Broken shock absorbers, damaged tires, cracked windshield. The damage caused by driving a car over a pothole can be significant. And these potholes are increasing, many professionals point out.
“We are witnessing a regular deterioration in the quality of the road network,” Etienne Castillo, general secretary FO of the Federation of Equipment, Transport and Services, tells BFMTV.
“This is indicated by numerous reports. I remind you that in 2012 France was in first place in terms of the quality of its road infrastructure, and today we are in 18th place,” continues the spokesperson.
The decrease in investments in the road network, but also global warming, which causes faster deterioration of road surfaces, explains this multiplication of holes and cracks. What to do if your car is damaged and its repair usually costs several hundred euros? Or worse, if you had an accident?
“Observe the condition of the road”
The first advice given by Rémi Josseaume, traffic law lawyer and president of the automobile lawyers’ club, is “immediately take into account the condition of the road“.
This observation may be made “either with immediate witnesses, or through a bailiff because it will be necessary to demonstrate in the procedure the causal relationship between the accident, the damage and the presence of this pothole.”
Then it is appropriate to turn against the highway administrator, “whether it is the municipality, the department, the region, it can also be the administrator of the highway company,” the lawyer specifies. It can be considered an amicable solution.
Rémi Josseaume advises “request compensation from the community in advance of your damage before going to court.
The legal protection of your insurance can help the driver in this process. But this does not necessarily work, warns Rémi Josseaume.
Complain
“Can file a complaint criminally when we consider that we have a criminal offense since we have allowed this situation to persist,” explains the lawyer.
“But there is also, and above all, administrative litigation“This means that we can hold the same person responsible and we will ask for compensation for all these damages, bodily injuries in the most serious cases and material damages when we have damage to our vehicle,” he continues.
However, the legal process to obtain reparations is not easy, warns Me Josseaume. “It’s complicated because the cost of the sheriff’s report, the feasibility of the action, the cost generated by the lawyer’s service sometimes exceeds the simple damage to the car when a tire is punctured. People are often deterred from acting .
Source: BFM TV
