CITY WATCH 15 SUNDAY TRIBUNE JULY 5 2015
CHARMEL PAYET drives the pothole campaign Innes Road, Morningside is not pothole-free.
Potholes and uneven surfaces in Nuttall Gardens, Morningside.
Further potholes on Mentone Road in Morningside
Be aware when driving along Mentone Road, Morningside.
The uneven road surface at Gate 4,Avondale Road, Greyville.
Readers praise pothole series as helpful and informative SUNDAY Tribune readers have praised the pothole initiative run in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality. They said that the series had been informative and helped them to understand the ins and outs of causes and repairs. The series has also shed light on the Roads
and Stormwater Maintenance Department, which is tasked with maintaining our roads, which includes pothole repairs. They also sent in photographs of roads in urgent need of repair in their neighbourhoods, asking that they be dealt with. The first complaint was in Avondale Road,
where the uneven surface was damaging cars, a resident claimed. Photos of potholes in Mentone Road were also submitted. Another reader said some of the potholes could not be seen because of the shadow of the trees alongside the road which resulted in an
awful impact when you drove through them. Potholes in Innes Road and the uneven road edges in Nuttall Gardens, Morningside, were also highlighted. All the complaints have been forwarded to the Roads and Stormwater Maintenance Engineering Centre to be fixed.
You can claim for damages Evidence of negligence needed, writes Charmel Payet
HOW TO CLAIM To make enquiries or lodge a claim: Tel: 031 311 1376 Fax: 031 311 1726 E-mail:
[email protected]
S
ERIOUS damage can be caused to a vehicle if you hit a pothole travelling at a speed. While it might be costly to repair the damage caused, the eThekwini Municipality has a system in place through which you can claim for damages. If an investigation finds the municipality was negligent, you will be compensated. Thulani Ntuli, insurance manager at the eThekwini Municipality, said people could lodge a claim against the municipality for loss or damage suffered from driving through a pothole. But he said lodging a claim did not necessarily mean the claim would be settled. A number of steps had to be undertaken in the process. The information required to process a pothole claim includes, but is not limited to: ● Full name, address and contact details of the claimant. ● The date and time of the loss or damage.
People can claim from the eThekwini Municipality if their vehicle is damaged by a pothole. Each claim is investigated before it’s decided whether the municipality is liable . ● The exact location of the incident. ● What was lost or damaged and any proof. ● Description of the circumstances of the loss or damage. ● Estimated cost of total claim. ● Was the hazard reported to the municipality before (the incident)? Quote the reference number. ● Why you are claiming from the municipality? Ntuli said a claimant should also provide proof of damages in the form of photographs, proof of fair and reasonable
costs, a sworn affidavit declaring a claimant will not claim both from the municipality and personal insurance for the same incident, a copy of their ID and any other additional information that might be necessary depending on the circumstances of a claim. “When we get claim information we acknowledge receipt and conduct an investigation. All claims submitted are investigated. It could take about eight weeks to finalise an investigation depending on the complexity of the incident,” he said. Ntuli said a claimant must
disclose the exact location of the incident to avoid delays. “The findings of the investigation will reveal facts surrounding the incident and serve as the basis of paying or rejecting a claim. Not all claims lodged are paid. “For a claim to be successful subject to the laws of the country, including municipal bylaws, there must have been a negligent act on the part of the eThekwini Municipality.” He said in the absence of evidence of negligence, regrettably no financial compensation would be paid. “The reasons for not paying
a claim will always be sent in writing to a claimant.” However, you can appeal if you are unhappy with a decision. “As a caring organisation, the municipality does allow claimants to appeal against decisions. “The appeal must be in writing, marked for the attention of the person who sent the claim rejection letter. “The appeal content must spell out areas of concern and reasons a claimant says the municipality came to an unfair conclusion. The claim is reviewed, reinvestigated and
the decision of the appeal is communicated to the claimant,” he said. Ntuli said negligence, for example, could include a pothole hazard on the road having been logged via the call centre for fixing with the reference number as evidence readily available. “Also, if a reasonable period of 48 hours has lapsed from the time the municipality became aware of the pothole but failed to take reasonable precautions to mitigate the potential loss or damage, then the municipality may be deemed to have been negligent. “However inclement weather, public holidays, weekends and other unforeseen circumstances can affect the time span to fix a pothole,” he said. Ntuli could not provide an estimate of how much had been paid out by the city for pothole claims in the past financial year.
Pothole claims:Two drivers relate their experiences YULESAN GOUNDEN YULESEN Gounden, an auditor, drives a BMW 320e. He drove into a pothole en route to a client in Westmead, Pinetown, which is an industrial area. While he noticed the numerous potholes on the road, he did not report them to the municipality to have them repaired. “Many trucks drive there. I hit a large pothole but didn’t notice the damage until I had parked. There were bubbles on both my front and back tyres on the left-hand side.” Gounden said that he went to BMW to have the tyres fixed.
