How can I claim compensation if my car is damaged by a pothole?
The UK’s roads are not in a good state at present, with new figures released showing that further deterioration has occurred across the country’s entire network.
In fact, the RAC reports that the number of pothole-related breakdowns it attended in 2023 increased by a third to almost 30,000 incidents, which is why it is calling on the government to put in place clear guidance for how local authorities can resolve the issue.
It all means that more people than ever are suffering pothole-related damage to their cars. But what happens if you do hit a pothole and how do you claim money back? Let’s investigate.
How can a pothole damage a car?
Even a smaller pothole can still have a negative impact on your car. Even though they’re best avoided, it is never worth endangering yourself or other road users by swerving around a pothole in an attempt to miss damage.
Hitting a pothole can cause a variety of different issues, with the most prominent applying to wheels and tyres. An impact with a large pothole can quickly put a hole in a tyre or cause a bulge in the sidewall, both of which will require a replacement. You may also notice that the wheel itself could be damaged - either buckled or cracked - and though this can be repaired, it more often than not requires the alloy to be replaced entirely.
After wheels and tyres, it’s your car’s suspension which is next in the firing line. Hitting a pothole can damage your car’s tracking - causing the car to pull to one side even though you’re steering dead-straight - and it isn’t uncommon for components such as steering arms or shock absorbers to be damaged too.
What should i do if my car is damaged by a pothole?
Firstly, you need to think about safety. If you hit a pothole and it causes damage to your car, you need to avoid the temptation to come to an immediate and abrupt stop as this could cause an accident. Instead, try to get your vehicle out of danger and head towards a refuge point, lay-by or service station.
If you can’t get to a safe place, activate the hazard lights and get yourself out of the vehicle and behind a roadside barrier if there is one. Contact a breakdown assistance provider or, failing that, a friend or relative who might be able to help you out.
Make sure you gather plenty of evidence
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If you’re planning to apply for compensation due to pothole-related damage then you’ll need to gather up plenty of evidence at the time of the incident. The whole process can be long and drawn out, so any extra information will help to make your case concrete.
Note down the location of the pothole, the time of day when your incident happened and, if it’s safe to do so, take a photo of the pothole in question. It’s worth getting some rough measurements - again, if it’s safe to do so - and you’ll also need to provide details on the damage it caused and why you feel the authorities in question are responsible.
Once your car is home, make sure you get quotes from garages to repair the damage and keep them safe. You’ll also need to make sure you’ve got a copy of your car’s most recent MOT certificate - these can be downloaded online for free - to show that the damage wasn’t there before the incident occurred.
Check out which organisations manages the road you were on
Different organisations manage different areas of road and you’ll need to find out which one applies to the area you were driving in when the damage occurred. For example, if it happened on a major A-road or motorway you’ll need to speak to Highways England. If you were on a London red route, then you’ll need to get in touch with Transport for London. Outside of these, you’ll need to contact a local council which looks after a particular road.
In Scotland, major roads are looked after by Traffic Scotland while in Wales they’re handled by Traffic Wales. Again, outside of these major routes you’ll need to speak to local councils. Even if you don’t decide to claim, you should still report the pothole to the authority responsible so that there’s a better chance of it being repaired. It can also help to make another person’s chances at claiming more successful.
What’s the next step of the process?
It’s definitely not easy to claim and, to make things a bit trickier, each local council and authority has a different process for reporting and claiming for potholes.
Be prepared for a refusal to begin with, since most authorities quote Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 which says that the council took all reasonable steps to maintain the road, even if that is clearly not the case.
Many people stop at this point, but if you do carry on you’ll need to submit as much evidence as you can to prove that the council didn’t inspect and repair the road as they should have. You could need to submit a Freedom of Information request to access this information, too.
