Re; "http://fazerowners.yuku.com/topic/12607 Slippy Roads. Important read.
I sent this email to a bike solicitor the other day after reading this Topic
on the Fazer site and also on Visor Down.
Dear Sirs,
As a mature rider of bikes I keep in touch with Club sites and see what the
general biker has to say.
This
http://www.visordown.com/forum/foru...7&srchdte=0&cp=1&v=2&sp=332483698695332476680
came up on the Fazer owner's club forum and seems to be everywhere.
Many guys have reported coming off.
It does seem that it is down to road conditions.
Seeing as your staffs are Motorcyclist has any one come across this?
More importantly, what can I and fellow Club members do.
It does seem even after members have emailed the councils that no one wants to take responsibility for our roads.
Sorry to burden you with this, but many of our motorcycling friends are having a costly time, along with the physical body damage to themselves.
Last weekend I was out riding the A39 towards Minehead and had a moment on the bike.
I at the time put it down to cold tyres. But what is going on?
RT
ZRX Owners Club.
Fazer Owners Club.
I have had a reply from White Dalton today and this is it......
Dear Ray,
"I am aware of this stuff too and having covered 750 miles in 2 1 days in rural Glos, Somerset and Wiltshire on an R1200 GS and had some totally unpredicted little slides (and as I was riding down country roads I did not know in foggy conditions believe me I was going slowly) I will look into this - a longer e mail will be coming out and if you want to get some more publicity for this maybe one of your forum users who has been injured could give me a call, so we can get it into "Fast Bikes legal master class" or even sue the Highway Authority. My response to you will follow but it will be quite detailed which is why my PA will type it instead of me!
Andrew Dalton
Senior Partner
White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors
So if any of you have had an Off, or know someone who has, send an email to Mr Andrew Dalton. @
http://www.whitedalton.co.uk/home.htm?page=site/home
Keep all dates and any photos you have safe.
You never know this just might help someone.
Had a reply again from the biker’s solicitors.As he asks, If anyone has been involved in any accident due to poor road conditions let me, or Andrew Dalton know.He seems more than keen to help any Biker.Quote;”Dear Ray Thanks for bringing this to my attention. By all means put my response up on the forum and as this is a matter of general interest to all riders (motorcycle, pedal cycle and horse) I would like to make it next months query for my Fast Bikes column. Do you have any objection to me using your details as set out in my response?Andrew Dalton Senior Partner White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors The local authority have a statutory duty to ensure that they have in place a reasonable system of making sure that roads are passable for traffic that might be using them when the roads are icy. Basically, the law seems to very much favor the local authorities, who simply have to show that they have a system of roads treatment which on the face of it looks reasonable.The local authority will have carried out its own internal assessment as to what is safe, and the courts are unlikely to go behind this. It is only when they breach their own policies that you are likely to find that you have a cause of action. However, putting slippery gloop on the road is a different kettle of fish altogether. For those of you that are interested, here's the law:
- 1) A highway authority which actively causes an obstruction or other danger on the highway without the authorisation of statutory powers is liable inthe same as any other personal body (Skelton v. Epsom and UDC [1937]1KB112).
- 2) If you can show that this material is dangerous in particular for motorcycles, because it significantly reduces the skid resistance of the highway, or the friction co-efficient of the highway, then I really do not see that we would have a problem establishing liability against the local authority.
- 3) Somebody somewhere in the council has either made the decision to use this material, in which case if they cannot be shown to have taken motorcycles into consideration, or cannot or have not adequately taken into account the particular requirements of all road users including powered two wheelers, and as both a motorcyclist and a cyclist myself, then we would be quite happy to take on one of these cases on a no win no fee basis, and It end not to lose cases, because if we lose them we don't get paid by anyone.In my view the basic test is simple:1) What is the material that is used?2) With a sample of it, can we replicate its slipperiness under ordinary road conditions? This would be easy enough to do at a testing ground, or simply by marking a known patch of road with this material and then friction testing it. Friction testing is not particularly easy. There are specialist machines which do this, and you may have seen them driving around very slowly on highways. We have the facilities to set up this type of testing but it is quite expensive and quite slow.However, the basic point is that the highway authorities should not be putting material on the road until they are satisfied so that they are sure that it is safe. It appears to me that the hedgerows (which don't particularly like being coated with salt for 3 months of the year) are taking priority over motorcyclists.There may be something in the suspicion expressed by a number of forum contributors that local authorities do not expect motorcycles to be used in the winter.However, whilst a number of bikes go away for the winter, mine certainly doesn't. That would be no excuse at all in law.If you have been injured as a result of an accident involving this material let me know. I may be able to help. If you come off on this stuff, keep your wits about you and collect a sample.End quote.So if you write up your report after coming off due to road conditions the next step is available for you
