I used to be out using with some buddies and we had an argument about hitting a pothole in your bike. Some suppose you might have a declare, others don’t.

This argument then expanded into diesel spills, tree branches, and cow pats and so on., so we thought we’d ask the professional…

Reply

Buckle in for a fast authorized tour. Cow pats: sure, you might have a declare. This additionally applies to mud dragged throughout the highway by cattle or perhaps a tractor transferring between fields and depositing mud. Your declare is towards the one who brought about the cattle/mud to cross and who left a multitude on the highway. It’s normally a farm proprietor or their hand. The declare is kind of straightforward when you have the registration variety of the tractor, however whether it is cattle crossing, you should present proof of their crossing and that the proprietor/hand failed to wash up after them. It’s normally the adjoining farm.

Diesel spills are the accountability of the one who spilt it. In case you see them doing it, that is good and straightforward. Get the registration and produce a declare. If, nevertheless, you come throughout diesel spilt a lot earlier, then you might have a declare towards the MIB (Untraced Drivers’ Settlement) if the automobile should have ordinarily been insured, i.e., it wouldn’t apply to a automobile that doesn’t want insurance coverage pursuant to S.144 of the RTA 1988. These embrace police automobiles, NHS, or native authority automobiles. In these circumstances, you’d have to carry a declare towards that physique, whicti might be difficult.

Tree branches is an fascinating one. You may need a declare towards the proprietor of the tree, however you’d have to tender proof that they should have identified the tree was diseased or rotten and took no steps to guard towards it injuring these on public land. The burden is on you to show this, not on the tree proprietor to disprove it.

Potholes are the accountability of the native authority. They aren’t chargeable for surface-lying materials, i.e., highway detritus, until you possibly can present that the gravel was the material of the freeway. Additionally they have some statutory defences accessible to them in the event that they didn’t know of the pothole.

Gavin Grewal

Quick Bikes October 2023