Road vandalism?

[obladeo]

Just got a question how come the water, electric and telecommunications companies don't get taken to court for road vandalism?

I have a road near my house that’s been dug up once every 3 weeks for the last 4 month. It's been left in a really bad way with paving slabs missing and huge holes left all over the place and all people do is complain that the council has not fixed it.
How is this not vandalism? It's not even close to the condition it was before they dug it up.

The main reason this pisses me off is because I bike to work every day (yes I have a car with road tax and insurance but leave it at home) and I have to constantly dodge the hole so my racers does not go down them. By dodging all these badly filled holes I have to sometimes swerve on the road which is very very dangerous in Reading as everyone drives close to you. Some of the time I cannot dodge them and end up with back pain as they are so deep and so many of them.

I just thought I would ask why people think it’s the government that’s not bothered about the roads when there is so many companies out there destroying them. As soon as winter comes and the ice gets down into theses badly filled gaps\holes they get even deeper pot holes.

 

[Gassy]

Why not write to the company that dug them up ? Instead of posting on a paintball forum about it.

If the council did it they are responsible for the reinstatement and the same for the Utility companies.If the reinstatement is substandard they are required to make it good.

If it was a utility company then the council would have been down on them like a ton of bricks to sort it out as they can make a massive amount of money from fines and they tend to check everything that has been done in their area trying to catch companies out.

So write to someone who cares and can do something about it.

 

[obladeo]

Thats the problem you need backing from allot of people for the goverment to lissen.

There are to many people in this world like you.
I don't care. It's not my job. Someone else will sort it. So on...

When something happens to you thats the only time you are bothered.

Also this has been put in the "Speak your Brains" and i'm not sure if theirs laws in place that protect theses companies, as theres a law for everything else.

If you don't like the post don't read it simple.

 

[Gassy]

Thats the problem you need backing from allot of people for the goverment to lissen.

There are to many people in this world like you.
I don't care. It's not my job. Someone else will sort it. So on...

When something happens to you thats the only time you are bothered.

Also this has been put in the "Speak your Brains" and i'm not sure if theirs laws in place that protect theses companies, as theres a law for everything else.

If you don't like the post don't read it simple.

your lucky I didn't can it chuckles as it is not the weekend anymore

Some information for you,wake up and smell the coffee

I work for the utilities and I have told you exactly what you need to do..............

Write to the company who has left the substandard reinstatement and they will come and sort it out.By law they are required to do so.
Now if your blaming the utilities for the pot holes that have appeared everywhere then thats a different matter but if it is because of a sinking previous excavation they will repair it.
We use an outside contractor to fill in our excavations and if they sink/crack they are made to go back and do it again.
So instead of saying "too many people like me in the world" get off your lazy backside and write to the company who is responsible and get it sorted.Unless "people like you in the world" tell them the hole has sunk how do they know it is not right.

Read what I have put very carefully because the next remark you make may very well be your last as it happens I do care and it is my Job.

 

[obladeo]

See now that’s useful information that I can use instead of just having a go at me for no reason. All the other information people have given me is to take the council to court for any damages that have happened since hitting any pot holes. Which i do not think is right as it's not their fault, so why should tax payers money be spent on this?

One question I have to ask. How can a water company dig up a road and then not replace the curb stones\concrete they have removed? This has happened on a street next to my house. I thought the curb was there to protect the public on the pavement.

I feel very strong about this matter as when I was 18, I use to get a lift to work in a small van with a old guy. We once hit one of these pot holes which in turn blew our front tyre out making us go into a 180. Then we rolled sideway through a fence and a large wooden farmer’s field fence post came through the window nearly killing the drive and I. Once we stopped rolling and ended up on our roof I had to wake the driver up which was unconscious and get out quick as there was smoke comign from the engine.

Read what I have put very carefully because the next remark you make may very well be your last as it happens I do care and it is my Job.

Humm threading me now, how professional you are.

 

[Gassy]

Humm threading me now, how professional you are.

I am guessing that means threatening ?

It is not a threat it was fair warning to think about your posts before you hit the reply button seen as you obviously didn't when you made your 2nd post on this thread.

You will find my 1st post says exactly the same as my 2nd,it is upto you to sort it out instead of crying on here about it.

Read the thread again.

 

[obladeo]

Yes i read your first post but like I said I didn't think anything would happen if I wrote a letter on my own. Most things do not get done in this country unless you have a lot of backing.

As you said you work for one of the companies I know the companies might listen to my letters now or maybe just throw them in the bin.

The problem is some of the sunken hole where there before I moved there. So the problem is finding out who is responsible to repair them.
I’ll get a pic tonight to show you the state of the road the water company has left and how dangerous this is (you probably don’t care but I’ll do it to send to the water company as well).

 

[Robbo]

Ob, there is an exemption that is enjoyed by all utility companies and rightly so otherwise they wouldn't be able to install new services or indeed maintain existing ones .... but along with that right to dig up roads and pavements, they also have a right to go about their work in a professional manner and make good any damage they may have done.

If you think they haven't kept up to their end of their responsibility, a two pronged approach is best, first write to your local council and then to the utility company concerned telling them you have already written to the council quoting reference number etc ....

This would I think, be your best course of action in the first case anyway .. I'm sure I'll be put right if I have left something out or mis-advised in anyway.

If that fails ... then ..... go kill your MP .. might seem a tad OTT but hey, it helps clean up the sh!t ..

 

[Cook$]

Look up the Public Utilities and Streetworks Act.

And nobody pays road tax anymore, you pay vehicle excise duty which is based on the emissions your vehicle produces. Road Tax was done away with in the 30's. Vehicle excise duty also doesn't pay for the upkeep of the roads, that comes out of the general tax purse, which we all pay into, even the none drivers. So us cyclists have just as much right to be on the roads as the SUV driving d**kheads who think we don't.

Sorry, bit off topic.

 

[SabreWolf]

Just got a question how come the water, electric and telecommunications companies don't get taken to court for road vandalism?

They get permission from the local councils before a job is sanctioned, therefor it isnt vandalism, i hope this answered your question

However, any complaints regarding sub standard work should be reported to the council, who will then, either A. Fine the company or B. make them come and fix the job and fine them anyway.