“I was told that I had to change all four. I couldn’t change just the affected two because narrow tyres were used in the front and wider tyres at the back. It cost R9 000 to replace all four tyres and the shock tower, which was also damaged.” After the repairs, Gounden filled in the necessary forms and e-mailed his claim to the eThekwini Municipality. “After three weeks I had no response, so I sent another email. I received a response a week later asking me to submit a sworn affidavit stating that I
was not claiming damages from my private insurer, which I did.” Gounden said he submitted the claim in March but only received a response in May, stating that his claim was unsuccessful as there was no negligence on the part of the municipality. “It put me in a predicament because when I tried to claim from my private insurance they said too much time had lapsed so they would not be paying me either because I waited too long to claim. “Now I’m in the hole for R9 000 which I had to put on my credit card.” He intends to appeal.
PERUSHAN NAICKER IN THE second case, Perushan Naicker drove into a pothole on the R102 towards Tongaat. He drives an Opel Astra OPC. “There was damage to the front and back tyres on the right-hand side. Both mag rims on the wheels were scraped and had buckled. “The cost to repair, repaint and straighten the two mag rims was R1 500. I had to replace both tyres as well, which cost R3 600. The total came to R5 100.” Naicker submitted a claim to the eThekwini Municipality
on January 5 and on January 13 received an acknowledgment and claim number. “Thereafter, I received a letter from the municipality stating the following; ‘According to our investigation we are not responsible for loss/damage. It would appear the Department of Transport may have created the hazard that led to the incident. We have sent your documents to the KZN Department of Transport.’ “I was then given a contact number and the name of the contact person from the
KwaZulu-Natal department, who is taking up this matter. “I contacted the department and received a document to fill in via post. I am currently filling in the form which requires a lot of documentation,” Naicker said. He said he had no choice but to claim from the municipality as his insurance did not cover pothole damage. “I paid for the repairs from my own pocket and if the claim is unsuccessful, it will be a big loss to me. “They said it could take up to six months to investigate before I know if my claim is successful,” he added.
Dos and don’ts of avoiding potholes DRIVING expert Johann von Bargen from Pro Driving Tactics said one of the most important things to be aware of when driving were potholes. “You should be able to see them from a distance. You should look for dark patches on the road. Because of the sun, it creates a shadow on the road that you can see from a distance. If you spot a pothole early, you can take the necessary precautions to avoid it.” He said if the pothole was in the middle of the road, you could try to straddle it, driving over it safely without any damage to the vehicle. Von Bargen said if the pothole was on the side of the road, try to go slightly around it and you should get past it easily enough. “Swerving out to avoid the pothole is the last thing you should do as you may hit another vehicle. It should never be an option,” he said. In cases where you can’t avoid the pothole and have to go over it, he provided the following information: “If you spot it too late, you have to go through it. In that case, you should check first to ensure that it is safe for you to stop before you hit the pothole. Make sure there is no vehicle behind you. Right before you go into the pothole, release the brake pedal before your
Driving expert Johann von Bargen. front wheel goes into the pothole.” He said this was done to minimise damage. “If you hit the pothole at a speed, braking suddenly would cause the front wheel to stop turning. This results in the wheel being stationary as you drive out of the pothole which would have caused damage because you were travelling at a speed. Von Bargen said if you released the brake before you entered the pothole, it would allow the wheel to still be spinning and enable you to drive out of the pothole with minimal damage. “However, if you do hit a pothole at speed, damage will be caused to your vehicle which you would have to get repaired,” he added.
Pothole damage increasingly common and often costly ROB Prece, owner of mechanical workshop Dubcorp, said the damage to vehicles from going through potholes could be extensive. He said the first things to be damaged would be the tyre and rim. “We find that this is very common, with people wanting repairs after hitting a pothole. The suspension can also be damaged.” He said there were control arms connected to the wheel with rubber bushes on them. Hitting a pothole with force damages the rubber bushes. Shocks and mounts could also be damaged. “I had a customer the other day who hit a pothole and needed his rim, tyre, control arm and shock replaced. All from driving through one pothole. “The problem is that many new cars come equipped with lower profile tyres, which results in greater damage to the car if
you hit a pothole. A higher profile tyre may result in less damage to the vehicle. The size of the pothole is also a contributing factor,” Prece said. He said the speed you were travelling when you hit a pothole also affected the severity of damage. “The faster you are going when you hit the pothole, the more damage there will be. If you hit an average size pothole, even at the speed limit, you can do serious damage to the car.” Prece said they had been doing more suspension repairs lately, which was unusual as suspensions were checked and serviced during regular car services if the vehicle had done over 100 000km. “Cars are coming in for suspension work year on year, and this is attributed to the condition of the roads… The more expensive the vehicle, the higher the cost of the repair,” he added.
Don’t be furious, it’s so fast REPORTING a pothole has never been this easy. City Watch reported on a new mobile app, Ogaats, which makes lodging a municipal fault in any of the country’s 226 municipalities easy. Creator Pierre du Toit launched the app earlier this year and said it shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds to report a fault. Following up, the app is still up and running and doing well. It is a simple concept.
Log on to the website via phone or computer connected to the internet. Once on the Ogaats webpage, select the type of fault you are reporting from potholes, parks, traffic lights, water, signage and drain covers. Select a location and upload a photo and/or enter a description. The information is then routed to the right local authority. The complaint remains anonymous. Visit www.ogaats.co.za
