Potholes and damaged wheels

I live in Sheffield and for those who live here too or have visited the place, you will be familiar with the dreadful state of the city's roads. I have never come across anything like it outside of a third world country. Whilst driving, I find myself staring at the road surface just in front of the car and dodging left and right to avoid the worst of the craters. Nevertheless, from time to time the inevitable happens and I drive through one. Well, I went through one last night and it's taken a little chunk out of my alloy and torn the sidewall of the tyre. I'm reluctant to just put up with it because the car is fairly new (bought it last year) and the tyres alone are =A3350 each (I know this because I was unlucky enough to get a nail in one after just 2500 miles!). The question, then, is: do I have a decent chance of getting the council to foot the bill for this? If anyone else has had success in a similar situation, I'd appreciate your input. I imagine that getting a photo of the offending hole with a ruler for scale would be a good starting point, but what kind of response do people think I'm likely to get from the council? Could they be considered negligent because of the of the very existance of this pothole, or would negligence require that they had been informed of the hole and had done nothing? One additional factor: the hole first appeared (in slightly smaller form) some time back when some works were being done on the opposite side of the road. I am guessing that some of the plant that was being moved around when the road was dug up caused it, but it was not made good when the contractors left (they only fixed up the side of the road that they had been working on). Presumably, some council bod signed off that the job was a goodun when the contractors had finished and tidied up, so surely that introduces an element of negligence?

Sheffield roads are a perfect justification for buying 4x4s, even if you don't intend to go off road. I used to think the folks I saw in them were gas guzzling fools, but not any more.

Regards, Jim.

Reply to
md1jrw
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Yes, you have a reasonable chance.

Yes, do that without delay.

They'll pass it to their insurers unless they have a deductible (an excess) which makes them deal with claims in-house. They've seen many hundreds of claims like yours. And paid up on quite a few.

You are entitled to require them to produce all inspection records relating to the highway and records of all complaints and all works that were being carried out on the highway.

Was the defect serious enough to be a hazard? If not, no liability. If it was, then the question is whether the council knew or ought to have known of the hazard prior to the accident. From what you say, there had been roadworks in the vicinity and it would be reasonable to expect any council workman inspecting the roadworks to notice the defect. That is a strong argument.

If they reject your claim, you should seriously consider suing them using Money Claim Online. I think they'd pay up eventually and refund you the court fee.

Reply to
The Todal

I will wager Birminghams roads are worse .... a favourite incident here is for 12" deep holes to open up around the drains on the left hand side of the road ... road crew turns up, throws some back gritty stuff in, and waits the 2-3 days (without rain) or 4 hours (with rain) for it to disappear and get even worse.

Reply to
Jethro

I had this problem in a country lane in Cambridgeshire and the CCC paid up without a murmur.

Rob Graham

Reply to
robgraham

It works out cheaper for them to make an occasional payoput than to repair the roads properly. Once claims have reached XXX amount and it is no longer economical to payout the roads get mended.

Reply to
Kenny Rogers

Although fair play to Hampshire CC, I reported a pothole on a country lane recently and they had a repair crew out within a day.

Reply to
Steve Pearce

Yikes! I reckon just so long as they aren't "fashion" wheels (super low profile & not maunfacturer's standard spec) you have a reasonable chance but if they're aftermarket low profile wheels you might not receive much sympathy.

Tim

Reply to
Tim Downie

As long as he gets the cash, they can keep their sympathy. As long as the wheels where legally valid (under all the construction and use regulations) then I don't see their style makes a jot of difference, unless the council had clearly marked that the road was unsuitable for vehicles with low-profile tyres (cf "not suitable for goods vehicles" signs).

Reply to
Jethro

So taxpayers should subsise motorists who fit very low profile wheels and then bend them driving over "typical" streets?

Of course councils should maintain roads but wheels should be "fit for purpose" and IMO, very low profile tyres will not have the same resistance to damage as those generally fitted by the manufacturer. They a "fashion choice" (and consequent risk) that a motorist knowingly takes if he chooses to fit them.

Tim

Reply to
Tim Downie

Typical streets won't bend them. & fixing the potholes isn't subsidy, the longer you leave them the more they eventually cost. But that's next years budget.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Not unless you can prove negligence against the council - or even that the road actually belongs to, and is maintained by them.

If anyone else has had success in a similar situation,

Yes, and successful - but the council were already aware of the pothole (which was on a council maintained road going through a private trading estate either side of it) which made things relatively easy to 'prove guilt' - but to get them to pay was the hard bit for me.

Yes, it would be a starting point - take that information to the council and ask them if they were aware of of the pothole. If they say yes, then you have an excellent chance of getting your repairs paid for via their insurance. If they say no (and they can prove that), then your chances of success are rather less (they have to know about the problem and did nothing about it [within a reasonable time] to be classed as negligent.

Yes, "negligence require that they were aware of the hole and had done nothing"

No that does not "introduces an element of negligence" unless you can

*prove* that the contractors caused the hole (then your claim would be against the contractor[1]) or that the"council bod" actually saw the hole and did not report it.

Personally I thing they are still "gas guzzling fools" - but that is irrelevant here.

The process for me was long and ponderous and you have to have an idea of your way around the councils systems - or get a solicitor that hates them - to get a quick success.

[1] You could also then try suing the council, as the contractors would have been their agents (how successful that would be..).

Best of luck

Unbeliever

Reply to
Unbeliever

Sheffield roads are a perfect justification for buying 4x4s, even if you don't intend to go off road. I used to think the folks I saw in them were gas guzzling fools, but not any more.

Regards, Jim.

Either 2007 or 2006 local councils paid out 60 odd million pounds for damages caused to road users. In the same period local councils spent 30 odd million pounds on road repairs. Go figure. I can dredge out exact figures if need be but the above is accurate +/- £10 million and illustrates the ineptitude of council hall, or whatever they like to call themselves these days. Nicholas

Reply to
Nicholas

In the words of the MD of a major alloy wheel refurbishers, the factory optional rims fitted to the BMW X5 (something like 22 inch with 35 section tyres) are so soft direct from the factory they would bend if you drank a few pints of beer and farted on them. Perfect for the smooth roads of Germany, completely useless anywhere else on the planet.

Still it keeps him busy getting them back into as new condition - for all of 5 minutes until they bend again.

Reply to
Mike

What if the motorist didn't fit them?

Reply to
Elder

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