Sue over road?

SuzieQCork

Can you sue the county council over the road.

My partner wrote off his van (and was very lucky not to be killed) after hitting a patch of road today. He was on a straight, going the speed limit and lost control of the van.
There have been numerous crashes in this stretch of road in the last few weeks and the guy who's tree he ended up wrapped around told him that the council were out two weeks ago doing a slip/friction test which it failed but they've done nothing about it.

Are the council liable? Is there anything we can do?

Why are we paying road tax at all??

Zambia

SuzieQCork wrote: »

Can you sue the county council over the road.

My partner wrote off his van (and was very lucky not to be killed) after hitting a patch of road today. He was on a straight, going the speed limit and lost control of the van.
There have been numerous crashes in this stretch of road in the last few weeks and the guy who's tree he ended up wrapped around told him that the council were out two weeks ago doing a slip/friction test which it failed but they've done nothing about it.

Are the council liable? Is there anything we can do?

Why are we paying road tax at all??

Course you can go for it

TheFarrier

I tried it after making shyte of my van in a well potholed stretch, apparently the local authority aren't liable unless the damage was caused by works carried out by them, if the road descended into that state naturally the council are not liable

mickdw

In general, where a road deteriorates through wear and tear, the council are not responsible even if there are large potholes etc.
If however you can show that the council were negligent, then you have a case. My thinking in this case is that the council are made aware of a serious problem, they looked at it and if it can be proven that tests showed insufficient grip and the council failed to act, they are liable. If however, warning signs are placed, it could be argued that they were working on it.

ArmaniJeanss

SuzieQCork wrote: »

Why are we paying road tax at all??

I think its actually 'motor tax', not road tax, so thats one path you cant go down anyway.

billie1b

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I think its actually 'motor tax', not road tax, so thats one path you cant go down anyway.

Motor tax goes towards the upkeep of the roads also, so it doesn't matter if its named road or motor tax

Bepolite

While you can sue, I wouldn't be admitting I knew of the road conditions. Contrary to popular belief speed limits aren't targets to be met, but maximums given ideal or at best average road conditions. If you know it's a bad patch why not slow down?

seamus

Short answer is no, you can't claim off the council because they did nothing. You can claim if they've done something badly, but inaction is not considered grounds to sue under tort law. It's called nonfeasance.

Now, if the council knew the road was slippery and didn't put up any warnings, you could possibly argue that. However, if your husband knew the road was bad or this sign was on the road, then he hasn't a hope.

Victor

billie1b wrote: »

Motor tax goes towards the upkeep of the roads also

Motor tax goes into the Local Government Fund and is spent on general council activities. it has no relationship to roads spending.

billie1b

Victor wrote: »

Motor tax goes into the Local Government Fund and is spent on general council activities. it has no relationship to roads spending.

Yes the local councils get their budget from it and the local councils are the ones who fix the roads in their areas so it goes towards the upkeep of the roads

godtabh

Its a speed limit not a target. I've I was the council i'd be saying he was driving to fast for the conditions

Peregrinus

billie1b wrote: »

Yes the local councils get their budget from it and the local councils are the ones who fix the roads in their areas so it goes towards the upkeep of the roads

Or on anything else the councils decide to spend it on; they have no obligation to work out how much of their revenue stream comes from motor tax, and spend that amount on the roads.

billie1b

Peregrinus wrote: »

Or on anything else the councils decide to spend it on; they have no obligation to work out how much of their revenue stream comes from motor tax, and spend that amount on the roads.

But it still goes towards the upkeep of the roads, so our motor tax we pay, not all of it but a margin of it goes towards it, you can't say it doesn't when it does, doesn't matter how minimal

Peregrinus

billie1b wrote: »

But it still goes towards the upkeep of the roads, so our motor tax we pay, not all of it but a margin of it goes towards it, you can't say it doesn't when it does, doesn't matter how minimal

Yes, but you can equally say that some of your income tax goes to the upkeep of the roads. And some of the VAT you pay. And the stamp duty. And the excise duty. Drink more pints and keep the roads in better shape!

hullaballoo

No more discussion of motor tax. It has nothing to do with the subject of this thread and any further posts will be treated as off-topic.

The reference to 'road tax' in the OP was clearly a misinformed one so we can leave it at that.

Pat Mustard

SuzieQCork wrote: »

Are the council liable? Is there anything we can do?

If anything is to come of this, a good engineer needs to inspect the road. If you go to see a solicitor, he/she should be able to recommend one. I would imagine that you might have to prepare yourself for the possibility of having to pay for this, if you would like this to be investigated.