No pass for Highland Council on potholes unless it pays up
A DRIVING instructor has “failed” Highland Council for refusing to pay for damage to his car caused by a massive pothole.
And he issued a warning to drivers taking their test that some of the worst potholes in the city are in Seafield Road, the new home of the driving test centre.
And as Darren Kelman investigated taking the council to court, he urged fellow motorists to report potholes to the council as soon as possible.
He said: “The council won’t pay for damage if the hole has not been reported to them, and I fear that drivers like me are so fed up dodging potholes that they don’t bother making a report and the council gets off the hook.”
He was accompanying a pupil to sit her driving test when his front nearside tyre was ruptured by the hole in Culduthel Road just before the traffic lights near William T Fraser & Son’s funeral home on December 4.
The damaged tyre cost £162 to replace and the pupil missed her test, lost her £62 test fee and had to pay for additional lessons before a re-sit. Mr Kelman, of Glenshiel Place, who has been a driving instructor for 10 years, put in a claim to the council for the damage and was stunned to receive a letter back stating that the council was not liable because there was no pothole there 18 days earlier when the road was last inspected, and there had been no complaints about a pothole from other road users.
In the council letter, a roads inspector told Mr Kelman that she was sorry to hear of the incident and the inconvenience caused.
She then went on to explain that the council takes road safety seriously and safety inspections on all carriageways within the city are carried out by qualified staff “on a regular basis”.
The letter added: “The council as road authority has a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1884 to ensure that the roads are maintained in a reasonably safe condition. We do not have to ensure, nor could we, the roads are in perfect condition at all times.
“The last monthly inspection of Culduthel Road before your incident was on November 16, 2018. No safety defects were noted at the described location during the inspection.
“Highland Council has no record of any complaints concerning road damage on this section of Culduthel Road between our safety inspection on November 16 and your incident on December 4.
“As Highland Council had no prior knowledge of road damage, I regret to inform you the council is therefore not liable for your costs for vehicle repairs as policies and guidelines were complied with.”
Mr Kelman (above) said: “I find it hard to believe that a pothole the size of that one took less than 18 days to appear and there were no complaints. I am investigating taking the council to the Small Claims Court. It seems it is vital a pothole must be reported to the council or they will not pay out for damage.”
About Seafield Road, he said: “Both ends of the street have probably the worst potholes I’ve seen so far. It is so bad that I brief pupils going out on tests to beware because if they hit a hole and get a puncture, the test will go down as a fail/non-completion.”
The pothole in Culduthel Road has since been repaired.
n If you have a pothole problem you would like to highlight – including photos of your worst offenders – write to Hole Lot of Trouble, Inverness Courier, Stadium Road, Inverness IV1 1FG; email newsdesk@spp-group.com or share on our Facebook page.
