Motorbike accident, road contaminated - council aware Options

[garbo]

This is a very long shot but several weeks ago, i was riding my motorbike on a local road, and it was covered in gravel and mud, I thought it was dangerous so reported it to the council

Today, on the same road, i skidded on the mud and crashed my bike, i was doing about 20mph.

obviously im a bit shaken, but all of a sudden, today, a sunday, they have responded to the call i raised and cleaned the road - without me saying anything

I wonder if the people that assisted said anything.


Anyway, does this give any cause for recompense for repair costs?

Thanks

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[notmeatloaf]

I go over about 300yds of road every day on my commute which is covered in a thin slurry from a quarry. Slippery as hell. However, I don't brake hard and must have passed it hundreds of times.

I find it difficult to believe that a road could have remained so muddy with no noticeable cause over a number of weeks that you skid a bike. The road I use has numerous lorries depositing mud every day.

[Guest_Charlie1010_*]

Any experienced rider will know that you can skid at low speed.
So it’s possible and yes the roads round here are slippery from diesel, mud, gravel etc and it takes months for it be cleaned despite reporting it. I don’t ride anymore but I’ve felt the front end and the back end go but managed to correct it just in time.
Good luck with the claim.

This post has been edited by Charlie1010: Tue, 22 Jan 2019 - 10:25

[mickR]

its a smooth wash of mud over the road, and loose gravel. I dont think its from a farmers field, there are no gates nearby, I think its accumulations over time rather than a sudden or repeat appearance from a tractor

Or possibly a deposit from a lorry, are there any building works close by? It's not unusual for debris of mud and assorted stone to fall from a flatbed.

[DancingDad]

A country road that I used to travel along curled around and down the side of a steep hill.
In places, after heavy rain, it was common for mud, gravel and slurry to be washed down from the hillside, across and along the carriageway.
Obviously not saying that was the case here but I do know that after many complaints to the local highways authority from the local parish council plus stories in the local news, the HA cleared ditches.
Which alleviated the problem dramatically.

It doesn't matter the cause, it does matter if the local authority has a known problem and did not deal with it.
Which may be a stern word with a local farmer, quarry, building site.
May be that ditches need clearing or a verge repaired.
Could be as silly as slippery road warning signs and an advisory speed limit... which at least shows they have taken some notice and done something.

[notmeatloaf]

But the OP hasn't confirmed the cause. I struggle to believe that it was enough to skid at 20mph and had been there for a few weeks.

The road on my commute from the quarry is cakes in mud during the week but it's all cleared by traffic by Saturday afternoon.

[mickR]

I'm surprised the council hasn't insisted they install undercarriage wash equipment. The quarry near me has one and the road is wet but clean.

[Guest_Charlie1010_*]

Why do you struggle?
You can skid at very low speeds. Just a few inches skidding is enough to topple a bike.
And if those are pictures of a main road then whoever is causing it should be prosecuted.
You shouldn’t have to struggle yourself.
If it’s a private road that’s a different story.

[notmeatloaf]

Why do you struggle?
You can skid at very low speeds. Just a few inches skidding is enough to topple a bike.
And if those are pictures of a main road then whoever is causing it should be prosecuted.
You shouldn’t have to struggle yourself.
If it’s a private road that’s a different story.

Thank you for your enquiry. I have visited the site and assessed the problem that you have identified. Unfortunately it doesn't meet our current intervention criteria so I cannot arrange a repair. We will continue to monitor this during our routine inspections.

State changed to: No further action

Posted by Oxfordshire County Council at 12:36, Mon 24 September 2018

I emailed that chap. No reply.

[Guest_Charlie1010_*]

You need to phone the county council highways, the police and whoever is doing this. Emails can be ignored.
It is an offence if it is a public highway.
It’s a potential hazard and can be the cause of accidents

That last bit is lifted from their website.

If no joy from any of them then you speak to your local county councillor and again to the police.
You can make an official complaint to the police. That tends to speed things up in our experience.

[notmeatloaf]

I've tried to fight Oxfordshire County council before about cycle routes and it doesn't go anywhere, not worth the time.

A while back they cut off a couple of metal posts in the middle of a cycle path leaving a razor edge poking out.

After almodt a year they have arranged this repair. Just shoving three inches of concrete on top. It may not ruin your tyre but you will still be thrown into the bridge railings if you hit it.

You can see the yellow exclamation mark spray painted on the tarmac which was their interim fix. That is the sort of contempt they approach any cyclist issue with.

[Unzippy]

I've tried to fight Oxfordshire County council before about cycle routes and it doesn't go anywhere, not worth the time.

A while back they cut off a couple of metal posts in the middle of a cycle path leaving a razor edge poking out.

After almodt a year they have arranged this repair. Just shoving three inches of concrete on top. It may not ruin your tyre but you will still be thrown into the bridge railings if you hit it.

You can see the yellow exclamation mark spray painted on the tarmac which was their interim fix. That is the sort of contempt they approach any cyclist issue with.

Looks ripe for a W@nksy intervention.

https://goo.gl/jdw7em

*Needed a link shortener to get around the swearbot that doesn't agree with medical terms

This post has been edited by Unzippy: Thu, 24 Jan 2019 - 03:46

[Guest_Charlie1010_*]

It’s not a fight. You need to engage. It took over 2 years to resurface a road here that was deemed unfit about fivr years beforehand.
Meetings on site. Don’t give up.

[notmeatloaf]

You will have to take my word for it over the years I've tried asking nicely, asking not nicely, asking councillors, getting the local rag to point out they've dug up a kilometre of National Cycle Route cycle path to lay a drain and replaced it with two bags of gravel from Homebase, met engineers on site, pointed out that their design entirely contravened their own design manual, pointed out the £2.50 a year they spent on cycle routes makes their "Transport Strategy" look as if it should have a big nose shaped hole in every page.

The council's cycling strategy consists entirely of

Is there room for a cycle lane?

YES - Ignore it

NO - Paint a cycle lane, but only 15cm wide.

THAT MIGHT DELAY CARS - Put blue signs up on the pavement, pedestrians love sharing their narrow strip of tarmac.