Solid obstruction in road is responsibility of local authority

Most people probably do not realise that a highway authority’s responsibility for keeping the roads safe to use is very limited. In practical terms, so many things can happen to a road that it would be unreasonable for the authority to be responsible for maintaining all roads within its remit in a safe condition at all times.

One of the situations that specifically lies outside the responsibility of a highway authority is when a road is made unsafe by something that drops onto it – an occurrence that happens dozens of times daily.

However, a recent case shows that this limitation is subject to boundaries. It involved a cyclist who suffered a severe head injury when he struck a lump of concrete in the road. The concrete had fallen onto the road and hardened.

The relevant highway authority claimed that it was not responsible because the concrete was a contaminant. The claimant argued that once the concrete had set and bonded itself to the road, it became the authority’s responsibility to remove it and make the road safe.

The court accepted that the authority was responsible for the road being unsafe in this case.

 

On a similar note, what's the crack on a huge pot hole (over 4" deep) on a T-junction that may or may not be responsible for my suspension being borked?

 

You will have a good case against the local authority if you can prove on the balance of probability that the pothole was the cause of the damage to your suspension, you were unable to anticipate the presence of the pothole, and that the local authority were aware, or should have been aware of the problem and then failed to do anything about it.

4 inches deep is well beyond the accepted norm, which makes your case stronger, and there is the recent case in Coventry where a chap had a similar issue with his car when 3 of his 4 alloy wheels were damaged, it went to court and the local authority were found liable.

A well worded letter with all the relevant facts in light of this case may be all you need to do, but don't hold your breath and be prepred for a fight.

 

I'll go fetch some photo's. Cheers matey.

 

Rats, I wish I knew this at the time, I came around a corner in Southwark and there was a huge breeze block lying on the road and it dented and scraped the sill on the left side of the car. Does that count?

 

That 'breeze block' didn't have yellow paint and a bollard on it, did it?