A self-employed Edinburgh worker has said that he has been unable to work after a pothole on Glasgow Road destroyed two of his car’s tyres and its suspension.
Mark Reid, 49, was heading back from work when he felt a thud on the A8 dual carriageway opposite the BP garage. The incident occurred at around 4:15pm on Thursday 19 January.
He claims that the pothole not only damaged two of his alloys but also two tyres and the suspension. Mark was forced to leave his car on the side of the road due to the damage and being ‘abandoned’ by the AA.
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He said that when he called his breakdown provider they agreed he was in a dangerous spot but that there was nothing they could do as the accident was not seen as a traditional breakdown. Rather than come to tow Mark, they instead asked for a fee of over £150 to come to his aid which he could later claim back from his insurance company or the third party, which in this case was Edinburgh City Council.
Unable to pay this, he was forced to leave his car and return home before he could figure out a plan. When reporting the issue to the council and asking for compensation he said he was told that he would have to fork out for the costs and then claim for the money back after the fact.
The Sighthill resident was able to haggle with a local recovery man to tow his car to a Corstorphine garage for £100 but he has had to pay £20-a-day to park the vehicle at the business.
On his ordeal he said: “I am self-employed and totally rely on my car for my work. The problems this has caused are massive.
“I cannot afford to get my car fixed at the moment and without a guarantee of getting the costs recovered I do not know if I will just have to scrap it and get a second hand car. The MOT is due next week which is another headache.
“Normally I’m so careful and look out for the potholes but since it is a fast road I could not go swerving about to miss them. I got such a fright when I went through it.
“I had to stop immediately and leave the car. My phone quickly ran out of battery and I was forced to walk back to Sighthill from Glasgow Road.”
Mark says that he has been a member of the AA for close to fifteen years and that he has never used their services before until having to call for help following the pothole debacle.
He continued: “I phoned up the AA and since I said I hit a pothole they classed that as a road traffic collision and they would not come to collect my car unless I paid them to do so. This was despite them accepting that I was in a dangerous position on a dual carriageway.
“I wasn’t able to pay after just recovering from Christmas and so I hung up in disgust. Cars were swerving to try to dodge me due where I’d broken down.
“Unfortunately the council have just told me to put in a claim after I’ve paid for all the repairs without any guarantee they will get covered. My insurance company have said that if the council were not to cover my costs then my premium would go up when it is renewed later this year.
“I’m paying £20 a day just to store my car until this is reserved. It is so stressful and has scunnered me - it feels like I’ve been kicked in the nuts by the AA and the council.”
An AA spokesperson said: “Potholes on our roads are a major problem for all road users and account for many damage claims each year. Unfortunately, when a vehicle is badly damaged after colliding with objects in the road like a fallen tree, pothole or kerb, it's no longer classed as a breakdown.
“In this case, we offered Mr Evans paid recovery assistance which could be followed up through dealing with his insurance company or by other means, but this offer of assistance was declined by Mr Evans.”
Councillor Scott Arthur, the transport and environment convener said: “All information relating to public liability claims is passed to independent claim handling agents. The information that the City of Edinburgh Council provides is based on our risk-based policy and procedures for safety inspections and defect repairs.
“The claim handlers review every case individually and make all decisions relating to the outcome of a public liability claim.
“Regarding potholes, we aim to inspect reports as quickly as possible and target an inspection within five working days and categorise and prioritise our defects to ensure that the worst potholes are actioned first. It’s essential that we direct limited resources where needed, so our roads continue to be usable and safe.
“I acknowledge that road maintenance in Edinburgh is underfunded, and I hope to work with other political parties to address this in the coming budget. I know how frustrating road defects like potholes can be for all road users, and we recently redirected additional resources in light of the volume of enquiries currently coming through.
“This general increase in enquiries has been worsened by the prolonged cold weather in mid to late December followed by torrential rain on the December 30 and then continued wet weather.”
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