Argh! Bloody potholes!
Discussion
I hit a pothole on Tuesday evening whilst taking my girlfriend to an appointment. It made a hell of a bang, and I pulled over to check that my car was OK. I ran back up the road to see two dirty great dents right next to each other, about 3 inches deep but because the tarmac was still intact I had no chance of seeing them in the dark.
Whilst cleaning my car this afternoon I noticed that my front nearside wheel has got a distinct flat spot on it and you can see the tyre sits slightly differently in that area. So I grabbed some rulers and went back to the potholes to take snaps on a disposable camera but the holes have gone, just a nice smooth area of tarmac remains.
So there goes my chance of a claim against the council. Or does it? Has anyone had any success claiming for damage without the supporting evidence of the hole that caused it?
What's particularly annoying is that the damaged wheel was brand new in November after I spent nearly £300 (
) replacing it after an altercation with a kerb.
Whilst cleaning my car this afternoon I noticed that my front nearside wheel has got a distinct flat spot on it and you can see the tyre sits slightly differently in that area. So I grabbed some rulers and went back to the potholes to take snaps on a disposable camera but the holes have gone, just a nice smooth area of tarmac remains.
So there goes my chance of a claim against the council. Or does it? Has anyone had any success claiming for damage without the supporting evidence of the hole that caused it?
What's particularly annoying is that the damaged wheel was brand new in November after I spent nearly £300 (
) replacing it after an altercation with a kerb....but as I said, they'd filled the pothole in by the time I went back with camera and rulers. What chance have I got with no evidence?
So... does anyone in the Cambridge area know of any really bad potholes that I should be careful to avoid? (hint hint!)
A new wheel is £285, tyre is £100, fitting and balancing and travelling extra on top, so this is going to be fcukcing expensive for me
So... does anyone in the Cambridge area know of any really bad potholes that I should be careful to avoid? (hint hint!)
A new wheel is £285, tyre is £100, fitting and balancing and travelling extra on top, so this is going to be fcukcing expensive for me
Bonce,
Sorry to hear about the wheel! If the wheel is bent there is little you can do. However, get the car down to somewhere that knows tyres (like NOT Kiwk Fit) and get them to check it out. It might not be as bad as it looks so worth getting a professional opinion.
My father once wrecked his exhaust on a speed bump that was un-signposted and just round a corner - sucessfully claimed against the council for that one. They have a responsibility to ensure that the roads are OK to drive on - where they are not then they are responsible to ensure that they are correctly signposted.
So the hole has been filled in. They will have records and if you can prove that you were in the area at that time there is little they can do about it... I would pursue a claim against them, but dont give in at the first, second or third hurdle - they will throw all sorts of legal jargon etc back at you, but keep going.
As for roads in Cambridge - forget it they are all crap and the City Council all deserve to be put out of their misery. I have never come across a city / county / regional authority that is so inept, corrupt, stupid and wasteful as Cambridge. For these reasons, I choose to NOT go to Cambridge unless I absolutely have to... shame cos is could be a nice place. Best advice for anyone living in Cambridge is to sell the car and get a bike (motorised of course) - cos it wont be long before they manage to ban all cars!!! And you think I jest??
Cheers,
Paul
Sorry to hear about the wheel! If the wheel is bent there is little you can do. However, get the car down to somewhere that knows tyres (like NOT Kiwk Fit) and get them to check it out. It might not be as bad as it looks so worth getting a professional opinion.
My father once wrecked his exhaust on a speed bump that was un-signposted and just round a corner - sucessfully claimed against the council for that one. They have a responsibility to ensure that the roads are OK to drive on - where they are not then they are responsible to ensure that they are correctly signposted.
So the hole has been filled in. They will have records and if you can prove that you were in the area at that time there is little they can do about it... I would pursue a claim against them, but dont give in at the first, second or third hurdle - they will throw all sorts of legal jargon etc back at you, but keep going.
As for roads in Cambridge - forget it they are all crap and the City Council all deserve to be put out of their misery. I have never come across a city / county / regional authority that is so inept, corrupt, stupid and wasteful as Cambridge. For these reasons, I choose to NOT go to Cambridge unless I absolutely have to... shame cos is could be a nice place. Best advice for anyone living in Cambridge is to sell the car and get a bike (motorised of course) - cos it wont be long before they manage to ban all cars!!! And you think I jest??
