Just got back from meeting with the council

29th July 2010

I hit a a very big hole hole which according to the highways code should have been repaired in 24 hours. This happened 1st march 2010.

They did a walk inspection on the 13th feb and noted 39 potholes all which is classified as priority 4 (30 day response time).

I was saying they did not correctly look at all the pot holes as they would have noticed the one i hit and repaired it within the correct time scale. as it was soo big it would have been classed as something very different

Where can i go from here as he just keep quoting section 58?

I was asking for 39 pieces of information relating to each pothole and he said their wouldnt have been any information apart from something saying 39 potholes deemed category 4 need fixing within 30 days (basically for the guys to go off to fix them)

can anyone help please

Replies (3)

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 02/08/10 at 9:49 am

Some highway authorities undertake safety inspections using GPS and data mapping so they can pin point exactly where the potholes are. Sadly, others use pen and paper or a dictaphone, and as such there will be very limited information available.

From what you have said; the safety inspection was on 13 February, and you hit a large pothole on 1 March? Therefore, there are 3 realistic possibilities;

1. The pothole did not form until after 13 February, so it was not there during the inspection.
2. The pothole was identified on 13 February and was due to be repaired within 28 days, but its condition worsened to the state you observed on 1 March.
3. The pothole was missed completely during the inspection.

The burden of proof is on you. Can you 'prove' on the balance of probability (alleging it is not enough) that the pothole was in a very dangerous state at the time of the inspection?

Forget the condition it was in on 1 March as you will not find any reputable engineer who agrees that a pothole could not occur or deteriorate in 2 weeks during winter.

hornby     posted : 30/07/10 at 8:32 am

....what information should the council have replating to the walk-in inspection they carried out.

As in the meeting he mentioned their is no information apart from the inspector noting down 39 potholes to repair within 30 days - surely their is more information needing to be obtained than this?

I firmly believe the pothole i hit wasnt noticed or inspected correctly and thats why it wasnt fixed withink 24 hours but 30 days

hornby     posted : 29/07/10 at 9:17 pm

...so basically i have a photograph showing the pothole i hit should have been more urgent and not left for 30 days - could this be enough to win the case in court considering they did do a walk inspection but they dont actually have evidence that it wasnt their