A bitter irony that we have to have roadworthy vehicles but the roads scarcely seem vehicle-worthy!

I've worked in highways for a council. Our budget to pay compensation for damages due to pot holes was larger than the budget to fix the pot holes. Says it all really!

"If they had no idea that rut was in the road, then why shoud they be liable...?" Remarkable that the authorities can use this as an out. I'd like to know how I'd get on pleading ignorance if one of my tyres was below the minimum tread standard. Absolutely love these legal corner segments, Al 👍

As always, the White Dalton crew are excellent.

I had an accident due to a defect in the road 4” deep drop on repair patch mid bend, 18 months in a hospital multiple broken bones etc. I got lucky as the condition of the road had been previously reported and complained about(only found this out afterwards) plus the contractor who left it in this state apologised in the local newspaper that weekend. They basically admitted they were at fault before they new about my accident.

It's all quite recent. I moved to the Milton Keynes area 15 years ago. The roads were so smooth it was like driving on glass. Roll on a decade and a half and they're deteriorated to a point where I spend more time playing 'avoid the pothole' then actually enjoying the drive. I haven't been on a bike for years, it just doesn't seem like much fun these days - it's bad enough in a car, can't imagine being on a bike.

If the Government hadn’t spent billions on ‘Smart’ motorways (that kill) and instead spent the money fixing the current network we wouldn’t have this problem.

We pay vehicle tax, we pay council tax, we pay tax on the fuel…so where the hell is ALL this money going? We need a Revolution…the French wouldn’t stand for it and neither should we. (Good video btw)

I've visited rural donkey-and-cart (no joke) Bulgaria and the roads were far better. It was all over the arse end of nowhere and all of them were great. They even have snow for months on end. I'm appalled and embarrassed at the state of our roads.

Having been knocked off in August when a **** pulled out, and the insurance wanted to say 50/50, the camera showed the driver was fully at fault. Never ride without a camera or a back protector now.

This was well timed. I've got a claim into my local authority atm for a pothole which tore a hole in one of my (car) tyre sidewalls and damaged the face of the alloy. Insta flat tyre. They were already working on repairs, but on the other side of the road (which was even worse). Getting the car sorted was enough of a pain, but when I claimed the damage they asked for loads of info, presumably to deter people from claiming. They wanted a copy of my V5, 2 estimates of repair, a copy of the last service record for the car and photos of the pothole. Anything to try to find a loophole to try not to pay out. Fortunately I keep everything in order and well maintained and went back on my pushbike to get photos later that night, so they got it all.

Gavin's balance of candor and analytic, careful speech is really fantastic, another great collab!

This guy is an absolute legend. How he has the patients to deal with Westminster's n ob jockeys is a marvel to me. It's an absolutely outrage. They would rather let people die then spend the money they robbed from us. Vile. Thank You to 44 teeth - Alistair for covering this.

Never too old to learn, wouldn't have thought about collecting a sample of gravel. I suppose you could just dig it out of the nearest pothole, bound to be one nearby!

Imagine us saying 'oh i didn't know my tyre was bald' i didn't check well enough and getting away with it in court 😆

You are absolutely correct about the roads in España, all roads except many agricultural roads are in good condition. l ride in the Provence of Valencia all the time.... We bikers are spoiled for choice...Seeing that massive pothole @ 4.6 - 4.14 was horrendous...

MORE OF THIS TYPE OF INFORMATIVE LEGAL RIGHTS CONTENT LADS!! BRILLIANT.

Having just left the employ of a local authority, I can concur that the internal politics are shocking, responsibility within is nowhere to be seen between departments. Once in, you are on a merry-go-round.

Excellent video, I’ve become a bit of a sad twat and taken to reporting all the pot holes to the local council via their self service portal, interestingly they seem to say most are not a danger, probably not in the car but would easily have you off on a bike! When they do ‘fix’ then it’s not much of an improvement either!

I’d argue that if you’re a new rider all the more reason to expect roads that are in a good state of repair. You pass your test, buy a bike, buy your kit, pay your insurance, pay your tax, you’re legally allowed to ride your bike - and then the local council hasn’t held up their end of the bargain. A major road like that should be up to standard that allows one of the most vulnerable road users (a new rider) to be safe on, minus the funky throttle application afterwards.

