How to Claim for Pothole Damage
According to data from the RAC Foundation two-thirds of all company car and van drivers have suffered some form of damage as a result of hitting a potholes in the road. Over 25,000 drivers make claims against their councils for damage caused to their vehicles by hitting potholes in the road every year, costing millions of pounds.
When looking at the inclusive four-year period from 2014 to 2017, a total of 1,737,161 potholes were reported across Britain but, factoring in those authorities that did not provide data, the figure is more likely to be well closer to 2.4m (2,429,422) over the four years.
Potholes can damage your vehicle suspension, tyres, wheels and a whole host of other parts. There was a substantial difference between the different councils in terms of payout. Bury paid out 88 per cent of cases and Plymouth 86 per cent, but 21 of the councils paid out no claims at all.
According to data from the RAC Foundation, the average settlement for a successful claim increased to £294 for the 2014/15 financial year, an increase from the £286 averaged in the previous year.
Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“One reading of these figures could be that local roads are in better condition than they were. But that does not square with councils’ own assessment that the road maintenance backlog is actually growing, not falling.”
The government has announced that £6 billion would be set aside to tackling potholes and improve local roads between 2015 and 2021: an investment of £976 million each year, and enough to fix around 18m potholes across the country.
According to the government’s own estimates, meanwhile, bringing local roads in England back to a state fit for purpose would cost £8.6bn.
So how do you Report a pothole and claim for damage online?
Potholes and other road defects are an increasing problem on Britain’s roads, causing damage to vehicles and presenting a potential safety hazard whether you are on four wheels or two.
You can use FixMyStreet (https://www.fixmystreet.com/) to report a pothole in your area.
