hit pothole

[fourbanks]

Iv'e just hit a massive pothole here at Gatwick. The police are attending, but my wife and I are really shaken by this. It's over 2 meters in size and 6 inches deep, the car took a very hard blow. I've put into the council a report of what's happened in case of any damage. As for the car itself, it seems to be OK, but by the sound of what happened I'm sure some damage must have taken place. What's best now to proceed, do you think. The local Lexus dealer will charge around £150 for a quick look i'm sure 

[Arqum]

I did the same over the Christmas period. Not a lexus but a Merc. Needed two new lower ball joints on the front and a full alignment. I’m still fighting the council, their stance at the mo is that as I can’t prove ownership (V5 is not ownership proof according to them), I can’t claim. My solicitor is now stepping in. 
 

I hope you are both ok. Get home and have a nice hot drink. Deal with Lexus on the morning.

[fourbanks]

27 minutes ago, Arqum said:

I did the same over the Christmas period. Not a lexus but a Merc. Needed two new lower ball joints on the front and a full alignment. I’m still fighting the council, their stance at the mo is that as I can’t prove ownership (V5 is not ownership proof according to them), I can’t claim. My solicitor is now stepping in. 
 

I hope you are both ok. Get home and have a nice hot drink. Deal with Lexus on the morning.

Thanks arqum good idea 🙂 

The odd thing is I look out for this road at Charlwood Gatwick for potholes and keep it up to date with the highways and drive by there at least 3 times a week and all has been good up till tonight. How this sort of damage has happened in such a short space of time since i last drove by on Saturday is scary 

[wharfhouse]

50 minutes ago, fourbanks said:

Iv'e just hit a massive pothole here at Gatwick. The police are attending, but my wife and I are really shaken by this. It's over 2 meters in size and 6 inches deep, the car took a very hard blow. I've put into the council a report of what's happened in case of any damage. As for the car itself, it seems to be OK, but by the sound of what happened I'm sure some damage must have taken place. What's best now to proceed, do you think. The local Lexus dealer will charge around £150 for a quick look i'm sure 

I believe you need to find out if the pothole has been reported previously - if so then if there is any damage to your car you have a stronger claim against the council. If you can get photos then get those along with some reference for size and depth. As the police are there get their details and maybe a statement from them. Personally I would get Lexus to check the car having explained what happened and have a 4 wheel alignment check done and then see what you need to do to make sure the car is sorted and see how and what you can then claim off the council sending details, photos and police report/details. If the pothole was previously reported and they start denying liability I would think a solicitor may be able to apply more leverage. 

I try and report local potholes for just this reason. The council keep saying they do not need repairing but as I've logged them if I or anyone gets damage there is a stronger case. 

[fourbanks]

1 hour ago, wharfhouse said:

I believe you need to find out if the pothole has been reported previously - if so then if there is any damage to your car you have a stronger claim against the council. If you can get photos then get those along with some reference for size and depth. As the police are there get their details and maybe a statement from them. Personally I would get Lexus to check the car having explained what happened and have a 4 wheel alignment check done and then see what you need to do to make sure the car is sorted and see how and what you can then claim off the council sending details, photos and police report/details. If the pothole was previously reported and they start denying liability I would think a solicitor may be able to apply more leverage. 

I try and report local potholes for just this reason. The council keep saying they do not need repairing but as I've logged them if I or anyone gets damage there is a stronger case. 

i only managed to get this photo, but at least it's something. Will call Lexus in the morning. i have filled out a report for the council but don't hold out much hope there, knowing councils as I do from past experiences 

that's 6 inches deep, hitting it at 50 mph what i car no blow out, but hidden damage must have been done 

[HighlandJohn]

I carry a tape measure in the car....just in case.  That way I can submit pics of the size & depth of the pothole. 

[DavidCM]

This reminds me of a new company car that was delivered to my home in 2003.It arrived late Friday afternoon on a low loader so was left on the drive overnight.

As I wanted to wash our own car,my wife took the new co. car down  the lane to the village to get some shopping.On the return journey (about 2 miles each way),she hit a pothole which not only burst the tyre,but buckled the alloy wheel.The lease company were not impressed at having to replace a wheel and tyre with only about 3 miles on the clock.

