What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Can I sue the council for damaging my car with loose pebbles from badly-surfaced roads?
Am I alone in thinking that the practice of resurfacing roads with a thin layer of tar and granite pebbles, often in the summer when the tar is in a permanently melted state, is not only irritating but futile? The surface soon becomes unstable with climatic changes and breaks up, apart from which car bodies, lights and windscreens are damaged from flying stones. Can I sue the council for damage in such circumstances?
Asked on 10 October 2010 by RJ, Loughborough
Answered by
Honest John
You are right. In France they seal surfaces properly. In the UK they just lay tar, chuck chippings on top, impose a 20mph speed limit, and expect the traffic to force the chippings into the tar. That's why our roads crack up and French roads don't.
Similar questions
Like JL, I had a dislodged kerbstone outside my house, I reported it to Bexley council at 10.00am. At midday workmen turned up and cemented the kerbstone back in place. Excellent service.
I noticed that someone else had written to you about damage to their car from a newly-tarred road surface. I asked your advise in August 2012 and over one year later I am pleased to report that your recommendation...
I was travelling in Cumbria down the Kirkstone Pass out of Winderemere and hit a large pothole (3/4 foot long and up to 3 inches deep).
There was an enourmous noise in the cabin of my Jaguar XF that...
Elsewhere on 
.jpg)