I was changing lane riding at night along the A13 a few years back, my front wheel got caught in a rut similar to that, which I couldn’t see at night, and I almost came off both in the rut at motorway speeds in the dark, and during the terrifying tank slapper that it threw me into. To this day I don’t know how I stayed on, but by God I never change lane now without looking for the tell tale dark scar along the white lines.

I won't wear a camera riding anymore, I was riding at 50mph in a 50, single carriageway at night after long shift at work, 10pm, car infront of Me was driving into the gutter encouraging me to overtake, so I did overtake and briefly hit 60. In the middle of the road was had a large hash marking( so large a car could fit in there ) , but because the car was so car in the gutter I didn't even enter the hash markings, I got pulled over briefly after, by cop coming the other way undercover he said he had to swerve to avoid me, and that i blasted past. He siezed my SD card, and told me the last person that SD card got siezed they ended up in prison, I didn't sleep for 3 days until he called me back 3 days later to tell me my riding was OK... when he said he had to swerve to avoid me I questioned myself and I believed him but then when he returned the SD card and I was the footage I was shocked what he had accused me of. I was just grateful for it to be over with.

Thank you guys for keeping us all informed about this really important legal stuff, much appreciated.

Really hope you do more of these, they are always interesting! A couple of things. Part of the reason the weather effects us is the freeze thaw cycle, which isn't generally such a problem in places like the alps. It gets cold there and stays cold whereas here the snow/ice melts, runs into the already poor road and freezes again. Over and over and over which just rips the road apart. You generally refer to the end of winter start of spring as 'pothole season' because the just appears overnight. Its not just amount of snow that causes that. The other issue comes down to money. The government has consistently taken money away from local councils but still expects them to provide the same services. Thats why you see stuff like libraries and swimming pools closing, fields and sports halls sold off. The amount of money a council needs to properly resurface and maintain roads is massive compared to the money they actually get. I can't remember who it was but one council went on record giving numbers once, and they could basically afford to fully resurface all their roads every 200 years or something stupid. You'll see figures like 5 million allocated for roadworks and it sounds like a lot, but it's incredibly expensive to maintain roads properly. If you want better roads, you need to vote the current government out and hope the next does better. The people who spount nonsense about immigrants and it being deliberate to reduce road use are living in fantasy land, theres just no money to do a proper job, and its not generally the local councils fault. You ould always petition councils to close schools, reducing spending on old people, fire and rescue, and police so theres a bit more money for potholes but you've zero chance of that being reality. If you see a pothole, especially a bad one, report it! Almost every council will have an online tool, or use fixmystreet.com if you don't know it and they'll then be told, and that will trigger a set time where they have to inspect and rectify it if needed. If its on a motorway or major A road you can call National Highways on 03001235000 and their time is very short to get them fixed. Take a photo to add if you can, that reduces the wriggle room they have if something then happens. As for spills or diesel or gravel, again report it if you see it, if it's likely to cause a crash call the police and they'll send the council or highways out to clear it. Same if its on the motorways/A roads for national highways. I hope the poor lad who crashed at the start is ok, but i think he was going to crash sooner or later anyway, he'd recovered from the pothole and probably his mentioned inexperience led him to open the throttle when he looked around and then panic. Great advice about obtaining a gravel sample, I'd never even considered that.

Love this series. White Dalton crew seem like top guys. Shame the councils are more interested in spending their money on average speed cameras than decent roads

The legal insight here is so helpful so thank you. It really makes me think when I’m on the road. Keep em coming guys!!

I hit a pothole and bent the rim on my bike. When I looked up the area on Google maps to give them the location, that hole had been there for like over 3 years. The local council said they are not liable for the damages. They filled the pothole within 1 week of my complaint

Thanks for the sensitivity on the footage it’s much appreciated 🙏🏻 and great video! If anyone is ever in any doubt the team at White Dalton are fantastic anything happens where you think you might need them, don’t hesitate and call them!

I’ve put three claims to the council, one paid, one refused, one pending. The claims department at the local authority are absolutely geared up to deny claims, you can even FOI how many claims in total are made and denied on a stretch of road. They hide behind section 58, you have to go small claims, it’s awful. My local authority also keep zero repair records and I’m convinced there is corruption between them and their repair contractors. My concern about small claims court is cost if you loose your argument.

