Safe Speed Forums

A picture says a thousand words...



My GF has just come a cropper with this wonderful bit of road maintenance. She was just pulling back in after overtaking a cyclist when *BANG!*

She'd only just got the alignment done, and took it back to the place that did it who described the fault as "F**king hell". Fixed the alignment for free and smacked the wheel around a bit to try and make it less oval, and told her not to drive it.

The grid belongs to Thames Valley Water, but who is responsible? Then for doing a crappy job of filling in their hole, or the London council for failing to maintain the road.

She currently isn't having much joy with the water company, several department have contacted her to explain that it is not their fault, so far we believe it to be the fault of the fresh water department who are decidedly reluctant to take or return calls.

The wheel is an aftermarket Momo alloy, not cheap and possibly not made any more. She also had them painted black recently. If that design of wheel isn't made any more and none are available on eBay, then she will be wanting 4 new alloys.

So, whose fault, because this is blatantly negligence? What should we be doing next?

With the white paint around the hole - looks like it had been seen by the highway authority - last time i reported bits of a road i noticed this sort of thing -helpfull if she was "hurt " as most legal eagles love a good injury claim

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

As previous post states the white paint sugests that who evers grid it is is aware of the repair. Take a few more pictures of the whole along with the damage to your vehicle, try and get measurements of the depth of the whole on picture with a ruler or some other implement showing the depth.

This whole at least should have some sort of barrier or bollards round it warning motorists and cyclists of the pending danger, imagine if the cyclist would have swerved to avoid it right into your path and they were either seriously injured or killed what would the council do then, i know they would probably fit a camera . good luck with the claim.
Stephen

Was down that way a few hours ago, the hole was pointed out to me.. a little too late.

Fortunately it's been half filled in, so it's not too bad now. I don't think it damaged my car.

So is it the water board or the highway authority that are responsible? It's sounding like the highway authority from the posts here.

Also she's not interested in doing a dubious injury claim, just wants to have 4 round wheels again. Personally I'd be looking a 2 new tyres too, who knows how weakened the sidewalls might have become?

The highway authority should have a road opening number for a roadworks reinstatement listed for that repair. The repair is the responsibility of the water board for a set time then it becomes the highways authority.

New roads and street works act

section 70-73

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

The water board may be responsible to the Highways Authority, but that needn't concern you. The Highways Authority are responsible to you for the condition of the roads.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Definitely the Highway Authority.

They maintain the roads!

Send the bill to them with the photo and a witness statement. If they don't re-imburse quickly, put a writ on them from the Small Claims Court and, if necessary, see them there. You'll win with costs if they fight it, which they almost certainly won't, they'll just pay up.

Is it still the highways authority when it was a local road in central london?

Also, we can't afford to fix this until someone pays up, so no bill to send.

Go for the logical next step, 3 quotes, it will give them enough to base a sensible ammount of compensation on.

The 'highways authority' is a responsibility not an organisation. We've been capitalising it in error.

For most road the local council is the highways authority.

For trunk routes the Highways Agency (a department of DfT) is the highways authority.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

It might be profitable to look for a moment at the driving involved.
Basically, do people drive with “faith” that everything is as it should be up
front, or do they drive expecting (and thus prepared for) the worst?

Why did the driver not see the hazard? Would the hazard have been seen
more clearly and with more time if the driver had been going more
slowly? Might they have avoided the damage? Was speed related to the
impact that caused the damage? Would there have been less impact at
lower speeds? Could the driver have seen the hazard and swerved
around it at a lower speed, or with greater awareness?

Most importantly, though, will the driver involved learn from this
experience that the road can be unpredictable, and will they consider the
possibility of further “unexpected eventualities” in future?

If so, this minor pothole incident has had an important side effect – it has
given a very cheap lesson about how the unusual things are the ones that
catch you out.

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I stole this .sig

If that was my car and you had just taught me that vaulable lesson...this post would not have been so polite.

Of course you keep an eye out for the unexpected but for the 10 potholes you avoid theres always the one you don't. The point is that it should not have been there!

What a load of 'cobblers'. It is probable that the driver was looking down the road, not exceeding any speed limit and concentrating on likely hazards, rather than looking closer for damaged road surface. Vehicles can be expected to cope with normal road surface imperfections, but not bloody great holes of which the authorities were already aware (hence the painted markings). Clearly the authority responsible for keeping the Queen's Highway in good repair and fit for its purpose have failed in this instance to show their 'duty of care' and must pay for their negligence.
Basingwerk, once again you show your lack of empathy with ordinary driving conditions and ordinary drivers. You truly do live in some sort of 'dreamworld'.

No worries. We all hope that drivers learn from minor mistakes, before they have a serious smash.



Yeah, thanks for that. If we keep our eyes open, we can miss 9 potholes out of 10, or even more, especially when someone’s been around painting lines around them to show where they are.

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I stole this .sig

Oh what a clever troll you are!

Yes. The principles of advanced or defensive driving call for maximum awareness.

But no, none of us can be immune from defective roads.

And the responsibility rests firmly, fairly and squarely with the highways agency.

I conclude that you are stirring, you naughty troll, you.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Potholes do occur, as this example shows. If drivers don’t look out for
them, they will come a cropper sooner or later.



These holes crop up from time to time, and always have. We all wish they
didn’t but they do, and while we have them, it’s best to watch out.



The pixies don’t fix the road when we are asleep, and you can’t have
people on standby at every point in the road just in case a pothole open
up! Potholes do occur and it’s right to grumble, but there will always be
some potholes somewhere, waiting to be mended. They usually are, but
there will always be a wait until the men show up. That’s life, I’m afraid.



Don't try and turn this around. It’s those who think potholes will just go
away if you ignore them who are in cloud cuckooland.

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I stole this .sig

I think the phrase DILLIGAF best sums up my reaction to that!



You weren’t even there, you chump, so you know naff all about the
particulars of the case. But you are gracious enough to concede that more
defensive driving could reduce the risk from potholes, as I said, so that is
a cause for celebration! How about a further concession on lower speeds?
Go on, it won’t hurt!

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I stole this .sig

The pixies don’t fix the road when we are asleep, and you can’t have
people on standby at every point in the road just in case a pothole open
up! Potholes do occur and it’s right to grumble, but there will always be
some potholes somewhere, waiting to be mended. They usually are, but
there will always be a wait until the men show up. That’s life, I’m afraid.



Don't try and turn this around. It’s those who think potholes will just go
away if you ignore them who are in cloud cuckooland.[/quote]

But they clearly knew about this one. It hadn't 'just appeared', it was marked with white paint. They failed in their 'duty of care' because they failed to put up any clear warning signs in advance of this substantial hazard. At night it would not have been visible, especially if a vehicle was coming the other way on dipped lights, so really there is no excuse.
The knew and did nothing to ameliorate a known risk.
If they hadn't known it might be a different matter, BUT THEY KNEW!!!