Anyone sued an authority for state of the road?

I'm coming up to 4 years owning the Blackbird and use it throughout the
year. Yesterday I came off it for the first time in 26k miles. I was riding
down Porlock hill (1 in 4 I think) and although there were signs out
advising of chippings and a 20 mph speed limit I think the authority is
partly responsible. The chippings were the smallest I'd seen and were in all
the braking points and the corners. There is no way you could have not
braked due to the incline and the severity of bends. My GPS locked at the
accident and it shows speeds of less than 15 mph on the gps track for some
time beforehand.

Anyway, upshot is I hit the bank on the left and then fell to the right.
Nothing broken due to the low speed, but the RH lower fairing is wasted and
there are tell tale abrasion marks on the mirror, brake lever and exhaust.

I've used the council site to report the hazard so hopefully nobody else
will come a cropper before it's cleared. However, I'm wondering about next
steps. I've got comp cover with 6 years protected no claims but can I pursue
this without making a claim? I'm concerned that although my NCD is protected
the premium would increase due to the accident. My leathers have a small
hole in them and the lid also has signs of impact.

What does the FOAK think or is it a lost cause claiming against the council?

Mark

 

It's your fault, get over it.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, "me@home"

There were signs up warning of the hazard. Forget it.

 

But they've already got bloody great warning signs up, right? The ones
you chose to ignore, or were simply too crap a rider to properly react
to.

It's a lost cause trying to pass the blame for your own clumsiness
onto someone else.

 

I have got compensation from our local authority twice, once for a
gritter hitting my car & once for an 8" deep hole at a major junction
fucking my wheel.

You have little chance if they put up warning signs.

 

Why not bite the bullet and sink a few quid into talking to a local
solicitor.

 

me@home wrote:

I know someone that got a wheel replaced by a council cos it got badly
dinged in a pothole.

In your case, I'd suggest no chance.


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It seems that it needs to be filed under learning experience but I was aware
of the chippings and reduced my speed to well under the 20 mph signed.
Surely I could argue I took all reasonable actions given the signage?

Mark

 

I lived around there and know Porlock Hill. It is a hazard at the
best of times, as is the LA policy of "surface dressing" throughout
the SW. I've banged on about it many times - the drifts of chippings
scattered over 2mm of sticky tar, the passage of traffic required to
grind the chippings into the surface.

There's a variety of techniques available to the thinking motorcyclist
when dealing with a surface like this: careful line selection is
paramount: keeping out of the drifts of 'marbles'. First or second
gear, keep on the back brake and Touch Ye Not the front brake on pain
of ... well, pain. Neither shall ye lean, nor undertake any sudden
movement especially on a corner. And relax the Grip of Death on the
'bars, or ye shall tense rigid and jerk yourself off. as it were.

It is a lost cause. You saw and noted the signs, you were aware of
the conditions, as evidenced by your speed. There is an alternative
route down the Toll Road, should you have wished to use it.

The LA will argue that surface dressing is vital to this road, at this
time of (low use) year, as the tar melts in the Summer and the whole
thing goes rapidly to pieces (literally) if there's no stone to bind
the tar.

We came across a very similar thing on an Ixion rideout in the
Pennines a few years ago - drifts of freshly-scattered chippings, the
dust from the stone shimmering in the heat haze. Lines of cars
snailing up and down the hills, a lot of them following a BMW rider
who was obviously puckering his seat all over the place. I clearly
recall the sphincter-tightening sound of chippings smacking around the
mudguards and the swoosh of deep chippings under the tyres.

We filtered gently past the cars (keeping straight and very upright)
and then bimbled past the BMW. Some very odd lines were followed,
keeping in the car tyre-tracks and out of the drifting chips. Slaking
pints were swilled shortly after as we relaxed our cramping fingers,
steaming in the town square.

You got it wrong, that's all. Find yourself some s/h bits and fix
your bike, stitch up the rip in your gear and polish your helmet in an
older and wiser fashion.

 

Apparently not. It isn't /just/ a speed thing, it's the way you use
the speed and the lines you take.

 

That's a simple traffic collision & insurance claim, though. Not quite
the same thing.

Why didn't you see the hole before driving into it?

 

He was busy looking out for gritters.

 

You get-a smacked by one-a gritter ....

 

Clumsy ****.

 

20 mph is too bloody fast down there. The sharp lefthander is 1 in 4 with
an adverse camber, a well known blackspot.
Add in a load of chippings and you should have a man with a red flag
walking in front of you. If the signage encouraged 20mph someone needs
their arse kicking.

Consider yourself lucky that nothing was coming up when you slid out, the
air ambulance guys are very familiar with that spot.

 

"The speed indicated on the sign is a limit, not a target".

Signage does not "encourage" 20mph, it indicates the maximum speed
permissible. AFAIK, all the signage for freshly-gritted roads shows
20mph, which they assume will /minimise/ damage to /cars/ from stones
thrown up by other /cars/.

 

I thought it used to be the case that if the council had marked the
pot hole (with paint around it) and hadn't repaired it, that they were
responsible?

 

ITYF that an inspector will visit once a hole is reported, and assess
the "Carriageway Surface Failure". He'll mark it with the spraycan,
and send a job ticket through to the Boys with the Black Stuff to come
round and sort it out, usually within 72 hours from receipt of the
ticket.

No culpability is inferred by marking, however.

 

I wasn't in the car, he fucked off, the next doors noticed.

Well, the hole was on a left hand corner on a left hand junction, i went
back & it wasn't easy to see. Or i wouldn't have driven into it would I?

 

I'm sure Loz will pop up at some point to share his experience of
trying that...