Ask
the Contract Director!
We understand that as members of the public, you probably
have a lot of burning questions regarding the roads around Buckinghamshire. Well, we’re giving
you the opportunity to get your questions answered by Transport for
Buckinghamshire’s Contract Director!
In each blog post in this exciting new series, we will be
focusing on a different frequently asked question. This week, we’re answering:
Can I repair a pothole myself?
In short, the answer is no. Under no conditions should
you ever try to repair a pothole, or any kind or road defect, yourself – and
there are a number of reasons why.
First of all, this is a big no-no on from a health and safety point of view.
You could harm yourself or another road user whilst
completing the repair due to the fact that you might not know what you’re doing
or that you may use the wrong equipment or materials, which could result in an
injury.
Additionally, a road user might injure themselves on the
defect that you have repaired. By repairing the pothole yourself, you then
become liable for that pothole, and would be fully responsible for anyone
trying to claim for damage or injuries caused by it. Could you guarantee that
you have fixed it so well, it won’t fall through and will never damage a car or
cause injury to a member of the public?
You also need the appropriate traffic management in place
for repairing a pothole, and by repairing it yourself on an open road with no
protection you are putting your life at risk. You could be repairing the
pothole and a car might whizz around the corner and accidentally hit you. It’s
not worth putting your life at risk.
Transport for Buckinghamshire has given five Parish
Councils the responsibility of repairing potholes in their area, as part of the
Additional Services Devolution Pilot. Buckingham Town Council, Gerrards Cross
Town Council, Waddesdon Parish Council, Stone Parish Council and Mentmore
Parish Council are all participating in the pilot, which means they are
responsible for repairs to carriageway defects, repairs to footway defects and
miscellaneous defects such as kerb and sign post defects.
Repairing a pothole, or any other kind of road defect,
should be left to the professionals who are trained to do the job and are
equipped with appropriate PPE and equipment to carry out the repair.
It can be frustrating when you see a pothole on the road,
report it and then it doesn’t get repaired as quickly as you would like.
However, there is always a good reason behind why we haven’t repaired a
pothole. We follow a risk based approach that determines if we do or don’t
repair a pothole, and we do this in the most value for money way possible. You
can read more about our criteria here: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/day-to-day-highway-maintenance/
