Puncture due to pothole on private road

[Second Best]

JimbobVFR said:

Big Bad Ben said:

I know, I should’ve spotted something that big and avoided it but that’s my lesson learned.

I figure that the airport is responsible for the upkeep of their road and so they should shoulder some responsibility for the puncture. !

Selectively quoted but how can those 2 statements not be contradictory. Take it on the chin and don't do it again.

How would he avoid that amount of road degradation during active road use. Either straddle it and send a motorcyclist 12 feet into the air, or mount the kerb and put peds in danger and potentially damage the sidewall anyway.

[untakenname]

I think it maybe worth asking for some goodwill from Tesla for the pothole damage, seems to happen in the USA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6sPc9dFsGw

[Agila b 6yr 6k]

Just a few points.

1. You're correct to be annoyed, it's a lot of money regardless of what you drive.

2. That pot hole is a disgrace.

3. I think it's a £100 fine if you stop. Hope you haven't stopped at the time or to take a picture etc????

Good luck with it all.

[anonymous-user]

Second Best said:

JimbobVFR said:

Big Bad Ben said:

I know, I should’ve spotted something that big and avoided it but that’s my lesson learned.

I figure that the airport is responsible for the upkeep of their road and so they should shoulder some responsibility for the puncture. !

Selectively quoted but how can those 2 statements not be contradictory. Take it on the chin and don't do it again.

How would he avoid that amount of road degradation during active road use. Either straddle it and send a motorcyclist 12 feet into the air, or mount the kerb and put peds in danger and potentially damage the sidewall anyway.

There was a motorcyclist? Pedestrians? In that case he should have slowed until the bike had passed and then straddled the quite obvious pothole.

You sure you weren’t trying out that legendary Tesla acceleration OP?

By the way, have you checked the rim? I’d be surprised if a 21” rim survived an impact bad enough to destroy a 35 series tyre.

[Cudd Wudd]

Big Bad Ben said:

I've made the assumption that because there are signs saying "Private property", then it's a privately owned road - but is this not necessarily the case?

My pleasure

I cannot read all the detail on that sign, but assuming it doesn’t detail the owner, you could contact the highways authority for that area and ask them if they can confirm who is responsible for it given the signage. They will hopefully provide the details. Failing that, and if there’s no other obvious way of identifying them based on the location the road is in, you can submit a search of the index map at HM Land Registry, which is easy enough. Submit a form with map identifying the area edged in red, pay about £4, and HMLR will return details which should assist.

Your photos look helpful and the depth looks sufficient to establish the need for repair, although emphasising how bad it was/is could raise the counter argument of, “then why didn’t you see it [in time]?” This could then go to the apportionment of fault (contributory negligence).

[Tony1963]

When I see that a road is in that state, I just slow right down. Difficult to wreck a tyre or wheel at 20mph or slower. My tyres are half the price of the OP’s, but the thought of my own carelessness and lack of observation costing me £115 plus aggro is enough to make me hold back. After all, most of the UK’s roads are pretty awful anyway.

[Big Bad Ben]

Agila b 6yr 6k said:

Just a few points.

1. You're correct to be annoyed, it's a lot of money regardless of what you drive.

2. That pot hole is a disgrace.

3. I think it's a £100 fine if you stop. Hope you haven't stopped at the time or to take a picture etc????

Good luck with it all.

Thanks Agila. Yes, that £100 fine is a bugger, it's upsetting a lot of people as even if they stop to look at a map to try and find the right car park, the enforcement cameras get them. Even people filling up with fuel at the airport's petrol station have been hit with fines for stopping!

REALIST123 said:

There was a motorcyclist? Pedestrians? In that case he should have slowed until the bike had passed and then straddled the quite obvious pothole.

You sure you weren’t trying out that legendary Tesla acceleration OP?

By the way, have you checked the rim? I’d be surprised if a 21” rim survived an impact bad enough to destroy a 35 series tyre.

In fact, there were pedestrians, but to be honest the pothole doesn't look so bad from a driver's eye view... I've had plenty of chance to try out the acceleration (it is ludicrous!), no need to do it on the approach to a roundabout!

Your post did concern me about the rim, I was fearing the worst but fortunately it only suffered a small scratch, thank goodness.

Cudd Wudd said:

My pleasure

I cannot read all the detail on that sign, but assuming it doesn’t detail the owner, you could contact the highways authority for that area and ask them if they can confirm who is responsible for it given the signage. They will hopefully provide the details. Failing that, and if there’s no other obvious way of identifying them based on the location the road is in, you can submit a search of the index map at HM Land Registry, which is easy enough. Submit a form with map identifying the area edged in red, pay about £4, and HMLR will return details which should assist.

Your photos look helpful and the depth looks sufficient to establish the need for repair, although emphasising how bad it was/is could raise the counter argument of, “then why didn’t you see it [in time]?” This could then go to the apportionment of fault (contributory negligence).

Thanks again Cudd Wudd!

The airport have now responded and it looks like they've agreed that the road is private property and the maintenance is their responsibility (the roads are maintained regularly apparently).

However, they're stating that they're not responsible to the damage because they have no control of the type of traffic that uses (and presumably they're suggesting damages) the road. Sounds pretty weak to me, what do you think?

[eldar]

Must be East Midlands. Handing out the £100 fines like confetti.

[grassomaniac]

I did think you'd be barking up the wrong tree trying to get compensation, however they have to be taking the piss with that letter. Regularly maintained!?Then why is there a bloody pothole as deep as the one you hit then!? Regularly maintained my foot.

[SCEtoAUX]

If they're raking in £100.00 fines they should bloody well maintain the road.

Airports are fast becoming absolutely hateful places.

[Rewe]

I'd imagine if a motorcyclist hit that pot hole, came off and was killed the two insurance companies would be working out a public liability deal.

It seems odd that the same principal doesn't apply to your tyre.