Aussie couple slam local council after $560 road incident: 'Do something'
Nila Mezei was travelling along Sallys Corner Road near Exeter in the NSW Southern Highlands when she spotted the large pothole in her lane. With oncoming traffic, she had no option but to drive over the hole. The tyre of her Range Rover Evoque popped immediately, she recalled.
"That ditch has been there for a while, clearly, but the council responded with legal jargon, saying they believe because they were not notified of the hole in the road, that they're not negligent," Nila's partner Bruce Randall told Yahoo News.
The spare tyre was replaced by roadside assistance, and Nila was late for work. The Bundanoon couple later filed a complaint and compensation claim to Wingecarribee Shire Council. However it was swiftly denied.
Bruce claims the response from the council was generic, and it was "crazy" to suggest the incident was the first time it had heard of the deep, established pothole on one of its roads. He is concerned someone might not be as lucky to get away with just a popped tyre next time.
"It feels like they've just wiped their hands... It's disappointing... It is time they do something about the roads," he said.
Council defends its decision not to pay for damaged tyre
Wingecarribee Shire Council pointed Yahoo News to Section 45 of the Civil Liability Act 2002, which "provides council, as the roads authority, with protection from liability where it had no actual knowledge of the specific risk that caused damage".
It is on these grounds that the council will not provide Nila any compensation for the new tyre.
"Since 2019, the Shire has been impacted by 16 declared natural disasters (a rate of one every five months), which has caused more than $43 million in road damage, with $24 million in outstanding claims still subject to complex state and federal funding processes," a council spokesperson told Yahoo.
"Council acknowledges that potholes can pose a risk to road users, particularly after severe weather. Community safety is a priority, and Council works to identify, prioritise, and repair road hazards as quickly as resources allow," they continued.
The council confirmed the pothole in question has now been filled.
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Councils look after 85 per cent of NSW roads
The road network in NSW is over 180,000 kilometres in length and councils are responsible for maintaining more than 85 per cent of it. Councils can request grant funds from the NSW $50 million Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round, however, it is largely left to local authorities to handle potholes on their roads.
Potholes continue to be an annoyance for drivers across the country. Some people angered by persistent potholes have taken to vandalism to draw attention to the problem. Phallic-shaped graffiti was sprayed around a pothole on a road in Inverloch, Victoria last year, and the words 'fix it you lazy pricks', with an arrow pointing to an uneven kerb at a roundabout, was spotted in Adelaide in 2023.
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