Crashed on missing drain cover!

[wyno70]

I'd appreciate some help if anyone has experienced this type of thing.

I was cycling along a busy road today, heard a lorry behind me and pulled further over to the left than I would normally ride. This took me over a drain cover, which wasn't there!

I crashed! Front wheel damaged and helmet cracked, other than that a few cuts and bruises and feeling rather lucky not to have been squashed by the following truck!!!

Now I'm feeling very annoyed as clearly the drain cover shouldn't be missing and I'm facing a rather large bill for a new front wheel and helmet.

I'm planning to write to the council, to complain and see if I can get them to compensate me in any way. Does anyone have any experience of this and any tips about how I should approach it???

Thanks.

 

[Dave5N]

Plenty of no win no fee lawyers out there. Get one. Find one that specialises in cycling claims.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

Helmet cracked? Shows how useless they are. You would have been far better off hitting the road with your skull. There are statistics to prove it you know.

 

[Wobbly John]

I think some helmet suppliers do a free replacement if it's only 2-3 years old.

 

[Will1985]

You have a good case here - council is at fault. If you haven't already, get CTC or BC membership which will get you some cycling specific legal advice.

Also, take pics of all the damage and also go back to the crash site and take some of the hole (before you tell the council or they will craftily put a new one in overnight).

I've had experience of this recently - you might need damage assessments from your LBS. In reality most crash damage is better of being replaced rather than repaired but the insurers and solicitors still like to see some figures.

 

[Dave5N]

Helmet cracked? Shows how useless they are. You would have been far better off hitting the road with your skull. There are statistics to prove it you know.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ColinJ]

You have a good case here - council is at fault. If you haven't already, get CTC or BC membership which will get you some cycling specific legal advice.

Not necessarily... The situation with potholes is that if a hole has been reported, the council responsible for that stretch of road has a duty to fix it ASAP and is liable for any damage/injuries caused if it doesn't. It doesn't have a legal obligation to find every pothole itself (I think that has been tested in the courts). I'm sure that the situation would be the same for missing drain covers.

That drain cover was probably nicked for scrap and the fault really lies with the thieving bastard who stole it I was descending from Blackstone Edge to Ripponden (near Halifax) a couple of years ago and every single drain cover had gone - potentially bloody lethal! What people will do for a few easy quid...

Another time, I encountered a really bad pothole on the descent from Blackstone Edge to Littleborough. It was big, on the 'racing line', and the slope of the road hid it until I was almost upon it. I only just managed to miss it and I was doing 45 mph at the time so a crash would have been very serious. I emailed Rochdale council about it and reminded them that it was now their legal obligation to fix the hole, and told them that a copy of the email had been sent to an online pothole registration database.

The council responded very quickly. I received copies of the emails passing through the department responsible and a man was sent out to fix the hole within 24 hours. He made a very good repair (the hole hasn't reappeared in subsequent years), and he sent me a report on the repair including a photograph of it and an Ordnance Survey grid reference of where the hole was. He asked me to confirm that he'd fixed the right hole!

Councils can't afford to get sued, so they will usually fix problems if they know about them. Those that don't should be taken to the cleaners if something happens.

I've just found the Fix My Street website. It should help to get problems seen to quickly so let's all use it (or something like it). I think the CTC used to run a pothole scheme of its own.

Kirklees council (Huddersfield area) claim that "In Kirklees, 99% of potholes are filled in within 24 hours of them being reported." It's important to make those reports!

PS If you can find proof that the cover had been reported missing to the council, and it was not replaced within 24 hours, I think that you'd have a very strong case but that's for a solicitor to sort out isn't it?

 

[Dave5N]

Good post Colin.

And of course Councils will have inspection targets for these, just like anything else.

 

[on the road]

You have a good case here - council is at fault.

Only if it hasn't been nicked by some scumbag.

 

[tyred]

Not necessarily... The situation with potholes is that if a hole has been reported, the council responsible for that stretch of road has a duty to fix it ASAP and is liable for any damage/injuries caused if it doesn't. It doesn't have a legal obligation to find every pothole itself (I think that has been tested in the courts). I'm sure that the situation would be the same for missing drain covers.

Count your self lucky. In Ireland, or least the part of it I live in, even the main roads are full of potholes. I have written emails of complaint in the past only to be told the "roads are maintained to a satisfactory standard" and I had no joy when trying to get money out of them earlier in the year when I damaged a tyre and bent the rim on my car after hitting a pothole. Even when they do something, it's usually a question of thrwoing in a few shovels of gravel and it's back to being a hole a few days later.

 

[BentMikey]

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

is the one you want - the CTC database.

 

[photography27]

wonder how have you got on?
as i work for a highway section of a council, my advice is pictures...pictures...pictures, take as many as you can of the bike, helmet and missing cover, then dont ring supervisors go straight to the head highway person, go and make an appointment with pictures in hand, tell them to take it to the local post.
all highways have inspectors, they should be looking out for this sort of thing, if it was reported missing to the council, yes they should replace the grid cover asap, but they have emergency crews to put a metal plate over the hole till its repaired correctly.
also get the wieght of a solicitor or cycling organisation behind you.
take it all the way to the small claims court, you may get the money back for repairs to your bike and helmet, councils tend to give in these days before they get to court, its to expensive for them to go to court these days.
hope this helps

 

[wyno70]

Thanks a lot for everyone's advice.

I went back today to the site of my accident and took a few snaps and then phoned the council (prior to reading the above post). The fella on the other end was really helpful and told me to send him an e-mail with all the detail and the pictures that I had taken.

Having been back to the site, it does appear that the drain has been repaired twice recently (two separate lots of fairly new tarmac round it), so hopefully this will play into my hands, i.e. it has clearly been a problem and as such, why was someone not keeping their eye on it???

To be honest, I'm not too interested in solicitors etc and have told them that I'm open to offers for full replacement of my kit and if I'm not happy with the outcome will go down the small claims route. Hopefully that'll do the trick, I'll update this post when there is anything to add.

Thanks again.

 

[photography27]

make sure you keep copys of the email and get the name of the person and time you called them.
I'm sure what you told them will be suffice, just wanting the cost of repair is a good call on your behalf, they will gladly do that than go through the small claims courts, I know my boss would accept the council was in the wrong and would get the ball rolling for thecost of repair.....just be aware that it may take abit of time, the amount of office's and people the claim will ahve to go through is unbelievable!!!!
I hope you get it sorted, would like to know the outcome, please keep updating.
if i can help with "inside knowledge" let me know.
mik

 

[PatrickPending]

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

is the one you want - the CTC database.

used this a few times myself, about a year ago draincovers galore went missing in Warwickshire, reported on this website and they got fixed pretty quickly. Scrap metal prices are going through the floor now so nicking drain covers isn't as profitable as it used to be - thankfully.