Overbanding accident
Last week, I was riding my bike along a wet country road outside Newport and was going around a bend when my bike lost traction and I ended up in a hedge. I was able to pick myself up and went to look at the road when I saw that it had been repaired recently. The seal at the edge of the repair looked much wider than normal – about 3 or 4 inches wide. I have been off work and losing pay so I was wondering if I can claim for my injury and the damage to the bike?
Rhiannon, Caerphilly
Answer
Depending on the type of road, the local council or the Highway Authority are responsible for maintaining the road surface and all repairs. Authorities often contract this work out but the contractors have a duty to make sure the road repairs comply with statutory requirements and repair guidelines.
The seal around a repair is known as overbanding and is known to be a potential accident risk to motorcyclists because it can cause skidding. If wider than 20mm, then the material used for the overbanding is supposed to have a grit like substance added to provide adequate wet skidding resistance, and it should never be more than 40mm wide or 3mm thick.
If you can prove that the overbanding did not comply with the requirements then it would likely be considered a hazard and you may well be able to bring a claim against either the authority or the contractors for misfeasance and/or negligence. I suggest you take photos to assist your claim.
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