Car badly damaged due to road works.. Compensation??

subscriber

Hi folks,

I was driving home last night through my local area where road works have been going on for the past few weeks. There was machinery and such cordoned off at the side of the road but on the outside of the bollards there was a large rock close to the roadside. I did not see this rock at the time and drove straight into it with my driver side wheel. Then, when driving home my car was making a loud groaning noise.

I brought it to the mechanic this morning and he was able to tell me that the drivers side wheel suspension has shattered and will need to be replaced. So now my car is off the road for a week whilst it is in the garage and I have also had to rent a car for the week, costing me more money.

So my question is, I am entitled to be compensated for this damage from my county council considering there was a rock on the road which caused this damage to my car. Surely my annual road tax should prevent situations like this happening and I should expect to be able to drive on the road without danger of hitting excess debris from road works.

Many Thanks

JJJJNR

you'll need to take a pic of the rock and the mark on the road (as there will be an impact mark) and send it into you local CoCo, along with the receipt and they will review it and possibly pay out, I claimed for two tires a couple of years ago.

meathstevie

subscriber wrote: »

Hi folks,

I was driving home last night through my local area where road works have been going on for the past few weeks. There was machinery and such cordoned off at the side of the road but on the outside of the bollards there was a large rock close to the roadside. I did not see this rock at the time and drove straight into it with my driver side wheel. Then, when driving home my car was making a loud groaning noise.

I brought it to the mechanic this morning and he was able to tell me that the drivers side wheel suspension has shattered and will need to be replaced. So now my car is off the road for a week whilst it is in the garage and I have also had to rent a car for the week, costing me more money.

So my question is, I am entitled to be compensated for this damage from my county council considering there was a rock on the road which caused this damage to my car. Surely my annual road tax should prevent situations like this happening and I should expect to be able to drive on the road without danger of hitting excess debris from road works.

Many Thanks

I reckon you're on your own in this situation for a number of reasons.

You'll never be able to argue that the rock was there because of the roadworks, it could just as well have fallen of a lorry passing by two minutes before you passed at the location.

More than likely signage was in place warning road users about the ongoing roadworks.

You hit a static object on the road and the council/NRA/contractor will argue that you were driving without paying sufficient attention to your surroundings hence you hit the rock.

I know this sounds all a bit harsh but I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

hoodie6029

County councils has a responsibility to keep the road clear. The rock in the road was their responsibility to remove. It night time so you probably had no chance of seeing the rock since it wasn't illuminated.

IMO the council are liable, proving it may be tricky in this situation since the rock is gone and you've no picture.

djimi

Im afraid I dont see any chance for you getting the local council to accept responsibilty for this and paying for your damage. I drive on country roads all the time that could be littered with debris like rocks; its really up to the driver to be watching out for such things. Unless you can prove that the council were in some way negligent, I dont see how you would win this.

djimi

hoodie6029 wrote: »

County councils has a responsibility to keep the road clear. The rock in the road was their responsibility to remove. It night time so you probably had no chance of seeing the rock since it wasn't illuminated.

IMO the council are liable, proving it may be tricky in this situation since the rock is gone and you've no picture.

County councils really do not have a responsibility to keep the road clear.

If the rock had fallen off a truck that was 50m in front of the OP would you still say it was the councils fault?

mickdw

As said above, you need to prove negligence. In this case, you really do have a case. Hitting a pothole or some such you really have no comeback with the council but if they did leave a rock in the road or their road works directly resulted in the rock ending up in the road, you have a great case and they will pay out.

biko

Posting the same question in several forums is a no-no.
I suppose your thread in Legal discussion is good to respond in.