Bristol’s roads have recently been named the worst in England for potholes. In a recent study, government figures suggested that almost 80 per cent of the routes around Bristol were in need of repairs.
According to a report last year, there were four times fewer potholes on Bristol’s roads than ten years ago, but since then our area has become the worst in the country for road condition. Now a man has revealed a pothole was so big during his journey, he was forced to take his vehicle to a garage after driving over it.
A driver from Bristol shared his recent experience with potholes on social media, he said: “Has anyone had success in claiming for pothole damage to their car? Hit one on St. John’s lane opposite Brewers and now suspected broken anti roll bar, car needs to go to the garage for work.”
Read More: Bristol's pothole-ridden and crumbling roads are 'worst in England' says study
People soon replied to his post with comments on what to do with many pointing the man towards the council’s website which he then shared a link to in the comments. One commenter suggested: “I think you could claim if the council had had the pothole reported to them already.”
Another replied: “Thanks for the link, I will look into reporting the big ones just off the Cumberland Basin.”
The man then shared the result of having to take his car to the garage: “£210 down, just got the car back from the garage.”
Last November when Bristol Live reported on complaints about potholes on a particular mini roundabout, the man in charge of Bristol's roads said the number of potholes in Bristol is down by 60 per cent since 2016. Cllr Don Alexander added at the time:
"We’re making good progress across the city but unfortunately, the council doesn’t have the capacity to address all remaining potholes simultaneously, so we have to prioritise repairs based on a matrix which takes a number of factors into account such as the size of the pothole and risk of injury...We’ve reduced the number of potholes across Bristol by over half and will continue to address the remaining ones based on the risk they pose."
Most notorious roads for potholes
Some residents have shared their thoughts on the matter on Twitter with many highlighting specific roads across the city. The roads suggested include:
Muller Road
Greystoke Avenue
North Street/Cannon Street Roundabout
Christmas Street in the city centre
Station Road in Filton
Victoria Street
The Portway approach to the Plimsoll Bridge
Compensation
While it is possible to claim for damage caused by potholes you need to make sure you have a substantial amount of evidence. Julie Daniels, part of the car insurance team at Comparethemarket said: "If you’re attempting to claim from the council, you'll need to take plenty of pictures of both the road and the damage to your car and note exactly where on the road the pothole is in relation to landmarks and get a few quotes from mechanics for how much it will cost to fix."
Ready to explore more? Follow Curiously on TikTok , Instagram , Facebook and Twitter .
Up Next:
