Excellent pothole result

[User]

 

[Tynan]

they'll have borrowed that tarmac from somewhere else on your route

 

[Tynan]

hmm, I've just reported the assault course that is Eversholt Street to Camden Council

They'll 'look at the report' within 10 days

oh well

 

[Maz]

LOL @ tynan

That's a fast turnaround Mr.P. I'd be tempted to send them another email saying thanks for fixing it so quick.

 

[Keith Oates]

Good to hear some encouraging news about your council instead of the normal moans when councils disregard complaints!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Amanda P]

I've had similarly quick repairs. Better yet, I've had the North Yorkshire highways surveyor telephone me to talk about holes before he gets them fixed.

 

[ColinJ]

The trick is to find out what phrases trigger which of their responses. I understand that if a pothole is a certain depth then they have to look at it more quickly.

Seeing as the best way of winning a claim against a local authority is if you can show that they had knowledge of the fault and its risk, and adequate time to fix it but didn't, it's worth pointing out the risks. Being honest of course.

Don't forget to register the pothole at fillthathole and make a point of mentioning that fact to the council, emphasing their legal responsibility to fill the hole now that they are aware of it.

I did that for a really dangerous pothole near here. It was on a very fast downhill, on the racing line and the slope of the road was such that you couldn't see it until you were right upon it. I reported it after my mate hit it on his MTB. Its big knobbly tyres made the bike tough enough to survive the impact but it would have destroyed a roadbike wheel with catastrophic consequences for the rider...

I soon got a reply email from the council. Tellingly - they had forgotten to delete the messages from within the various council departments so I could see exactly what the reactions were as my message was forwarded from one person to another up the food chain! It went something like this: "Fred - here's another bloody pothole complaint" to "John - get someone to have a look at this when you can" to "Pete - this pothole sounds like a bad one and the guy has sent a copy to a third party so we will be up s**t creek if someone gets hurt now" to "Mick - go and fix this pothole - NOW!!!"

Within 24 hours I had an email from 'Mick'. He gave me an OS grid reference for the pothole and forwarded a photograph of his repair. He asked me to confirm that this was the one that I'd reported. Result! The repair job was done properly. I've checked it a couple of times, and it is still sound, unlike a lot of botched repairs that fail again once a few HGVs have driven over them.

 

[Cyclista]

This was posted by PaulMC over on Singletrackworld earlier on today as they are having a similar discussion, and I thought you guys might like to have a read.

I am a solicitor who specialise in defending LAs against claims so the following is an accurate summary of the position, as opposed to some of the comments above:

Highway Authorities, (usually the county council, metropolitan council or sometimes the Department for Transport) have a duty under s.41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain their highways.

The existence of a dangerous pothole amounts to a breach of that duty. There is no hard and fast rule as to what is considered dangerous but a pothole of sufficient depth/size to damage a normal car wheel would be. A depth of 40 mm or more is usually a minimum.

Once breach of duty is established the HA is liable to compensate unless it can prove that it took reasonable steps to ensure that the highway was safe. HAs do this by operating periodic inspection programmes. If there is no inspection programme, or the inspections are too infrequent, or the defect was missed on inspection or it has been reported since the last inspection and sufficient time has passed for the HA to respond but it hasn't, the HA cannot prove that it has taken reasonable care and is liable to compensate.

The inspection frequency depends on a number of factors that can globally be described as the significance of the road. It ranges from monthly for busy/main roads to annually for minor backroads.

There is therefore no need necessarily for the hole to have been reported, although this may help.

If a HA has an adequate system of inspection and is not aware of the defect it has no legal obligation to compensate you.

HAs differ in their approach to claims. Some take an economic view and may simply settle low value claims if you persist. Many will not. HAs are acutely aware that they are very vulnerable to claims fraud and many will therefore treat your claim with some degree of scepticism in any event.

 

[tdr1nka]

Can one compliain about the bank or ripple that is created by near constant truck & bus traffic?
It happens when the weight of the vehicles compresses the road surface pushing the excess ashphalt into a mound or seam that runs parallel with the gutter and can be deadly to the point of forcing you out into traffic.

Is there a name for this?

T x

 

[Amanda P]

Tramlining.

Quite common especially on the inside lane of motorways.

 

[tdr1nka]

Tramlining.

Quite common especially on the inside lane of motorways.

Thats the b*gg*r.

(Not to be confused with real tramlines, like there are in Croydon, which when wet, are deadly to cyclists.)

T x

 

[longers]

I also had an excellent pothole result. I reported two yesterday afternoon about 2ish. By 10am this morning they were filled in.

Well done to Derbyshire CC.

 

[tdr1nka]

I only had 'squishing' in my head, hence I asked what the general name for it was LOL!

T x

 

[Abitrary]

I reported a potholed road to fillthathole once, and lo and behold, a couple of days later I cycled past a council guy marking out potholes on that road.

I couldn't resist and went up to him and said, are you from 'fill that hole? That was *me* that reported those!!!!'

He didn't seem overwhelmed by my enthusiasm, and asked if I'd care to point out to him the stated 'hundreds all over the road' that I complained about.

I told him I was late for swimming, which was the first lie that came into my head

 

[bonj2]

i always keep meaning to report east bank road 'cos there's an awful one along there, but i only ever cycle along it one way and it's on the other side, so my inclination is low, i.e. only enough to 'see if they actually bother' and to see if i can make somebody do some work that they wouldn't have done otherwise.