POTHOLE POLITICS

CONSERVATIVE ECONOMIC DEBT STRATEGY FOR DANGEROUS ROADS

PRIME MINISTER - David Cameron and George Osborne visited Eastbourne in 2014, to see the carnage for themselves. No doubt they noticed the potholes, but kept Mum. It is a fact that the roads have gotten progressively worse since Cameron and Osborne came to town. Please don't come again and why don't both of you resign by the way? The state of our roads is reflective of Conservative politics - a shambles at best, corrupt practice at worst.

TAXATION FRAUD

According to Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006, anyone who does not safeguard the financial interests of another, or puts them at risk as to loss, is committing a criminal act of fraud. Why then is the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer not up for trial in the Old Bailey? Where are the handcuffs for these white collar criminals?

Both politicians are accused of collecting money (Road Fund Licence) under false pretences for goods and/or services that they have no intention of providing. In our book that is fraud. They are actually using your road fund money for empire building, when the ordinary citizen can no longer afford to buy a house.

Our roving reported took a trip down this country lane from the Pevensey roundabout to Windmill Hill along the Wartling Road. He reports that the road is so dangerous in places that they are accidents just waiting to happen.

Never mind the Panama Papers, there are other black spots, or rather, black holes, in Eastbourne, Polegate and Willingdon. These will be recorded photographically during other outings, should any public interest group be interested in taking out a private prosecution of the offenders. The problem here is that it is the Sussex Police who should be prosecuting the persons responsible for this fraud, but that Giles York and Katy Bourne are too busy trying to whitewash other serious corruption to be able to spend any time on real issues.

WARTLING ROAD TO A271 - In the words of a well known Australian: "These roads are bloody dangerous." Where are all our tax "dollars going? We pay a staggering amount of money for roads, but this government is failing to honour their contract with the people to provide those roads. Instead, the money is being squandered on nuclear battleships and submarines that we don't need. Why? Possibly because the armaments game is very lucrative for party funding, just like when they bailed out the banks.

PEVENSEY LEVELS - Right on another bend. Who is repairing these roads and why are the repairs so short lived? Taxing us for roads and then not providing roads of merchantable quality is taxation fraud.

ROAD RAGE - We bet this makes you cross. Paying all that money for decent roads and then being cheated. It's difficult to work out from the above picture who has the worst grimace. Our money is on Gregory Barker. Although, with all of his business conflicts of interest, he should be laughing all the way to the bank - hopefully one in England, rather than Panama - with a nice expenses cheque from his mate George. All of which is a cost to the tax payer.

Would you not agree that politicians should not be allowed financial conflicts of interest? That way they might be able to concentrate on running the country, rather than feathering their nests.

CONTACTS

Write to the Prime Minister:

The Rt Hon David Cameron MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

Contact the Conservative Party:

Conservative Campaign Headquarters
4 Matthew Parker Street
London
SW1H 9HQ

+44 (0) 20 7222 9000

GOOGLE MAPS - The above is a satellite view of one of the worst parts of the Wartling Road. We feel sure that this green land is not as pleasant as Her Majesty would like.

BLACK HOLE - What would Stephen Hawking make of this? Narrow country roads are particularly dangerous at peak traffic times. Then, it is impossible to avoid going down holes like this - and then your tyres and suspension suffer.

MAKING A CLAIM

If your car is damaged on a poorly maintained road, you may be able to claim compensation. Here's how.

Years of under-investment in Britain's roads means that your chances of driving over a pothole are higher than ever.

So if your car is damaged after running over a pothole, what should you do?

Step 1: Gather evidence

As soon as it is safe to do so, make a note of where the pothole is. If possible, measure the pothole and take a photo of it. And don't forget to note the time and date of the incident.

You can use an app such as Street Repairs to record the pothole and warn others of its presence too 

If there are any witnesses, take their details too. Then take your car to a garage to assess the damage.

Step 2: Work out who's responsible

You need to contact the body responsible for maintaining the road. For motorways and major A-roads it will be the Highways Agency, and for other roads it's normally the local council.

It's worth contacting the Highways Agency or council as soon as possible to make them aware of the pothole, even if you haven't had time to assess the damage to your car. 

This could help prevent other accidents. Do this by phone, but make sure your name is taken and you make a note of the person you talked to.

Step 3: Make your case

Once you have a quote for the repair work necessary, you can make a formal complaint. The council in question will be able to tell you how best to get in touch. 

Your letter or email should contain a full description of the accident, where it was and at what time, your photographs and a sketch plan of the area.

Make sure to include a copy of the repair bill/receipt for the damage caused, as well as photographs of the damage if possible.

Step 4: Be persistent

You only have a right to compensation if the council or Highways Agency has failed in its duty to keep the road in a good state of repair. 

A council may defend itself citing Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980, which says it isn't liable if it has taken reasonable measures to ensure that road problems such as potholes are found and dealt with swiftly.

If a pothole has already been reported and the council has failed to act, however, your case stands a better chance of being settled.

Under the Freedom of Information Act you have the right to ask the council when a road was last inspected or had work carried out. 

A website such as WhatDoTheyKnow can help you make an FOI request. You should get a response within 20 working days.

The council should have its own policy for inspecting roads and repairing reported potholes: check that in your case this policy has been adhered to.

Step 5: Consider the council's offer

You may be made a settlement offer that's lower than the amount you're demanding.

Think about whether it's worth continuing your case just to make up this shortfall. You might be better off cutting your losses and accepting what's on the table.

Step 6: Seek legal advice

If you think your claim has been unfairly turned down, you could contact a solicitor or make your own case in the small claims court.

This will incur extra costs, at least in terms of your time, and is likely only to be worthwhile if the damage to your vehicle was considerable.

Step 7: Claim on your car insurance

If your claim is rejected and the repair bill you face is large, you can claim on a comprehensive car insurance policy.

But bear in mind this will be recorded as an at-fault claim so you'll have to pay an excess and could lose some of your no-claims bonus.

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