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National

NRMA says call-outs for pothole-related damage almost doubles in NSW year on year

The NRMA is urging New South Wales drivers to be patient as pothole patch-ups are hampered by wet weather. 

The organisation says burst and flat tires are rife from Sydney right across the state.

Spokesman Peter Khoury said the number of call-outs for incidents related to potholes in New South Wales had almost doubled compared to this time last year.

"We are seeing a significant increase for people who have damaged their tyres or their wheels," he said.

According to the NRMA, the total number of call-outs in NSW for July and August last year was 14,441.

That number jumped to 26,440 calls for the same period in 2022.

Mr Khoury said the growing number of potholes was a "massive concern" for the organisation.

"Drivers are being confronted with some really challenging conditions here," he said.

"We should be driving to the conditions, and if there's water on the roads, you need to be prepared to drive into potholes that you can't see."

Mr Khoury said drivers should not make sudden decisions while driving.

"Please don't veer dramatically in order to miss a pothole," he said.

"Because what we don't want is a situation where someone jumps across lanes to do that."

Potholes causing damage to cars

Maddie Thurlow lives between Mudgee and the small town of Ulan in the state's central west. 

Her car sustained damage from a pothole when she tried to avoid a dangerous situation with two other cars on the Ulan Road. 

"A car was overtaking me, and another car was coming the other way," she said.

"So, I had to move over on the shoulder, and there was a huge pothole, which I hit, and that resulted in the two tyres on the passenger side of my vehicle being buckled and damaged."

The cost to fix the tyres was $700.

Ms Thurlow said she contacted the Upper Hunter Shire Council to investigate compensation.

"They were really accommodating and said to take a photo of the hole, the location, the damage, to get it fixed and send the receipt," she said.

"Then they would decide if they were at fault."

In the end, she didn't pursue compensation. 

Mr Khoury said although councils were responsible for the bulk of the road network, getting a payout for any damage was a grey area.

"We don't want to see a situation where people are suing regional councils. It's time-consuming and it's costly," he said.

"The preference, of course, is councils get out there and fix the roads as fast as they can, but with the way the weather has been it's a great challenge councils are facing.

"There is legal recourse that's available, but it's dependent on a raft of things happening."

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