Potholes along a highway in Nova Scotia have recently caused damage to several cars passing through the area – and the provincial government claims it is not liable for the damages.
A total of 20 holes were spotted by CBC News along Bedford Bypass; one of which caused $1,000 worth of damage to a single car.
Jim and Pat Briggs, who own the damaged Ford Fusion in question, did not anticipate running over a hole while passing through a major highway on the evening of December 03, 2018.
“It was after supper so of course it was dark,” Pat recounted in an interview. “All of a sudden we hit a hole — bang!”
Pat added that after the jolt, he managed to get his car under control – but saw that several other motorists had pulled over nearby to fix their tires, presumably after running over the same hole at high speed.
“There was certainly cars there that hit that same hole,” he remarked.
The Briggs found that the hole left two of their car’s rims bent beyond use, two tires ruined, and the vehicle’s alignment wrecked. In total, they had to pay $1,178.20 for repairs.
Because they had a $1,000 insurance deductible, the Briggs chose to approach the province for recompense. Pat reported the hole that evening, but did not get a reply until January 27.
A claims officer with the Department of Internal Services wrote back to the Briggs explaining that the province must first know about a pothole and fail to repair it within a “designated service standard” to be liable.
“Based on our investigation of all information available to date, we have found that there was no knowledge of this matter prior to your date of loss,” the official added.
A spokesperson from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal told CBC News that depending on the size of the hole and the type of road, the provincial government gives itself between seven and 120 days to fix it.
