An East Lothian man has fractured his wrist and dislocated his ankle after coming off of his motorbike on a road he says he twice reported for being riddled with potholes.
Aaron Robertson was turning onto Alder Road in Port Seton from Fishers Road when his back wheel caught some loose gravel from a pothole which forced his bike into a spin. He was hurled from his ride onto the road, causing damage to himself and his Honda sport.
The incident took place on October 25 at around 7:40pm and has led to the Timpson's branch manager being off his work for over a month. Not only this, but told how he had to fork out around £750 for repairs to his beloved bike.
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The 24-year-old has said that he has asked for East Lothian Council to compensate him for the damage to his bike and says that he is frustrated at having reported the incident twice before.
“I was on my way to my mum's when I gave way to oncoming traffic before turning the corner to go down Alder Road," he said.
“As a motorcyclist I regularly report dangerous road surfaces and I find it frustrating that I had reported this stretch of road in 2020 and 2021 and nothing was done about it. When I turned the corner my back wheel clipped the loose bits of gravel which spun my bike before I was flung off the back of it and onto the road.
“I’ve been off work for just over a month and there is only so much daytime TV you can watch before losing your mind. I fractured my wrist, dislocated my ankle and bruised my lower right lung.”
He said the damage to the bike cost just over £750 to fix - and the task of fixing it was made all the more difficult by the fact the model is no longer being made by Honda. All of the plastics had to be repaired and replaced as did the titanium exhaust system, the indicators and brake lever amongst many other components.
Aaron believes the potholes can cause untold levels of damage to bikes and are a real hazard for motorcyclists. He is calling on the council to compensate him for the repairs considering the road surface has been left in a poor state for years.
“I was not going fast at all and this shows how motorcyclists are vulnerable to uneven roads. It does not take much to kick the back wheel out," he said.
“I contacted East Lothian council over a month ago and sent on the bills as well as the invoices that proved the damage to the bike. I’m not claiming anything for personal injury as I am quite understanding that accidents can happen.
“I’m also not calling on the council to fix every road in East Lothian but they should be paying for damage caused on roads that are constantly flagged as being problematic. So far they have not responded to my email which means I’m £750 out of pocket in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“The main thing that has annoyed me is that I reported the road several times. I used to ride in all seasons but it is now too dangerous due to the roads in the area.”
East Lothian Council say that they have received the claim and that it will be processed and assessed as soon as possible.
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We have a rolling programme of roads maintenance and issues such as potholes can be reported to us via our website. Our teams will look into the matter and take any required remedial action.
“Any claims submitted to the council will be considered and processed as quickly as possible. This particular claim has been received and acknowledged and is currently in the process of being assessed.”
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