Cheers,
Paul
The fact that is has been filled in is all the evidence you need. The work will have been recorded by the councils road department, and hence it's exact state will have been recorded in order for it to get filled in.
Bonce said: ...but as I said, they'd filled the pothole in by the time I went back with camera and rulers. What chance have I got with no evidence?
Make the claim (they have std forms for this sort of thing usually) and let them try and argue against it.
It was filled in - ego - it was capable of doing said damage (as if it wasn't they could have left it.......)
J
Thats nothing, driving back from reading one night, went the scenic route back near cirencester (very scenic!!) cruising through a 40mph at 40mph (believe it or not) and was getting a bit sleepy. Sort of noticed something in the road but didnt actually take up on it, then when i was about 3.0m from it i worked out what it was...
There was a section of tarmac missing from the road that was the depth of the top two layers of tarmac, the width of the road and about two to three average car lengths long. There were no markings, no road signs saying this was here - NOTHING!!!
The car slammed down the gap, i hit the brakes (previously still doing 40mph), the car goes sideways in the gravel at the bottom of this pit, i correct and slam back up the other side of the pit with wheels locked and barely just in a straight line!!
The length of the pit meant i was in and out so quick my reaction wasnt good enough to avoid or slow down properly. My car drives to the left like a bad 'un now and i need a four wheel alignment done big style.
Got grief from the girlfriend who was asleep in the passenger seat at the time (oops teehee!), but the worst thing about it was, i was a bit tired and not really taking notice of where i was. In my shock at what just happened, i did manage to slow to check there were no signs or markings, but didn't locate myself on the map, so don't know which authority to contact etc.
How flamin dangerous was this, honestly, no signs what so ever - think if i was on a bike i'd have been munching berries on the way through hedge, it was that violent!!!
If you can, i would take this up with relevant council and cite them with the bill for the rim, tyre etc. Don't use another pothole, state what day it was, the damage and the day that it was filled in - they filled it in so it must have been pretty bad!!
If i find out after my wheel alignment that there is anything more serious (body out of alignment etc) I'm gonna be soooo pi55ed off, all because some dumb ass council can't sort their life out. I can remember a case where a motorcyclist successfully sued after coming off when a join in a section of tarmac was a few mm too high - so there are rules about this stuff...
Fry 'em i say - good luck!!
There was a section of tarmac missing from the road that was the depth of the top two layers of tarmac, the width of the road and about two to three average car lengths long. There were no markings, no road signs saying this was here - NOTHING!!!
The car slammed down the gap, i hit the brakes (previously still doing 40mph), the car goes sideways in the gravel at the bottom of this pit, i correct and slam back up the other side of the pit with wheels locked and barely just in a straight line!!
The length of the pit meant i was in and out so quick my reaction wasnt good enough to avoid or slow down properly. My car drives to the left like a bad 'un now and i need a four wheel alignment done big style.
Got grief from the girlfriend who was asleep in the passenger seat at the time (oops teehee!), but the worst thing about it was, i was a bit tired and not really taking notice of where i was. In my shock at what just happened, i did manage to slow to check there were no signs or markings, but didn't locate myself on the map, so don't know which authority to contact etc.
How flamin dangerous was this, honestly, no signs what so ever - think if i was on a bike i'd have been munching berries on the way through hedge, it was that violent!!!
If you can, i would take this up with relevant council and cite them with the bill for the rim, tyre etc. Don't use another pothole, state what day it was, the damage and the day that it was filled in - they filled it in so it must have been pretty bad!!
If i find out after my wheel alignment that there is anything more serious (body out of alignment etc) I'm gonna be soooo pi55ed off, all because some dumb ass council can't sort their life out. I can remember a case where a motorcyclist successfully sued after coming off when a join in a section of tarmac was a few mm too high - so there are rules about this stuff...
Fry 'em i say - good luck!!
My Dad had to claim for two alloys off the council, and it looks like he will have to claim for another two (they said they were buckled when he took it in for a service). If you have motor legal protection on you insurance you can your insurance company to do the hard work and save your no-claims (as the council will pay).
