I dropped my bike due to the road surface

A few weeks ago, I was riding home from work on a damp road when I lost grip while negotiating a bend and came off my bike. Thankfully, I wasn’t seriously injured, but I was off work for a week without pay.

When I went back to inspect the road, I noticed what looked like a fairly recent repair. The black seal around the edge of the patch seemed much wider than I’d normally expect – around 10cm across.

Can I claim compensation for my injuries, the damage to my bike, kit and my loss of earnings?

Ben R, Manchester

Answer

Responsibility for maintaining the road usually rests with the local highway authority, although re-pair work is frequently carried out by contractors. Whoever undertakes the work must ensure that repairs comply with the relevant standards and industry guidance.

The seal you describe is known as overbanding. While it helps prevent water from penetrating road repairs it is recognised as a potential hazard for motorcyclists because it can become slippery.

Guidance states that overbanding should generally be no wider than 40mm and no thicker than 3mm. Where it exceeds 20mm in width, the material should contain a high-friction aggregate to provide adequate skid resistance.

If the overbanding failed to meet those standards and the defect caused your loss of traction you could pursue a claim against the highway authority and/or the contractor responsible.

Preservation of evidence is crucial. Photographs of the repair, measurements of the overbanding and any witness evidence will be helpful to your case.