 

[Duggie B]

7 hours ago, fourbanks said:

hitting it at 50 mph what i car no blow out, but hidden damage must have been done 

Check tyre wall for any signs of bulging as the side wall may have been damaged....I know from my experience just before last Christmas on my way to shopping centre on the M2.

Car drove fine but upon further inspection in the cold light of day I spotted the tyre bulge .....£283 pounds later all was well on a six month old tyre 

[Brian R]

As Phil above said, do your best to report as you find them and once the council is notified they then have a duty to log a pot hole. Importantly if anyone subsequently puts in a claim they cannot plead ignorance and say they knew nothing of the offending hole. It might also be the case that your new found "pothole" has already been reported which in turn will make your claim far easier to establish.

I typically use "Fill that hole" who in turn report a hole to the responsible council whilst physically displaying its whereabouts on a map. The responsible council is then aware and must inspect/resolve. Surrey County Council also has a reporting facility but frankly I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them and invariably after I have reported by "Fill that hole", paint markings of one colour or another is applied. There is then a duty to get the hole or defect repaired in a given time frame.

Some of these so called pot holes are more like cave entrances and I frequently see traffic cones inside them to help drivers to avoid. In regards road maintenance, then SCC are bad but West Sussex Council are now worse still. Chalwood could be in either councils area of responsibility a fact that will be established when you file a report by the likes of "Fill that hole".

I sincerely hope you get some satisfication and that the responsible council don't play too many silly games as is their normal want!

[steve2006]

Further north we have Nottinghamshire County Council who provide an interactive map showing reports on potholes and the current status for each report. This makes it easy to determine if a pothole has been previously reported and the present status.

Derbyshire County Council also have online reporting but update any reports by email so you are unable to tell if other reports for the same pothole have been submitted.

Interestingly DCC actually state their responsibilities which to me implies liability should any damage occur due to failing in their duty of care.

The problem is because of prior neglect there are so many potholes it would be a full time job just reporting them all!
When I do submit a report I always remind the local authority responsible of their Duty of Care and subsequent liability should any damage occur to my car once the report has been confirmed by them.

 

[fourbanks]

Well my friends I have just got back from seeing Tim master tec at Lexus Gatwick who has inspected the car and all looks normal so a miracle must have happened.

The pothole in question has been coned off so at least i achieved something last night, the prevention of a serious injury or death to a fellow driver but more importantly a motorbike rider who no doubt would have been killed

thanks guys for your support 😊

[wharfhouse]

6 minutes ago, fourbanks said:

Well my friends I have just got back from seeing Tim master tec at Lexus Gatwick who has inspected the car and all looks normal so a miracle must have happened.

The pothole in question has been coned off so at least i achieved something last night, the prevention of a serious injury or death to a fellow driver but more importantly a motorbike rider who no doubt would have been killed

thanks guys for your support 😊

Good to hear there is no damage to the car, and that those in authority have had the sense to cone off the pothole - hopefully they will fix it. Agree with your thoughts, although a pothole can cause £££ of damage to a car it's not usually fatal. I really feel for motorbikes and cyclists though where clearly it can be fatal. Part of the reason I keep reporting ones I see appearing, especially locally.

[Spock66]

4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire.....

[Dells]

The roads are getting worse, I got stopped 18 months age copper said I had to take a breath test because I was swerving so I asked him if he just drove over the pot holes because he was in a company car ( police car ) he told me to get in my car a bugger off ( his words )

Dell

[Rabbers]

17 hours ago, Dells said:

The roads are getting worse, I got stopped 18 months age copper said I had to take a breath test because I was swerving so I asked him if he just drove over the pot holes because he was in a company car ( police car ) he told me to get in my car a bugger off ( his words )

A neighbour of mine tells the story of how he was recently pulled over and breathalysed (with a negative result) by police who didn't believe he had been swerving in order to avoid potholes and the occasional loose kerbstone on a road near where we live.   Driving back along the same stretch an hour later, and suppressing his instinct to honk and wave in recognition, he saw, to his joy and delight, the same two policemen replacing what looked like a burst tyre on their car.

[Spock66]

37 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

he saw, to his joy and delight, the same two policemen replacing what looked like a burst tyre on their car.

That can't be true, there would have to be a risk assessment first, then a major incident declared with at least another six police vehicles in attendance.