Had something very similar recently, but my wheel was damaged on the inside of the rim whioch is usually (and was) repairable. The info I got from repairers though was that if it's dented through the spokes area it's a write off.
However, I was also told (by a tyre service chain) that if the rim is still holding pressure then it's safe to drive on, although even with balancing it may be a bit bumpy. They told me that my wheel would be safe, and it was much worse dented than yours (I'll post a pic this pm for comparison).
I'm still trying to claim from the council for the cost of the repair. I told them verbally about it, they promised to send a claim form and haven't. PH'er Egoold sent me a fax of an article about how to claim from councils for this, I'll forward it if you send me your details.
Meantime they've filled it in (and not others in the area)! Not before I got pics of it though
However, I was also told (by a tyre service chain) that if the rim is still holding pressure then it's safe to drive on, although even with balancing it may be a bit bumpy. They told me that my wheel would be safe, and it was much worse dented than yours (I'll post a pic this pm for comparison).
I'm still trying to claim from the council for the cost of the repair. I told them verbally about it, they promised to send a claim form and haven't. PH'er Egoold sent me a fax of an article about how to claim from councils for this, I'll forward it if you send me your details.
Meantime they've filled it in (and not others in the area)! Not before I got pics of it though
Fatboy said:
pbrettle saidI have never come across a city / county / regional authority that is so inept, corrupt, stupid and wasteful as Cambridge.
You've not been to Oxford have you?
I was going to say that! Actually the local rag in thame has an article on the front cover about the poor quality of roads in Thame this week and I've og tmy car booked in to be check as the front is making a horrible noise after hitting a simialr pothole to yours bonce!
JohnL said: I'm still trying to claim from the council for the cost of the repair. I told them verbally about it, they promised to send a claim form and haven't. PH'er Egoold sent me a fax of an article about how to claim from councils for this, I'll forward it if you send me your details.
Any chance of a copy?
Bonce, I got your email, and even replied! But I've just picked up an "undeliverable due to illegal characters in the address" message, which seems odd.
Anyway, I've sent you a faxed copy. It was faxed to me though so the quality may be a bit rough. If it's not readable let me know, nd I'll see if scanning it gets a better result.
Alunr, send me your contact details and I'll do the same for you.
Anyway, I've sent you a faxed copy. It was faxed to me though so the quality may be a bit rough. If it's not readable let me know, nd I'll see if scanning it gets a better result.
Alunr, send me your contact details and I'll do the same for you.
Be VERY careful with the tyre.
My daughter whacked a steel wheel badly. I bought a second hand one to replace it as a spare and asked the guy to swap the tyre over.
This he refused to do.
Tyre looked and felt OK. He said he used to do this, until he did it for a pal whose tyre then suffered a high speed failure.
Obvious when you think about it. If the tyre has compressed sufficiently to damage the rim, it's possible that some plies have broken, even though it feels OK.
My daughter whacked a steel wheel badly. I bought a second hand one to replace it as a spare and asked the guy to swap the tyre over.
This he refused to do.
Tyre looked and felt OK. He said he used to do this, until he did it for a pal whose tyre then suffered a high speed failure.
Obvious when you think about it. If the tyre has compressed sufficiently to damage the rim, it's possible that some plies have broken, even though it feels OK.
Bonce,
Sorry to hear about the wheel. Where did it happen? I went smashing over a pothole around Madingley a few weeks back and like you, checked for bits falling off the car. I'm going to check over the wheels tomorrow as I didn't check as closely as you.
It kicked the geo out so badly that I had a severe understeer problem at 1stLotus the other week (even Andy couldn't do 'the corner' at 80 without going wide in my S2). I'm at Sinclaires on Tuesday having the geo redone. :-(
Sorry to hear about the wheel. Where did it happen? I went smashing over a pothole around Madingley a few weeks back and like you, checked for bits falling off the car. I'm going to check over the wheels tomorrow as I didn't check as closely as you.
It kicked the geo out so badly that I had a severe understeer problem at 1stLotus the other week (even Andy couldn't do 'the corner' at 80 without going wide in my S2). I'm at Sinclaires on Tuesday having the geo redone. :-(
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