Potholes can cause serious injuries to unsuspecting motorcyclists

Although some potholes can be small and unimposing, there are potholes have the potential of causing serious injuries and even death to motorcyclists.

Here at the Motorbike Injury Lawyers, we have helped countless motorcyclists with their compensation claims after suffering injuries from hitting a pothole.

The majority of motorbikes are not made for off-roading. Road-worthy motorbikes are usually used on smooth tarmacked roads. Especially when driving at high speeds, you may not expect to suddenly hit a crack or hole in the ground. For something that seems insignificant, it can knock a motorcyclist off course, or even off their motorbike entirely.

The Highways Act 1980

Local authorities are responsible for looking after the roads for users. After all, what are your taxes for? They have a duty to make sure obstacles are removed and potholes are repaired.  We all know how important safety is when it comes to riding: one false move and a rider can be set for serious injuries.

The Highway Agency need to inspect the roads as often as reasonably possible. Where they find a pothole that requires action, action must be taken to fix it. However, potholes can develop at any time, especially with our lovely unpredictable British weather! It’s possible that soon after an inspection, a pothole can form overnight from freezing ice getting into the cracks of the tarmac tat expands and breaks the concrete open.

The RAC recently said that potholes are becoming more and more of a problem due to authorities tightening their purses and temporarily filling individual holes when required, rather than properly resurfacing an entire section. Sometimes you can see old roads dotted with freshly tarmacked potholes. Chances are, the untouched older parts will keep deteriorating and more potholes will surface.

What you should do!

Your safety and wellbeing is always a priority. If you think you have had an injury, please see a medical professional. No matter how minor you think it may be, don’t leave it to chance. That aching pain in your shoulder might be nothing; but it might also develop into a chronic injury, causing you pain and suffering for years to come.

To help with your case, it would be beneficial for you to obtain evidence of the pothole. Obviously you will need to take care in how you do this,  but measured images showing the depth and size of the pothole are always useful as evidence.

Believe it or not, Google Street View is a good way to check if the pothole existed at the time the road was pictured. In a bike accident in 2014, the cyclist was awarded £70,000 after sustaining serious head injuries from a neglected pot hole. The claim included evidence using Google Street View image from a year prior to the accident showing that the authorities failed to spot it during an inspection and therefore neglected to repair it.