Pothole and a FOI request
Discussion
Hi all,
I hit a big pot hole (more a series of...) on the Gatwick airport perimeter road (A23) back in January. The impact severe enough that it triggered the fuel cut off switch and rendered the front nearside alloy beyond repair. Before the usual suspects jump in, I don't have a sporty car - a 150k mile 147 Alfa diesel, and I don't have low profile tyres - now 60 profile having changed wheels and tyres for this very reason. It was pouring with rain and with other traffic it was impossible to brake hard or swerve round without causing danger to other road users.
Right, with that out of the way....my post is about the fact that the pot hole was apparently reported on several occasions 2 weeks prior to my incident, and in the interim period according to the FOI papers a further 19 cars suffered damage and are making claims against the LA.
I appreciate that with the weather and reduced budgets keeping roads in good order is a hard task but one would have thought that on a NSL road with incidents reported almost daily they would have been a bit quicker to sort something out? In my case the claim is going to be in the region of £1k, covering wheel, new tyre, recovery (as the AA now class this type of incident as an RTA and charge), alignment check etc. all this on an old shed, if a "prestige" car then I can see a lot more per vehicle. Not a rant by any means, more an observation that a single series of pothole can end up costing £1000's to the council in compensation, multiply this by hundreds of like potholes and we can see where the road budget is being squandered.
I hit a big pot hole (more a series of...) on the Gatwick airport perimeter road (A23) back in January. The impact severe enough that it triggered the fuel cut off switch and rendered the front nearside alloy beyond repair. Before the usual suspects jump in, I don't have a sporty car - a 150k mile 147 Alfa diesel, and I don't have low profile tyres - now 60 profile having changed wheels and tyres for this very reason. It was pouring with rain and with other traffic it was impossible to brake hard or swerve round without causing danger to other road users.
Right, with that out of the way....my post is about the fact that the pot hole was apparently reported on several occasions 2 weeks prior to my incident, and in the interim period according to the FOI papers a further 19 cars suffered damage and are making claims against the LA.
I appreciate that with the weather and reduced budgets keeping roads in good order is a hard task but one would have thought that on a NSL road with incidents reported almost daily they would have been a bit quicker to sort something out? In my case the claim is going to be in the region of £1k, covering wheel, new tyre, recovery (as the AA now class this type of incident as an RTA and charge), alignment check etc. all this on an old shed, if a "prestige" car then I can see a lot more per vehicle. Not a rant by any means, more an observation that a single series of pothole can end up costing £1000's to the council in compensation, multiply this by hundreds of like potholes and we can see where the road budget is being squandered.
scoobster999 said:
Hi all,
I hit a big pot hole (more a series of...) on the Gatwick airport perimeter road (A23) back in January. The impact severe enough that it triggered the fuel cut off switch and rendered the front nearside alloy beyond repair. Before the usual suspects jump in, I don't have a sporty car - a 150k mile 147 Alfa diesel, and I don't have low profile tyres - now 60 profile having changed wheels and tyres for this very reason. It was pouring with rain and with other traffic it was impossible to brake hard or swerve round without causing danger to other road users.
Right, with that out of the way....my post is about the fact that the pot hole was apparently reported on several occasions 2 weeks prior to my incident, and in the interim period according to the FOI papers a further 19 cars suffered damage and are making claims against the LA.
I appreciate that with the weather and reduced budgets keeping roads in good order is a hard task but one would have thought that on a NSL road with incidents reported almost daily they would have been a bit quicker to sort something out? In my case the claim is going to be in the region of £1k, covering wheel, new tyre, recovery (as the AA now class this type of incident as an RTA and charge), alignment check etc. all this on an old shed, if a "prestige" car then I can see a lot more per vehicle. Not a rant by any means, more an observation that a single series of pothole can end up costing £1000's to the council in compensation, multiply this by hundreds of like potholes and we can see where the road budget is being squandered.
Totally correct but I suspect there are different budget locations in play here and the LAs don't join up the dots. Why would they.......it's public money ?I hit a big pot hole (more a series of...) on the Gatwick airport perimeter road (A23) back in January. The impact severe enough that it triggered the fuel cut off switch and rendered the front nearside alloy beyond repair. Before the usual suspects jump in, I don't have a sporty car - a 150k mile 147 Alfa diesel, and I don't have low profile tyres - now 60 profile having changed wheels and tyres for this very reason. It was pouring with rain and with other traffic it was impossible to brake hard or swerve round without causing danger to other road users.
Right, with that out of the way....my post is about the fact that the pot hole was apparently reported on several occasions 2 weeks prior to my incident, and in the interim period according to the FOI papers a further 19 cars suffered damage and are making claims against the LA.
I appreciate that with the weather and reduced budgets keeping roads in good order is a hard task but one would have thought that on a NSL road with incidents reported almost daily they would have been a bit quicker to sort something out? In my case the claim is going to be in the region of £1k, covering wheel, new tyre, recovery (as the AA now class this type of incident as an RTA and charge), alignment check etc. all this on an old shed, if a "prestige" car then I can see a lot more per vehicle. Not a rant by any means, more an observation that a single series of pothole can end up costing £1000's to the council in compensation, multiply this by hundreds of like potholes and we can see where the road budget is being squandered.
If the reports have been made and it's not been filled in, and it has caused that much damage then the local authority is accountable.
Put it this way - if it's enough to damage your car, what would happen to a motorcyclist who didnt spot it because of traffic. time of day etc?
the LA are ignoring a big danger to not only vehicles, but to the safety, health and even life of the people using the road.
Put it this way - if it's enough to damage your car, what would happen to a motorcyclist who didnt spot it because of traffic. time of day etc?
the LA are ignoring a big danger to not only vehicles, but to the safety, health and even life of the people using the road.
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