Potholes remain constant bane of wary motorists

Any motorist who’s habitually been subjected to the cratered state of our area’s roadways shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Massachusetts generates the fourth-highest rate of pothole complaints per mile of any state in the country.

For every 621 miles of road, there are 18 pothole complaints in Massachusetts, an analysis by the online data-collection company Stacker found.

Rhode Island had the most complaints — 23.4 for every 621 miles of road. Hawaii came in second, followed by New York, according to Stacker, which uses information derived from reviewing pothole protests posted to Twitter.

Sparsely populated Idaho and Wyoming recorded the fewest complaints.

We’ve actually just passed through the worst of pothole season, which usually occurs in the late winter and early spring, when fluctuating temperatures allow water to seep into cracks in the road and freeze — again and again.

In addition to the general wear and tear on roads through constant use, a series of snowstorms, compounded by gyrating temperatures and the salt often used to neutralize snow and ice, had a disastrous effect.

Potholes appeared en masse as temperatures warmed, and those responsible for repairs said conditions were some of the worst they’ve seen in a long time.

“This year, with the weather we’ve had over the past several weeks, (the roads) are arguably the worst I’ve ever seen,” Nicholas Erickson, commissioner of the Fitchburg Public Works Department, told the newspaper in February.

Groton Town Manager Mark Haddad concurred. “The roads are the worst they have been in years.”

While the state’s communities do their best to keep up with pothole repairs, they’re often constrained by budgets that limit them to temporary repairs.

We’ve all been made aware of the crumbling state of our nation’s highways and byways. The transportation research nonprofit TRIP disclosed that 40% of this country’s roads are in poor or mediocre condition, with resulting car damages costing the average driver $621 each year.

And in a time of year when roads remained littered with potholes, AAA notes that the average cost of a pothole-caused repair is $306.

A $1.65 billion supplemental budget passed by the state Senate in March included $100 million for cities and towns to repair potholes and roadway infrastructure, but remains stalled in the House.

So, the question that must be on everyone’s mind: Where do you turn if your vehicle sustains pothole damage?

That depends on the entity responsible for that potholed road.

If state-owned, it falls, according to Mass.gov, under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 81, Section 18, which controls both what courts deem “defects” in the road, and the rules MASSDOT must follow.

In short, both this statute and case law state there can be no recovery for property damage, only personal injury, up to $4,000.

In cases where the incident occurred in a construction zone, claims will be referred to the contractor of record.

In your city or town, the Massachusetts Municipal Association states that claims for defects on public ways are governed by Chapter 84, Section 15 of the MGL; it sets forth conditions necessary to establish liability and sets a maximum damage cap of $5,000.

To successfully win a claim, two “breaches of duty” must be present. The claimant must establish that the municipality had either actual or constructive notice of the defect prior to the accident. That individual must also prove the municipality had a reasonable opportunity to repair the defect prior to the loss and failed to do so.