made aware of the hole and have not fixed it, had time to fix it etc then they will have to pay out if proved that hole casued the damage.

- If they are not aware of the damage they wont be paying out.

All i would say is its worth a try and dont get fobbed off with the first standard reply of bugger off they are most certainly going to try and give.

We recently won a fight with a horse insurance company but it took six letters and threats of court action. They decided to pay.

Good Luck

[spartacus]

My wife has an Audi A2 with low profile tyres. She hit a series of potholes last winter (dazzled by oncoming traffic) so didn't see the holes until she was on them.

Both tyres were shredded (holes were 2-3" deep with very sharp edge). She also broke a front coil spring. I photographed the holes and the tyres the next day and forwarded the receipt for the damage to the council (they'd sent out a claim form). Aberdeenshire Council is insured via Zurich. Cut a long story short, we were unsuccessful. Basically the insurer said we had to prove the council was aware of the hole and had failed to maintain the road surface. My argument was that the particular stretch of road on the A944 was always affected by water and the constant freezing and thawing had broken the road surface. (We had -18 last year). Made no difference to Zurich... almost as to say 'come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!' That took 6 months of letters back and forth.

I would still try - what have you got to lose? Send claim form by recorded delivery, photograph the hole if possible and damage to the tyre.

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by spartacus

Basically the insurer said we had to prove the council was aware of the hole and had failed to maintain the road surface.

I believe that is the normal approach across the country, and its not really an unreasonable position - the council can't preempt a fault, and so need to know it exists to fix it.

I wonder if low profile tyres are more susceptible to damage? in which case even if the council didn't fix a fault as quick as it could have, does that mean that those of us driving (and paying taxes) with "normal" tyres are subsidising those who choose to drive low profile tyres? the same may be especially true for those driving heavier vehicles?

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I believe that is the normal approach across the country, and its not really an unreasonable position - the council can't preempt a fault, and so need to know it exists to fix it.

But they have a duty of care to keep the roads in order dont they ?

Originally Posted by Polwart

I wonder if low profile tyres are more susceptible to damage?

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

My X5 has 255 x50 R19s on the fronts and they are run flats, so pretty tough

........

Originally Posted by Polwart

in which case even if the council didn't fix a fault does that mean that those of us driving (and paying taxes) with "normal" tyres are subsidising those who choose to drive low profile tyres? the same may be especially true for those driving heavier vehicles?

HGV's pay a shed load more road tax than cars, so do 4x4's and also through the extra fuel they consume in fuel duty and tax

.. fact is ... there shouldnt be holes in the road like this, I drive a lot .. and I mean a lot .. HGV's 4x4's cars trailers you name it .. first time this happened to me in 26 years on the road ! but Ive heard it from others often .. these days I 'll swerve if safe to avoid holes in an HGV if I see 'em

[Mollers]

Some 4x4. A slight imperfection in the Bitmac and the tyres fall off.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Some 4x4. A slight imperfection in the Bitmac and the tyres fall off.

Wouldn't do well on the roads here then

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

But they have a duty of care to keep the roads in order dont they ?

Their duty is take reasonable care to maintain it free from defects that might cause a reasonably forseable risk of damage or injury. That does not required them to keep all roads in pristine condition at all times.... ....more here: http://www.biggartbaillie.co.uk/idea...y-for-potholes

I'd guess either this was a very old pothole and you might have a claim, or given that the frost has only just arived, it was fresh damage which had yet to be spotted/reported or had been reported but they had not yet had a reasonable opportunity to repair it - in which case you might not be so lucky.

[Brian]

Why dont we have a system like in the States.
Anyone can "sponsor" a section of road. If holes appear in it you pay to fix it.
Might not be popular in some quarters, but imagine if you could sponsor just that section of road outside your house?
And to those who say "we are already sponsoring it just by paying our rates/taxes". Well you know now what that does-precious little!