[Rabbers]

4 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

That can't be true, there would have to be a risk assessment first, then a major incident declared with at least another six police vehicles in attendance.

That’s also what I would have thought but I suspect they were either too proud to ask for help or figured it would take too long for any colleagues to arrive. 

[Govanguy]

8 hours ago, Rabbers said:

A neighbour of mine tells the story of how he was recently pulled over and breathalysed (with a negative result) by police who didn't believe he had been swerving in order to avoid potholes and the occasional loose kerbstone on a road near where we live.   Driving back along the same stretch an hour later, and suppressing his instinct to honk and wave in recognition, he saw, to his joy and delight, the same two policemen replacing what looked like a burst tyre on their car.

They must have been on their way to Greggs for lunch.

[HighlandJohn]

22 hours ago, Rabbers said:

That’s also what I would have thought but I suspect they were either too proud to ask for help or figured it would take too long for any colleagues to arrive. 

They'd probably have been issued with a crime number.....

[Mike KL]

UK's Council is a sick joke, they charge us huge amount of council tax every month and do nothing. In my city the pot holes are so deep and big that a cat can sleep in it. 

[fourbanks]

It's really got bad the past few years. I was lucky the car didn't roll over, as that's what the police expected. So if anyone is about to purchase a car, I would say the UX every time and forget about small details that you don't like. Life's too short to get too wrapped up in what's wrong 

had i been in another type of car, things may have been well different and the car would have rolled over. We will never know

my neighbours' daughter Renault rolled over in her pothole experience and her mum has lost the wheel twice the past few months in the wet in her Renault 

[ArneT]

On 2/27/2024 at 8:46 PM, fourbanks said:

Iv'e just hit a massive pothole here at Gatwick. The police are attending, but my wife and I are really shaken by this. It's over 2 meters in size and 6 inches deep, the car took a very hard blow. I've put into the council a report of what's happened in case of any damage. As for the car itself, it seems to be OK, but by the sound of what happened I'm sure some damage must have taken place. What's best now to proceed, do you think. The local Lexus dealer will charge around £150 for a quick look i'm sure 

This is why I think taking out wheel & tyre insurance is a good idea, as the quality of the roads in the UK is so terrible these days.

[RXtoNX]

13 hours ago, Mike KL said:

UK's Council is a sick joke, they charge us huge amount of council tax every month and do nothing. In my city the pot holes are so deep and big that a cat can sleep in it. 

You will probably find that a large percentage of the council tax levy is used towards funding their gold plated defined benefit pension schemes.

This is one area of spend breakdown that they never provide. These schemes are so costly to keep funded that they were closed by private businesses many years ago.

[John Adams]

1 hour ago, RXtoNX said:

You will probably find that a large percentage of the council tax levy is used towards funding their gold plated defined benefit pension schemes.

This is one area of spend breakdown that they never provide. These schemes are so costly to keep funded that they were closed by private businesses many years ago.

You are so right Paul. I've just had my council tax bill for the new year and they have put a £30 levy to help fund their gold plated pensions. Yet my private pension was reduced after a certain Mr Brown withdrew dividend tax credit all those years ago which finished off DB pension in the private sector years ago.

I know this is not the place for this type of conversation but it annoys me that I have to fund a gold plated public sector pension out of my reduced private sector pension.

Rant over and mods feel free to delete my post if you think it is inappropriate.

[Bill Dawes]

Hit many potholes that made me wince but touch wood none that has caused damage as far as I know, someone I know that works in a tyre fitters said they get lots of cars in with wheel alignment problems due to potholes.

My worst experience was a purpose designed 'pothole' a car trap, not on my Lexus, my previous car a Kia Niro.

This was in St. Ives, the Cambidgeshire one not Cornwall, our first time there we were looking for a car park and innocently turned up what I thought may be the entrance to the car park on our left turned out to be a one way street and ending in a bus only lane at the traffic lights back onto the main road. We stopped at the red lights and when they changed to green moved off and had the shock of our lives, banged down this pit, not visible as it was covered in grass and weed, you know like you get in the centre of a narrow lane. We had to call the AA rescue, that ruined the rest of our holiday, have checked several times over the last 2 years since this happened and it is still going on, several times a week apparently. How does a council get away with this. Would we get away with it if we dug a pit to stop people using our drive.

Bill D.