These Legal hints & tips vlogs are worth a watch by anyone, So much information of what to look out for, On all matters, And you learn something new everytime, even at the age of 60.

It's funny how the government, local or national can use "I didn't know" as a defence. Try using that for a speeding fine when the 40mph sign was hidden behind an uncut hedge.

I came off on a massive pothole on a slip road, smashed my collar bone, bike was wrecked. Insurance company didn't payout as they said it could have been avoided, doing 70mph sure avoid it. council/highway agency said it wasn't "deep" enough to warrant a claim. I was left hung out to dry, few weeks later it had been filled.

It's so bad where I live that I sent the council an email saying that "If they were going to do f%£@ all about fixing the potholes, could we at least have a lifeguard on standby incase someone should fall in and start drowning!"

The most annoying part is because of the conditions of the roads, I have to become a hazard because I’m constantly having to swerve around and avoid things.

years back I crashed at low speed in a corner when I hit a large pile of loose red gravel that had collected down the middle of the road after they had coated it. there were no signs for roadworks or a dangerous surface, nothing. Took me a year, but finally got a payout directly from the large construction firm who did the works. no video either just photos.

The roads in wellingborough are Laughable, I hope the rider gets justice!!!

If not even just for crashing etc, my commute to work is an absolute pile of..... When you're going 5-10mph behind cars, these huge eroded channels and lips and grooves pose a genuine risk as they really "guide" the bike, sometimes completely out of your hands, you just have to let it shoot to the left or right following the groove because if you force it the other way you simply crash... I've picked up 7 punctures last year on these crappy roads, that's almost a grand in rear tyres... and it's not like I was surfing the median etc, just these crappy debris filled roads invite trash and rubble that gets collected especially in the middle, and you run a real risk everytime you need to cross over from one side of the lane to the other...

Really informative guys… Thank you both

Report every road surface issue to your local authority there by shifting the onus on them to address it.

That was excellent, please keep up the fantastic work. I've been motorcycling for over 40 years and I learnt some new things. Thanks, brilliant. 👍😊

Very very sound advice. Excellent service team 44

Moral of the story, be the best rider you can, get more rider training so you can look for hazards and avoid them rather than relying on making claims.

Missed these chaps in this month's Fast Bikes, but nice to see a 44Teeth vid!

Brilliantly useful info as always! thanks all!

That's why I think "Adventure bikes" are so good for UK roads. My T7 soaks most of it up, wouldn't consider a sports bike anymore.

Brilliant, thanks Gavin and Al.

Love these legal corner vids!

Brilliant job guys. Let's hope more people sue the local authorities so they finally decide its better for everyone if they just fix the damn roads.

This is really interesting guys. More of this please!

MAG were recently asking members about their experience and possible accidents related to road surface defects

Brilliant video. Lots of very useful information, couldn’t believe the gravel thing. 😮

Great video. Very interesting and informative.

This is so useful content. Thanks guys for bringing it up

The Problem is disgraceful, all throughout the lockdowns they had all the time in the world to fix the roads!

August 2018 on way home from a trackday in pissing rain i came off my Multistrada after a sudden tankslapper and was thrown from the bike at about 70 mph with me ending up under central reservation barrier, destroying the bike and screwing up my shoulder to the extent of needing surgery. I initially thought i had aquaplaned but then saw the huge dent in the wheel rim and went back and found a long thin pothole i had crossed but had been water filled so didnt see it. I put in a claim from Highways England who initially declined all blame and tried to fob me off with inspection reports saying no defect. I then quoted Sec 41 Highways Act, sent them photos of pothole, damage and injuries and threatened court action. Took a year for them to cough up but i finally got 12 grand out of them for replacing the bike and 9 months off riding due to surgery and recovery. ALWAYS claim from the local authority or Highways if a defect brings you off and dont accept a fob off. Use the relevant law to your advantage boys and girls as its there and WILL help you and at least get something back for the pain and damage. I reported the defect every six months since then in case it caught some other poor sod and it took almost 4 years till they resurfaced the section

Regarding gravel it is often the gravel out of the potholes even after potholes have been filled, the highways badgers never sweep it up. Question: what about road top dressing where the council spray tar on the road and then throw gravel all over it?

