Pothole compensation for drivers in 2022 could have filled 340k potholes

By Liam On May 16, 2023

Millions of pounds in pothole compensation paid to drivers last year would cover the cost of plugging 340,000 potholes

Local authorities paid almost £22.7 million in compensation to drivers in 2022
That would be enough to pay for 340,000 pothole repairs, a new report claims
We’ll guide you through the process of claiming if your vehicle is cratered damaged

By Rob Hull for Thisismoney.co.uk

published: 15:50 BST, 16 May 2023 | Updated: 15:50 BST, 16 May 2023

Local authorities and municipalities are facing a “chicken-and-egg” scenario when it comes to covering the cost of repairing their cratered roads, according to a new report from Citroën.

It reveals that cash-strapped authorities in England and Wales were forced to pay out £22.7 million in damages to drivers last year to cover the cost of damage caused to vehicles by potholes on poorly maintained roads.

If the same amount had been spent to fund repairs, another 340,000 potholes could have been plugged, the French automaker estimates.

Annual pothole-related compensation payments from local authorities would be enough to cover the cost of repairing 340,000 potholes in England and Wales, according to a new report.

The report highlights the uphill battle to improve Britain’s crumbling roads with limited road maintenance resources and millions spent on compensating motorists for the damage they cause to cars and other vehicles.

According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), total pothole-related compensation claims in 2022 amounted to a staggering £22.7 million.

This consists of the combined cost of the payouts (£11.6m) and personnel costs to handle the claims (£11.1m).

Incredibly, that’s more than a quarter of the total amount spent on pothole repair in England and Wales last year, with councils collectively pouring £93.7 million to fill 1.4 million craters – an average of £ 66.93 per silage.

Yet a damning audit conducted by the Daily Mail earlier this month found that fewer than three in four silage compensation claimants receive a payout.

The survey found that one in five local authorities reject at least 90 percent of claims.

One of the worst examples was Dundee City Council, which rejected 96 percent of claims over a three-year period, the exclusive report said.

However, when Citroën analyzed figures from the Department of Transport and AIA, it found that the total pothole compensation bill for the past five years was a staggering £139.9 million.

Based on an average repair cost of just under £67, that would be enough to cover the cost of filling over two million potholes.

In a similar period between 2017 and 2021, road casualty data shared by police forces in England and Wales shows that there were 1,114 accidents on the roads resulting in injuries due to a ‘defective road surface’, with 355 people suffering ‘serious injuries’. injured and 16 killed.

“The investigation found a deteriorating picture on UK roads,” said Citroen UK.

“The frequency of resurfacing roads now averages every 116 years, 46 years more than an estimated lifespan of 70 years in 2022,” the report added.

Councils have poured a total of £93.7 million in road funding to fill 1.4 million craters by 2022 – an average of £66.93 to repair a pothole

Following a long-running Daily Mail campaign, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £200m in additional funding in his spring budget to help authorities and councils repair their deteriorating local roads.

This will strengthen the Government’s already existing Potholes Fund, bringing the total amount available for the 2023/24 financial year to £700m.

However, this level of funding will barely touch the sides in terms of the overwhelming number of potholes.

According to the AIA’s latest report, the full bill needed to restore cratered local roads in England and Wales is £14bn, about 20 times the £700m earmarked by the government.

Citroën crunched the numbers as part of its promotion for customers to receive a free pothole damage inspection at its franchised dealer network.

This includes a technician checking wheels, suspension and tires. The offer is only available until June 30.

How to Claim a Silage Related Compensation: Our Five Step Guide

1. Collect the evidence

Note the location of the pothole, the time and date you drove through it, and take a photo of the damage to your vehicle.

If you didn’t do this at the time of the incident, you can return to the crime scene to take photos.

If possible, take your car to a garage and request a written report from a mechanic for the expected cost to fix the problem – or if your engine is not drivable, call a reputable repair center and get a quote.

2. Find out who is to blame

To be able to claim compensation, you must first know who has to pay. If the pothole is on a highway or major road, chances are it’s a state highway problem.

For local roads you have to check which municipality is responsible.

Once you have identified the party you need to contact, request a copy of the highway maintenance schedules and the number of reported incidents on the specific road over the past 14 days as evidence that the road has not been properly maintained or that there is a reported pit. t has been discussed.

3. Submit the claim

You must file a formal claim and most responsible parties have a template that you can request.

4. What to do if you are or are not offered compensation

After submitting the claim, you should be notified if any compensation will be awarded.

However, you can still reject the value of the bid if you feel it is not enough, especially if you have evidence that the pit had already been reported but the party responsible had not acted to rectify it.

If the municipality refuses to reimburse you, you can seek legal advice or take a case to court.

A word of warning though that this can be a time consuming process and probably only worth it if the repair costs are significant.

5. Last option: Claim through your insurance

If you have hull cover, you can claim silage damage on your policy.

However, it is worth considering the cost of the damage, as well as your deductible and whether this action will affect your No Claims Bonus.

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