Hi
What do we have to do to get councils to maintain roads?
I hit a pothole (subsidence) while looking behind before making a right turn. the hole had been hiden by the car infront so i had no knowledge of it. unfortunately the shock of impact put my right foot in the front wheel. i walked away with a broken wrist and a broken elbow, different arms of course, and a buckled front wheel.
how do we as cyclists who travel slower and therefore have more time to observe the road condition go about reporting such defficiencies and who should they be reported to?
would it not be wise for a highways officer to cycle along every road at regular intervals (quarterly) to inspect the road surfaces for damage that may need repair before they become dangerous?
matthew
Potholes
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gar
Re:Potholes
Hello Matthew,
County council highways department is the toughest one to deal with apart from the council Tax!
I am sorry to hear about your injury and hope that both arms will be better soon.
Taking the County council to the county court would not get you very far except to etch on the memory of the employees the importance of filling in that particular pothole, which sounds quite a bad one.
Firstly you should issue a threat to the relevant officer at the CC highways department that you will take them to the county court if they do not deal with the matter within a specified period of time, specified by you.
If it is not done in that space of time issue the summons yourself (phone the county court offices for the forms) and since you are going to the trouble make it a claim for about 4,999
pounds maximum for the injuries sustained.
you won't get anything but carefully done it will give the officers plenty to think about.
If you merely want to ensure that the particular hole is filled, make sure you have found the right officer and make your case over the phone persuasively.
If there is anything more you want to go over please write again.
County council highways department is the toughest one to deal with apart from the council Tax!
I am sorry to hear about your injury and hope that both arms will be better soon.
Taking the County council to the county court would not get you very far except to etch on the memory of the employees the importance of filling in that particular pothole, which sounds quite a bad one.
Firstly you should issue a threat to the relevant officer at the CC highways department that you will take them to the county court if they do not deal with the matter within a specified period of time, specified by you.
If it is not done in that space of time issue the summons yourself (phone the county court offices for the forms) and since you are going to the trouble make it a claim for about 4,999
pounds maximum for the injuries sustained.
you won't get anything but carefully done it will give the officers plenty to think about.
If you merely want to ensure that the particular hole is filled, make sure you have found the right officer and make your case over the phone persuasively.
If there is anything more you want to go over please write again.
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gar
Re:Potholes
Matthew,
I would add that I was a County councillor in 1972 and I have always phoned and cajoled ALL county councils in this way, and it invariably commands respect, and frequently gets good results, one such only this afternoon!
Ok so you are not geriatric but I am not an elected member either any more of any of the county councils whose employees I lecture telephonically on a variety of subjects! They are always grateful for my contributions to the policy of the departments which they work for,and it frequently gets results!
good luck!
I would add that I was a County councillor in 1972 and I have always phoned and cajoled ALL county councils in this way, and it invariably commands respect, and frequently gets good results, one such only this afternoon!
Ok so you are not geriatric but I am not an elected member either any more of any of the county councils whose employees I lecture telephonically on a variety of subjects! They are always grateful for my contributions to the policy of the departments which they work for,and it frequently gets results!
good luck!
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ChrisO
Re:Potholes
I'm not sure where you are but if you are in London then the London Cycling Campaign has a page of numbers for each council to report potholes, and you can also go online to Transport for London who will refer the complaint.
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=96
This is the second time in one night I've referred someone to the LCC website. Hope the CTC doesn't send some heavies to let my tyres down.
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=96
This is the second time in one night I've referred someone to the LCC website. Hope the CTC doesn't send some heavies to let my tyres down.
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gar
Re:Potholes
LCC is entirely practical and that page of numbers for london is the ideal way of dealing with such problems, being plenty of cyclists on the borough staffing who understand the problems.
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philw
Re:Potholes
I usually call in to report specific problems; I kind of think it's a duty to other people. This includes black ice etc.
states obvious Following traffic close (which is sometimes necessary) can be dangerous if you don't know where the holes are on a particular stretch of road. I try to avoid that if I don't know the bumps.
If you do hit something, you may have legal redress although it all depends on the circumstances. I did successfully litigate against a contractor working for my local council a few years ago - they'd dug a hole and filled it in badly. I sued, they paid. The sick thing was that the people who picked me out of the hole said "people have been falling into this all day"... afterwards I kind of wondered what they'd done about it.
So if there's a hole, please call in as it might save me next time.
states obvious Following traffic close (which is sometimes necessary) can be dangerous if you don't know where the holes are on a particular stretch of road. I try to avoid that if I don't know the bumps.
If you do hit something, you may have legal redress although it all depends on the circumstances. I did successfully litigate against a contractor working for my local council a few years ago - they'd dug a hole and filled it in badly. I sued, they paid. The sick thing was that the people who picked me out of the hole said "people have been falling into this all day"... afterwards I kind of wondered what they'd done about it.
So if there's a hole, please call in as it might save me next time.