Claim against Council?

[Conon]

On Saturday, I had a big moment in my car. Hit a patch of ice, hit embankment, went airborn and landed car neatly on its roof.
After looking at the figures, decided not to claim insurance, as after excess I'd be left with something like 2 or 3 hundred quid.
Local paper came out on Tuesday and there on the front page is a report of my accident. No names mentioned, and no identification of the car, but its definitely my accident.
A local resident has been in touch with the paper to say how disgraceful it is that the council hasn't done anything about the state of the road here, despite a fatality at the same spot 3 years ago.
Up pops the the head honcho of the roads department, who says " We are aware that this stretch of road is very dangerous in the winter, and have scheduled repair works to commence shortly".

Now, on the face of it, it would seem that the council have just admitted neglecting their duty to keep the roads in a safe manner. Anyone ever successfully claimed against the council?

[MattHirst]

But was it due to the poor condition of the road (if that is so, any pictures?) that the road was icey which caused you to slide off the road?

You have to think of what their defence will be if you did try and claim off the council. They will simply say you were driving to fast for the conditions and if temperatures are low enough that there is a risk of ice on the road, you should be driving according to the conditions and taking extra care.

Not saying you weren't driving safely etc but that's how they will view it. I'm assuming the police attended the scenem did they do a report on the accident? What did they say to you?
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[pinkyfloyd]

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[Conon]

Police are satisfied that the accident was caused by a sheet of ice that had formed across the road. The ice has come from an unmaintained roadside drainage ditch that has filled up and blocked.

Interestingly the roads department set about fixing it yesterday!

Sorry Pinky, no pics. Car had already been recovered by the time I got out the ambulance.

[Im-a-Ridah]

google maps link to the road?

it must take a bit of shifting to go airborne roll a car!

[Conon]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Seek legal advice rather than a bunch of mugs on a forum.
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[MarJay]

I had to be the first to say it but:

You weren't driving to the conditions were you?
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[doggone]

It will depend on the road a bit as to what is considered reasonable maintenance.
People can reasonably expect main roads to be kept free of such problems but most would expect minor roads in rural areas to have icy patches as drainage ditches are rarely working perfectly and subject to damage from passing vehicles.

A deciding factor would often be if the council had received reports of a problem which was potentially dangerous, in which case they should have assessed it and if remedial work could not be done perhaps install a warning sign.
Since the council admit to having been made aware of the problem you may be able to take it further if so minded.

A rural B road passing through patches of dense woodland looks a likely place to be icy in the shade this time of year - especially after several days near freezing such as we'd just had.

[Conon]

[P.]

If its cold, you expect ice, especially on rural roads.

55mph with wet roads seems overkill for me, 60 is a limit, not a target.

[mistergixer]

[P.]

[salty21]

everyones wanting to claim for something these days.

It was cold/icy, there will be ice and it will be cold, how about just taking it on the chin and learning from it rather than looking for someone else to blame.

If stories like this could be sent back in time 10 years people wouldnt believe it and would probably find it outrageous. Just shows how bad this compensation culture has gotten in such a short space of time
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[Walloper]

I think:

Snow ball in Hell's chance of making it stick.
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