A Dumfries driver has been forced to fork out for repairs after bursting two tyres within weeks on pothole-plagued roads in the town. Paul McDowell is more than £200 down after hitting a hole in Castle Douglas Road that council workers had inspected just days before.
But it wasn’t classed as a high priority to be repaired. Six weeks later, Mr McDowell was left fuming when the tyre he’d just replaced, was burst driving over another pothole in Laurieknowe Road. He said: “It’s only because I had my daughter and her friend in the car during the first incident on February 6 and was driving quite slow that a serious accident wasn’t caused.
“It was 8pm and pitch black. The tyre burst when I went through a pothole and before the tyre company that had come from Castle Douglas to change it had left, there were another three cars stranded with burst tyres after hitting the same pothole.
“It was about a metre in length and about 25 centimetres deep, but when I contacted the council the next day I was told they’d inspected it just three days before but it wasn’t classed as a priority to fix. How they didn’t class it as a priority is beyond me.
“I ended up putting a road cone in it myself to stop anyone else hitting it.”
After hitting another pothole six weeks later, Mr McDowell, 43, was back on the phone to the council.
He said: “I asked what the policy is on potholes and if there should be a visual marking to warn drivers there’s one on the road. I was just brushed off completely.
“I’ve now put in two claims for compensation. The first one was rejected. For the second, the council’s insurance company asked me to send them information including how old the tyre was and how many miles it had done. I’ve heard nothing back.”
He added: “The roads in Dumfries are an absolute disgrace. There’s potholes all over the place.
“We pay council tax and road tax but there doesn’t seem to be much point. With the cost-of- living crisis, people can’t afford to pay out for tyres just because the council won’t repair the roads.
“Serious accidents are bound to happen with the state of disrepair they are in. It’s disgusting.”
The Standard reported in January that motorists whose vehicles suffer damage as a result of a pothole in the region have a less than 50-50 chance of receiving compensation. Figures at the time showed that the local authority’s insurers had paid out more than £200,000 in compensation in the last three years.
Nearly £125,000 of that figure was in 2021/22 with 224 of the 524 claims – around 42 per cent – successful. The data was revealed following a Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives.
Galloway and West Dumfries Tory MSP Finlay Carson said: “There are cases of motorists being left thousands of pounds out of pocket when it comes to repairing their vehicles after they have clattered into a pothole. Apart from the cost of repairing tyres and alloy wheels, which isn’t cheap, there are often knock-on costs towards addressing steering issues.
“It is grossly unfair that drivers are expected to pick up the bill because the councils are unable to repair potholes.”
A council spokesman said: “Investment in the roads service has been a priority for the council, and on 28 February 2023, the council agreed to allocate an additional £30million to the service over the next five years.
“This funding includes an increase in operational staff across our region. This will ensure there is increased capacity for teams to carry out drainage improvements, repairs and maintenance.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