Welcome to Northamptonshire! Roads are shit around here 😂

Great video. Thanks for that very useful content. More please

I drive over pot holes so severe that even on my Africa Twin my spine is temporarily shaken into a blur

Yeah... Motorbiking is not just wheelies, mountain roads and trackdays... Thanks for this informative video!

Great advice from Gavin from Dalton and White, currently dealing with the Cheshire East Council due to a buckled wheel caused by a rut/pothole on the A54.

Brilliant vid, so informative

Really interesting video, thanks guys

Great advice as usual. Thanks

The thing about the gravel bothered me quite a bit, because every winter they spray gravel and salt on the roads so the shit lays everywhere, but they don't have to clean the roads of it? Yet a farmer, that leaves the field and has dirt on the road, has to clean the dirt off? So people that put things on the road have to clean it up, but the City that dumps tons of shit on the road doesn't? That's some next level BS! But we have tons of roads that are in horrendous states around here - instead of fixing them they just reduce the speed limit almost every Year.

Now i hit a pot hole a few years ago resulting in 3 fractures in my elbow. When we put the claim in against the local council they fobbed us of saying we wouldn't be getting a claim as their inspection records were up to date. A quick look on google street view shows the pot hole (3ft long 6 inches wide) was there clear as day and the images were 3years old!!! Needless to say they excepted liability instantly.

Great video, full of really useful information

Excellent vid, good points on the on top of highway materials, and review of materials by geologists. many thanks.

Imagine all the faff of getting your bike repaired, the insurance, police and hospitals from injuries just because of a pothole that the council didnt bother to fix...unbelievable considering all the MOT's and laws we all get spanked for. Do as i say not as i do it seems.... 🤔

Great post, thanks gents.

These are brilliant, especially as a new rider.

Been down on diesel on a roundabout a few years ago. Scary how quick it goes from under you. I was very lucky that I saw I was in the middle of a slick before it went and managed to slow the bike right down. A couple of scrapes but nothing much. Was fuming though. Called up the highways and it was cleaned up pretty quick.

Great video with great advice from Gav.

Great advice here - thanks guys

Always find these videos interesting 👍

Regarding the diesel on the road, the local authority may not be responsible for it being dropped on the road, but they are liable to clean it up if it is reported. If I see a spill on the road I make a point to report it to the local authority (or a cop) and make sure that it is recorded as reported.

Seriosuly man. Going to work in the morning and at night and the roads are truly shocking. It’s lethal. I’m genuinely scared of riding in the evenings or in the rain because of hidden mahussive potholes . Feels like it’s only a matter of time

FUN BUT UNSURPRISING FACT... 30 years a go 85/90% of Road Tax went back on roads. Now... LESS THAN 10%. Yeah, you read right, The 'Road Fund Licence' or 'Road Tax' USED TO BE mainly used for the roads - New/Repairs/Resurfacing etc. But now, it's syphoned off for other things hence the drop from 85/90% down to less than 10%. This is why councils have looked to cheaper alternatives like 'Chucking a load of stones/chippings down and letting road users flatten it out'. 1- Those resurfacing techniques DO NOT last. 2- It's FEKKIN LETHAL for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, potentially for car users too. 3 - The SHEER AMOUNT of stone chips to my (and other motorcyclists) helmet and visor (it WHACKS LIKE A ROCK!), then, paintwork damage done to people's cars. We pay our Road Tax FOR A REASON, so the Govt SHOULD use ALL that money on roads and NOT syphon it off into one big pot along with the other taxes we pay for... 😠 😎🇬🇧

This is a valuable segment guys. You should try New zealand roads! More rain than usual and less road maintenance funding combined with our road construction is the perfect recipe for massive pot holes!! Bloody dangerous on our unlit rural roads when i refer to rural roads i include large segments of SH 1 ( SH- state highway) which is the equivalent to the uk's M1- lol. SH30 to rotorua is another level of terrifyingly bad. You just wouldn't do it at night on a bike. Gravel you say! Our roads are repaired with gravel- well almost and left to the cars to eventually flick it off the road leaving tram lines of chip free carriage way should a car be kind enough to pull a little left, only to shower you in stones for their thoughtless courtesy. Needless to say windscreen repair is a regular, sometimes biannual event if you're lucky enough to have a maintenance crew spend months repairing your local roading. It makes for a legitimate reason to own an adventure bike for any road trip. However Our- roads are truly amazing in every regard.

