Fright and a £1,500 bill for driver as tyre hits pothole
A MOTORIST has been left counting the cost after his car ran over a pothole on the A52.
James Sharpe's Ford Focus suffered £1,500 damage when it hit the pothole in Clifton Boulevard while his partner and two children were in the car.
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The impact made the passenger side front tyre explode and triggered the car's airbags, forcing Mr Sharpe to pull across two lanes to stop on the side of the road.
Mr Sharpe, 29, of Bingham, said: "There was smoke inside the cabin due to the airbag being deployed and the children were all shaken up.
"Police spotted me on the side of the road, as I had to stop on the three-lane carriageway before it turns into the flyover."
Mr Sharpe suffered whiplash. Partner, Laura Wilkins, 30, was left with burns to her arm caused by the air bag inflating.
His four-year-old son, Evan, and two-year-old daughter, Darcy, were left shaken after the incident at about 11am on January 28.
The car was taken to a garage where it remains while awaiting repairs.
Mr Sharpe's insurers are deciding whether to lodge a claim with the Highways Agency for the cost of the repairs. He said he had been told it could take another two or three weeks before a decision was made.
"The front wheel is broken and the steering rack is all bent," he said.
"I face being penalised and losing my no-claims bonus because of this.
"The insurers have advised me that they have got to ask the Highways Agency when they last inspected the road, and the size of the pothole.
"The hole was quite large and it wouldn't have appeared over- night."
He added: "The whole experience has been awful."
A Highways Agency spokesman said: "We have a comprehensive road inspection and maintenance programme to reduce the potential for potholes and other surface defects. We routinely inspect the surface condition of England's motorways and trunk roads to ensure that they are in a safe and serviceable condition.
"We were made aware of a pothole on Clifton Boulevard by Nottinghamshire Police at 11.08am on January 28 and it was filled at 12.45pm on the same day so that the carriageway could continue to be used.
"If a driver believes that their vehicle may have been damaged by a road surface defect, they should contact the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000."
15 Comments
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by Max_Crater
Friday, February 10 2012, 3:58PM
“"and people vote that comment up? wow....people really will believe whatever they want to believe as long as it means they can moan"
Mirrv, I accept I might have been exaggerating a tad with the off-road vehicle comment, but you can't seriously defend the state of our roads can you? They are a total disgrace and I'll stand by that remark.”
by mof_gedling
Friday, February 10 2012, 3:43PM
“can you claim whiplash for driving over the speed humps ?”
by BLawrenson
Friday, February 10 2012, 2:35PM
“"driver", that should certainly help your insurance claim. Hope that you are now recovering from the effects.”
by driver280112
Friday, February 10 2012, 2:16PM
“Commet to mr BLawrenson 6 other motorists had the same accident in 20 mins of us being stood at the side of the road!!! Thank you to everyone who supported my self, have had a number of close friends / work mates telling me that pothole has been there for weeks!!”
by Gayleh69
Friday, February 10 2012, 12:38PM
“I commute to work on my motorbike (60 mile round trip), and potholes are a real pain in the backside to us bikers.
Give me a wave if you see me on the A38 westbound, M1 southbound or A52 heading towards Derby.....that's if I'm not head first in a pothole hee hee!”
by MiRRv
Friday, February 10 2012, 11:57AM
“by Max_Crater
Friday, February 10 2012, 10:04AM
.
"The state of our roads are nothing short of disgraceful. You need an off-road vehicle to drive on a lot of them these days!"
and people vote that comment up? wow....people really will believe whatever they want to believe as long as it means they can moan”
by JH_Basford
Friday, February 10 2012, 11:49AM
“@michael86
As this is a major road it is actually a central government responsibility, which is why the article refers to the Highways Agency, not the council.”
by michael86
Friday, February 10 2012, 11:00AM
“I hope that family take the council for all they are worth and some, pot holes do not get to that size over night. Our roads are dangerous plain and simple through nothing short of negligence and the council do little or nothing other than line their pockets at our expense and in this case almost peoples lives.”
by Supersonic72
Friday, February 10 2012, 10:40AM
“If you are travelling at 50mph, and there is traffic in front, behind and to the side, where exactly do you think the driver could go even if you did spot a pothole?. The reaction time to avoid it is minimal, and avoidance at that speed is virtually impossible.
Crikey...this site has some real muppets, living in their towers of virtuousness....”
by BLawrenson
Friday, February 10 2012, 10:26AM
“Under an hour and three quarters from reporting to being filled seems very efficient work. How fortunate that no other vehicle seems to have had a similar accident involving this hole.”