Poor road surfaces lead to accidents and vehicle damage

Many of Britain's road surfaces are now, by any judgement, in poor condition following one of the worst winters for many years, a phenomenon considered to be closely associated with an increased number of accidents and damage to vehicles. Councils across the UK are working hard to repair the damage, but serious problems remain.

Commenting on this, Malcolm Tagg, the Director General of the VBRA, the UK's leading Trade Association for Vehicle Body Building, CV, Car Body and SMART repair stated, "Although we have no supportive statistics available it is widely accepted that inferior road surfaces do indeed lead to an increased incidence of accidents, They can, in some circumstances, also lead to quite severe vehicle damage."

Expanding further Tagg remarked, "Regarding accidents, it is clear that any road user will endeavour, wherever possible, to avoid driving his or her vehicle over those sections of a road which are potholed, badly eroded or otherwise damaged. The net result is that the driver is having to concentrate harder on weaving round obstacles and finishes up driving in an erratic fashion, perhaps not paying quite the same amount of attention of other traffic in close proximity. All other drivers on the same stretch of road are invariably doing the same thing and the result is often a coming together of two vehicles in circumstances which ordinarily would not prevail. The moral must be to exercise even more care than usual when driving on any road which has obviously experienced damage or where damage is suspected. In this context, potholes and rain in combination present a particularly unpleasant hazard as the depth of the hole can't even be guessed by drivers."

Commenting on damage to vehicles Tagg added, "Mercifully, vehicles today are robustly built and can generally handle inferior road surfaces well, providing, of course, that drivers recognize the need for speed reductions and some avoiding action in those areas where severe surface degradation is evident. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that circumstances will arise whereby, for example, a large and deep pothole cannot be avoided without becoming a danger to other road users through avoiding action or sudden dangerous braking. On these occasions, the suspension of vehicles can be severely tested, often to the point whereby damage occurs. Exhausts can become damaged, wheel rims can distort and tyres can also fail. In mercifully few instances even more severe damage can be encountered with instances of drive-shaft failure being recorded and sumps being punctured."

Advising on what to do in the event of vehicle damage Tagg stated, "Safety must be the first consideration so stop your vehicle in a safe place and inspect the damage as well as you are able. Local councils can be held responsible for the damage in certain instances so you should make an accurate record of the place and time of the incident. If possible photograph and measure the size of the road surface that caused the damage and report it by phone as soon as you are able. Back this up with correspondence to the council responsible together with all supportive evidence advising that you will be looking to them to make good any financial losses you incur. If appropriate, copy this to your insurers who should be able to assist you to achieve some form of financial settlement.

VBRA member garages and repair shops have some considerable experience of investigating and evaluating damage of this nature and will also be able to offer guidance and advice on how best to proceed and to provide supportive evidence in the event of a claim being disputed. Motorists should use this free service whenever they are unfortunate enough to suffer vehicle damage arising from severely damaged road surfaces."