Pothole plague costs man $700

Gordon Clark''s photos of the damage to his Hyundai Genesis after hitting a pothole on Glasscocks Road in Cranbourne North.

By Brendan Rees

A pensioner says a large pothole along Glasscocks Road in Cranbourne North caused about $700 damage to his car – and is fuming Casey Council knocked back his claim.

Gordon Clark of Narre Warren South said he was driving home about 6pm on 12 July when he hit about a 15cm deep pothole between Mountainview Boulevard and Datura Avenue.

The impact to his Hyundai Genesis caused a chip on a wheel rim and a blister on the tyre.

But Mr Clark said council wouldn’t reimburse him because “it didn’t come to the amount of $1460 under the Road Management Act 2004” and referred him to his insurance company.

“Being a pensioner, I had to use my savings which left me with only a small amount in my bank account,” he said.

“My motor vehicle has 19 inch wheels and the cost of the new tyre was $350 with the wheel alignment bringing costs to $700.

“You can make a one off payment surely for someone that’s on a pension,” he said.

Casey manager of governance Holly De Kretser said repairs were undertaken along Glasscocks Road last week with repainting of lines to occur over the next fortnight.

Ms De Kretser said matters of compensation or reimbursement were confidential between the claimant and council; however council uses an independent claims handler to assess liability.

“It is advisable for claimants to first deal with their insurance company who may then follow the matter up with Council,” she said.

“The Road Management Act 2004 requires any individual seeking compensation for damages to property arising from the condition of the roadway to pay the first $1460 of any claim, regardless of liability. Any claim below this threshold should be claimed against private insurance.”

Mr Clark said he remembered reading an article “a few years ago” saying Councillor Wayne Smith was reimbursed after his car was damaged by an uneven road.

Cr Smith said he hit a pothole on Pound Road in Hampton Park about 15 years ago but never made a claim to council.

“Council never reimbursed me; it was a VicRoads issue,” Cr Smith said.

He added: “I never went for compensation with VicRoads … it was just the story that VicRoads needed to fix up their pot holes which I think they subsequently did.”

Meanwhile, Mr Clark, who is a former police officer, said he was preparing a Freedom of Information request seeking all documentation relating to Cr Smith’s alleged claim.

The night Mr Clark’s car was damaged he went back to photograph the scene and saw more cars “breaking up the pothole even more.”

He said council workers fixed potholes along the road but was “broken up again“ only days later.