Northern Ireland’s roads are costing local authorities thousands of pounds from people claiming compensation due to accidents caused by potholes. Damage to cars is the main reason behind these compensation claims.
There are many causes of potholes, the main cause being heavy traffic and pressure from large vehicles such as lorries and buses. Another cause is bad weather. Heavy rain and low temperatures can cause water to get into cracks which then freezes, expanding the crack further. Underground work carried out by gas, electric and other utilities companies may also be to blame.
According to one report the pothole is as regular a sight on Northern Ireland’s roads as a traffic cone. And last year 534 people made successful claims against the Department for Regional Development (DRD). They have had to pay out a total of £0.5 million in the last five years due to damage caused to cars and other vehicles on Northern Ireland’s roads. The biggest sum paid out was £2,379.84 for damage to a car by a pothole on the Lower Ballinderry Road outside Lisburn in 2007.
The report says that although it’s not exclusively on rural highways they occur; compensationrecords show that pothole payouts are definitely more prevalent outside main urban centres. She added that with current funding from the government it is simply not possible to keep roads pothole free at all times. Commenting on overall claims levels she said: “In 2007 Roads Service received 1484 claims from drivers who alleged damage to their vehicles after driving over potholes. It is road service policy to vigorously defend all claims and so in this period 950 claims were rejected successfully”.
The situation is similar in England and Wales too, with an estimated 35,000 potholes on the roads in London alone. Figures from the AA and Asphalt Industry Alliance suggest that local authorities are paying out as much in compensation for damage and injury from potholes as they are on filling them in.
The Local Government Association says councils do not have the money to deal with this large amount of backlog repairs. David Sparks of the LGA said it estimated it would need another £200m a year to reach the target the government has set for filling in potholes by 2010.