Potholes and insurance

CAN YOU MAKE A CLAIM IF POOR ROAD CONDITIONS CAUSED AN ACCIDENT? You will have to prepare your case properly to ensure it will succeed.

You can claim from your insurance company if poor road conditions cause you to have a car accident, but you will have to prepare your case properly to ensure it will succeed.

Everyone knows South Africa’s roads are in poor condition and although some look better and are repaired more often, there are others which are so bad there’s barely a tar surface left.

Potholes and poor driving are major causes of accidents and even if it is sometimes only your car’s tyres that must be replaced, large potholes can cause worse damage. Your insurance usually pays for the damages, but what happens if you’re not insured?

SA’s road infrastructure is crumbling and in some areas, conditions are so dire that insurance companies are repairing highways and roads to stem the increase in road accident claims.

One insurer said that pothole-related accident claims increased by 15% in a year and 75% of the vehicles for which claims were filed had to be scrapped because the damage was so severe.

It’s also very important to remember that it’s not only vehicles that are damaged. Injuries and deaths caused by poor road conditions are on the rise, says DSC Attorneys, which specialises in road accident claims.

How bad are SA’s roads?

Inadequate maintenance takes a toll on road users and many roads are also very old. According to a Daily Maverick report, there are about 25 million potholes on SA’s roads and heavy rains and flooding add more potholes to this number every day.

The department of transport acknowledges in the National Land Transport Framework that “... nearly 80% of the national road network has exceeded its 20-year service life structure design”.

Based on Treasury estimates, more than R255 billion will be needed over the next three years to build, upgrade and maintain our road infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the economic cost and loss of life due to accidents on poorly maintained roads continue to increase. In 2022, SA’s 10 000-plus fatal car accidents cost the economy R186 billion, or 3.3% of gross domestic product.

Who’s liable when poor road conditions cause accidents?

Anyone injured in a road accident without doing anything wrong is entitled to claim damages, says DSC Attorneys.

When the accident is due to a cracked, crumbling road surface full of pot holes, one of these three parties can be held liable:

The South African National Roads Agency, the authority responsible for the maintenance of the national road network;

The provincial or local government responsible for the repairs and maintenance of provincial roads; or

The local municipality or city council that must maintain and upgrade municipal roads.

When an agency fails to uphold the roads to a safe standard or fails to warn motorists of a potential road hazard, it is negligent in its duty and is liable for damages, says DSC Attorneys.

Ensure your claim will succeed

For a claim of this nature to succeed, you, as the injured party, must prove you were injured due to a defect in the road that the entity concerned must maintain and repair.

So the agency was aware of the existence of the defect but could not repair it in time or warn motorists accordingly.

You will need witness statements, medical and police reports, photographic evidence of the car and the existing road conditions and invoices for medical expenses and vehicle repairs to support your claim.

But DSC Attorneys says it can be difficult to determine which entity may be liable for damages and prove the basic elements necessary for a claim to succeed.

Factors such as wrongful conduct, error, cause and harm must be established so that a claim can be considered.