I used W&D solicitors in 1999 when I lorry pulled out on me. There were no witnesses to the accident & they took on the case & won a nice settlement for me. Enough to replace my motorcycle & kit. I was in hospital a while recovering from my injuries & it took me 3 months to be fit enough to ride again, also to be fit for work. I would highly recommend them.

Where I live , dash cams are a must , especially this time of year , when grockles on holiday forget how to drive , I’m on holiday so why shouldn’t I just pull out without looking , move direction no indication etc . Great devices + plus as usual good advice

8:45 happened to my dad in his car. Massive pothole cracked the shit out of his wheel. Battled with the council over it for near enough a year before getting any amount of money from them.

Great information! 😊

If the local authority claims it didn't know about a rut or pothole that looks like it's been there for a while, surely the best course of action at court is to request the GPS from their highway inspectors vehicle. That would show which roads he'd been down.

One of the reasons I favour an adventure bike. You often go through sections where something like a 70/30 tire and adaptive suspension reacts well to iffy road conditions. Fairly recently I overcooked a corner late at night on a really badly paved road, and ended up using the verge and end of line ditch as an unexpected off-road section and walked away completely unscathed. If I was riding a road bike it would have been trashed.

Bloody excellent ! 👍👍👍👍

Yes Gavin, top bloke really helped me with my claim. Top company to deal with 👍👍👍👍

Hi enjoying your video keep up the good work and I would also like to add I had the pleasure of meeting and using Gavins services with white daltons he’s a fantastic lawyer

very informative, thanks

My GSX-S throttle is a bit like that MV, snatchy as buggery, but I'm sort of used to it now but it can be a bit sketchy. The A13 at Pitsea near me has a row of massive bumps along the overtaking lane that are the full width of the road, been like it for years and no one seems to give a shit, they literally throw you out of the seat. I went for a ride the other weekend and ended up coming home after about 15 minutes, the roads were just in such a terrible state it was pointless to even risk it. I buckled my rear wheel a few months ago on a massive pothole, at the cost of about £450 in total as I had to replace the wheel, and got nowhere with Essex council, the cunts.

I like it best when a huge 2x2m hole has to be filled, the local authorities do it by what seems to be liquid tar and leave it to dry. It looks so sketchy it's even shiny. I can't imagine how many vehicles are going to lose grip on that patch in the rain. Why oh why is the bureaucratic system so sluggish, inefficient and unwilling? There are plenty of ways to do a quality repair that last a lot longer.

Great stuff

Great video!

Lads well done .thank you for the imformation .i think it will help people ☺

The scariest thing I se on that fotage is a biker hitting unprotected rail poles. For those who ride, rail poles are guilhotines. Don’t know UK law, but I am very surprised to see a A road with exposed poles. In PT a law was approved in 2007 that makes pole protection mandatory. This was as possible with the pressure of the entire country biker community, clubs of all sort and privates, demonstrating. Nothing changes by bitching on social media. Politicians don’t care. Need to organize, demonstrate, pressure. Unfortunately we live times when most people are to self-centred to support each other in any matter. Ride safe.

Hi Gavin, thanks for sharing your expertise with all of us. I'd be very interested to hear your position on the potential liability of state authorities, for selecting and installing roadside furniture/infrastructure (in the case of the first crash scene - the road barrier with exposed support posts) that represents due to inadequate design, a significant risk of injury to riders in road accidents.

White Dalton saved my bacon last year :) A brilliant company to deal with after I got punted off my bike by a dump truck.

I'm in California. My solution for our less than stellar roads was to buy a bike with a 21/18 wheels for commuting and a supermotard for weekend/track nonsense. Suddenly seeing large metal plates covering oversized potholes is so apart of my daily routine that when I'm riding in other states I actually miss dodging them.

@9:07 the section 58 defense was used in Chicago, IL, USA in the 80's. So an enterprising young lawyer created a book listing all the potholes in the city and had its published. Once it was published, The city of Chicago found its was unable to claim ignorance of the defects and lost every case after that. You need to write a book. 😃

Thanks for the informative video, even for someone like me sitting here in the US. I'm specifically in NYC ... some of the roads hardly deserve the name. BTW, love the workman's sandals at 13:30. 😯