Lovely Council Roads

[tony pa]

i took my car to the garage because i thought my suspension wasnt right,the garage quoted £600 for all 4 legs,they said it was because of all the traffic calming humps and badly maintained roads.so i sent the council an email for compensation what do you think my chances are i would like to think they will pay all of my garage charges,if not spend the money to maintain the frigging roads.

[G4VHD]

Can I be brutally honest?

[tony pa]

please dont tell me they are not going to cough up

[G4VHD]

When were your shocks last replaced?

How many miles have been done on them?
Whats your driving style?
Do you know the !Removed! quality of BMW standard shocks?


Just Q's I'd ask if I were council..

[tony pa]

dont get me wrong but ive moaned at the council before about there roads.not that i normally bother to moan but i think its about time we did the council are morons also i drive like a 70 year old lol

[shadowface]

I can easily relate to you. Last Saturday, I was driving down to Altrincham on A560, when I've noticed a manhole, enclosed about 5cm deep into otherwise flat road. Didn't have time to swerve, thus I've bumped into it driving about 30mph, which as a result has made my CD player freeze and I was worried for a moment, that I've lost half of my front-end suspension.

Who makes it possible to place manholes in the middle of a dual carriageway, in the exact spot where your nearside wheels will be rolling? Just so we should swerve to avoid damaging our cars, then hit a post, a tree, or worse: another car?

It's ridiculous for councils to stuff their pockets without maintaining the roads. What is the freaking road tax we pay for each year, if not for road maintenance?

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

Right, in defense of Councils - The drains will have been originally laid about 50 years ago, road layout would've changed considerably since then i.e. path/carriageway width. To change the drains' route would take months of closures on any single road therefore not viable financially.

In defense of us motorists - The Councils now sub-contract roadworks out to other companies and pay an "On time completion Bonus", this encourages "Rush Jobs" hence the poor quality of the man-hole levelling... OK they look perfect for a month or two but the foundation is never properly done thats why they sink !!!

The worst culprits are the Utility companies not doing their work at the same time (or before) Tarmac is laid !

Councils will always contest a claim, good news is that they will counter this against the last company that did the work. This is why it takes a while to get to a conclusion.

A pot-hole (or any road-surface defect) has to exceed 6cm in depth and 15cm at is widest point to be deemed as a liability !

Always take photo evidence.

HTH ;)

[shadowface]

I understand that council have nothing to do with how manholes were placed 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean they can just ignore the problem.

I'm not after a compensation, as I haven't had any damage (yet) done to my car, except for scaring the poo out of me and possibly other motorists using A560.

The problem lays with making cheap road repairs (oh, I've seen loads of those during last month on A56). There has to be a way to make effective repairs, both financially and technically.

I just feel nobody cares about any standards I this country anymore.

[GaryL]

You can tell a lot by a country by the standard of its road network.

It's not just the UK that is suffering. Many of the previously excellent European roads are also showing an alarming amount of wear.

I have just come back to the UK after two weeks on holiday, I'm fully aware of the weather conditions whilst I have been away. The roads locally to me anyway, are in a rather sorry state, and although our local council are actually quite good at maintaining them, I do ponder how long it will take to repair the majority and what do they prioritise.

I think that in the cold light of things like anything else, budget cuts will ultimately force their hands.

[mr metatarsal]

have you guys been to Holland? the roads there are as bad as ours.

[Blackcab]

Try Belgian roads, they look and feel like they've never been repaired since they were carpet bombed in WW2.

[Guest DazH]

Try Belgian roads, they look and feel like they've never been repaired since they were carpet bombed in WW2.

Lol..

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

Why don't they use the same material as they use for speed-humps ??????

[Charlee]

My farj in law managed to get a new alloy and tyre from his council last winter for his skyline. I guess if you dont ask you dont get! Good luck :)

[tony pa]

the council says they want pictures and where abouts the pot holes where then you have to make a claim on there insurance.i sent them an email to where the potholes where, everywhere!

[h4rris]

the council says they want pictures and where abouts the pot holes where then you have to make a claim on there insurance.i sent them an email to where the potholes where, everywhere!

Good answer !

[Gloco]

Tony, reckon you need an expert to testify that if you hit the bump at the road speed limit it will damage your car . Also take photo of bump and include a pen or tape measure for scale with today's paper and email to yourself that same day. They are sneaky at going back and filling potholes whilst claim is in pipeline.

It will be a long and bureaucratic process!

[Gloco]

Tony, reckon you need an expert to testify that if you hit the bump at the road speed limit it will damage your car . Also take photo of bump and include a pen or tape measure for scale with today's paper and email to yourself that same day. They are sneaky at going back and filling potholes whilst claim is in pipeline.

It will be a long and bureaucratic process!

[E36-Steve]

You should go and take some pictures of the big pot holes along the routes you use on a regular basis. Send if off to the council and ask for their insurance company details. Tell them your claiming from them because it is there responsibility to keep the road surfaces to a certain condition.