Potholes! Blown tyre and ESC on limp mode

[TTruckie]

Hit a pothole this morning with a hell of a bang! Pulled over about 1/2 mile later with a flat 19”. Bugger!  Put space saver on and got the expected front right tyre flat message and tyre warning. 

 

But I also got a flashing ESC stability light and car really sluggish as in a limp home mode. After about a mile the flashing light went out and the car picked up again. This has happened intermittently on the 15 mile journey to local Kwik Fit. 

 

Could i I have damaged something else or is it just connected to driving on a space saver?

 

new tyre needed £175 and a wheel alignment!  Very expensive for a poorly kept road! Anyone got any advice to claim against the council? (Gloucestershire). I have reported the hole but if anyone crossing the bridge northbound in Lechlade be aware!

[Redboy]

58Special defence in action against a highway authority for damages for non-repair of highway.

(1)In an action against a highway authority in respect of damage resulting from their failure to maintain a highway maintainable at the public expense it is a defence (without prejudice to any other defence or the application of the law relating to contributory negligence) to prove that the authority had taken such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous for traffic.

(2)For the purposes of a defence under subsection (1) above, the court shall in particular have regard to the following matters:—

(a)the character of the highway, and the traffic which was reasonably to be expected to use it;

(b)the standard of maintenance appropriate for a highway of that character and used by such traffic;

(c)the state of repair in which a reasonable person would have expected to find the highway;

(d)whether the highway authority knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that the condition of the part of the highway to which the action relates was likely to cause danger to users of the highway;

(e)where the highway authority could not reasonably have been expected to repair that part of the highway before the cause of action arose, what warning notices of its condition had been displayed;

but for the purposes of such a defence it is not relevant to prove that the highway authority had arranged for a competent person to carry out or supervise the maintenance of the part of the highway to which the action relates unless it is also proved that the authority had given him proper instructions with regard to the maintenance of the highway and that he had carried out the instructions.

(3)This section binds the Crown.

F1(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

 

 

Above is is my council's reference if you wish to submit an insurance claim. If yours is similar I would present a copy of bill and photo (if possible) of pothole to Council and take to small claims if they fob you off. Very unlucky, almost had the same at 0630 today, bus on a minor rural road forced me into an unseen pothole on the verge, I thought the rim was gone but no damage. Reported the pothole and noted that the 5-6 other ones on that road have been reported for 4-6 weeks. Hopefully your ESC light will remain extinguished once you get the new 19" on. That's why I paid extra for a spacesaver like yourself, rather than a tin of gunk. 

Edited 29 January, 2018 by Redboy
New information

[Ootohere]

http://potholes.co.uk 

[TTruckie]

Thanks gents, very useful. 

The rim was ok, bar a few marks but did need a new tyre and align. Not much change from £230!

 

i have got pictures of it and reported the hole and asked for the process to claim but so far just got the usual ‘we aim to reply to you within 10 working days’ 

we shall see....

[Ootohere]

There are various threads in Briskoda on it.

There is posts in the Yeti section on a thread on a DSG going wrong after hitting a pothole.

& one in General Car Chat a bumped at the weekend where a Scottish Member tried tried and tried again and won his compensation.

[Sagalout]

@TTruckie

 

I guess you have used this to make your report and request a claim form??

 

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-insurance-claim

 

[TTruckie]

Sagalout - thanks but unfortunately the offending hole is about 30' inside Gloucestershire!.  Now I'm home I can do a bit of research on line.  Apparently Gloucestershire council is difficult!

[Danny 57]

I lost a rim and tyre. Simply followed the councils system, minimum of three months to investigate. I did have all photo's with ruler to show height of hole side its depth and width and luckily a name of someone else who had reported it.

One hour after I took my photo's and reported it the hole was filled in.

Got the full price of the alloy and half price of the tyre which was fair.

Like anything do your homework and persevere.

[Sagalout]

Oh dear that is not good news. Just looked at the Gloucester County website and is one of the worst I have seen. I doubt it gets anywhere near user friendly for anything!!

I think Amey Highways still do their raod work so may be worth looking there for a claim form??

Good luck with it; it ain't easy.

I live in Somerset where the process of claiming is simple but the answers are rarely positive. I lost a rear wheel and tyre on my C class estate one night a few years ago (£650!!). After 4 months my claim was rejected because 'the hole was not part of the highway'. The edge of the highway had collapsed and because only part of the hole was 'in the highway' they refused the claim.

[RickTT]

I cracked a rim and lost a tyre on my E60 due to a pot hole, i put a claim in and it was rejected, i also appealed and it was rejected...

 

The reason was that no one had reported it before me and therefore they were unable to fix something they did not know about to prevent it from occurring.... so basically, anyone else who put a claim in would of been ok..

 

So in short, report it under a different name... then file a claim a day or so later was the advice i was told !!!!! madness..

[Danny 57]

46 minutes ago, RickTT said:

I cracked a rim and lost a tyre on my E60 due to a pot hole, i put a claim in and it was rejected, i also appealed and it was rejected...

 

The reason was that no one had reported it before me and therefore they were unable to fix something they did not know about to prevent it from occurring.... so basically, anyone else who put a claim in would of been ok..

 

So in short, report it under a different name... then file a claim a day or so later was the advice i was told !!!!! madness..

 

They have to show that they have complied with a maintenance regime. This gives clear guidelines on how often they have inspected and recorded that inspection of their road system. 

Well that is my understanding of it when I had my claim as they had not followed those guidelines. 

[MChris]

I live in Somerset and last year I went to Gloucestershire and hit a big pothole.  My virtually brand new P7 tyre ended up with a bulge.  Using my dashcam I provided Gloucester Highways with a photo, and the location of the incident.  I presented them with the bill for a new P7 plus tracking.  After the statutory 90 days they refused my claim basically saying that they had done their best as per the defence as outlined above.  I spent £25.00 and started the small claims procedure (a very easy process). Once they were served with the papers they relented and paid my bill in full including the £25.00 small claims fee.  They also sent a letter admitting full liability.  I guess it was not in their interest to contest the case.  Worth a punt IMHO.