Potholes!!

PudseyPaul

Im sick of them!! yesterday i was commuting to work in Leeds and for the second time in two months i hit an unavoidable pothole at about 15 - 20mph, the result being an instant flat tyre as the tube just blew out.
Not usually a problem as i can just pop a new one in and away, howver my pump also failed on me which is a first and therefore i had to push it in for half an hour!!!
Does anyone know if compalining to the council about the terrible state of main roads actually makes any difference?

alfablue

You can report them on http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/ - some councils respond better than others, for example, Bath fixed 54 of 150 reported, ranked 96th.

You can also sue the council for damages. They will be awkward, deny your claim etc, but can be made to pay up with persistence. Maybe a puncture is not worth it, but a damaged wheel, certainly.

Helps to take a photo of the hole.

always_tyred

alfablue wrote:

You can report them on http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/ - some councils respond better than others, for example, Bath fixed 54 of 150 reported, ranked 96th.

You can also sue the council for damages. They will be awkward, deny your claim etc, but can be made to pay up with persistence. Maybe a puncture is not worth it, but a damaged wheel, certainly.

Helps to take a photo of the hole.

Its always worth keeping a damaged wheel in the garage to photograph in these circumstances.

I never said that.

Kieran_Burns

If you photograph the hole you must have some item in shot that gives scale. Obviously a tape measure or ruler is ideal, but any item that itself can be measured is a good idea

downfader

Always, always, always report potholes. They can become quite dangerous, not just for us but others too.

Dont just leave it at the fill-that-hole website - go to your council website and use their actionline form too. You dont need to give details but it gets logged. The more severe the hole the more theres a chance of it getting done.

Pip13

I have to say I am mighty impressed by Devon county council. One of the roads on my route had some pretty bad potholes after all the snow. Its so bad in one place that you have to cycle on the opposite side of the road. :shock:

Last Friday I filled in an online pothole report form on their website and 2 days later a sign had gone up to advise that the road will be closed for essential maintainance this week.
The only problem is I may have to try and find another route if they shut the whole road. I think that is a pretty speedy result. I was expecting sweet fa.

antfly

If the holes are above a certain size the council are obliged to fix them quickly so it`s worth reporting them.If it`s dangerous it`s supposed to be fixed in 2 hours.

FyPunK

I have only ever reported one pothole, this was at a pretty risky junction that would force a cyclist out into two lanes of traffic, they had that along with others repaired within a week of me reporting it. I am lead to believe having spoken to someone on traffic that the council could be liable if serious injury was caused.

Eat My Dust

antfly wrote:

If the holes are above a certain size the council are obliged to fix them quickly so it`s worth reporting them.If it`s dangerous it`s supposed to be fixed in 2 hours.

That the funniest thing I've read this morning! I reported a pothole which roughly measures 50cm x 15cm and is probably over 5 cm deep about a fortnight ago and it's still there. I've noticed they are doing something about all of the pot holes though. The drawing of white lines around them is really helping!!!

antfly

I`m only quoting what it says on my council website.I`t`s not just about size,apparently,and it`s up to the"highway technician" whether it`s "category 1 " or not.Your hole must be a category 2 which means they can draw some chalk around it and fix it when they like.

Pip13

Well reporting them does work. Came down my normal route today to find that the stretch that was almost impassable has been completely resurfaced! So much better.
Well done to Devon County Council and there was no increase in my council tax this year!