Leader: Our roads should not be causing injury

A NEW year, another potholes story.
The council has faced a compensation claim for someone injured by a pothole while sitting in a car.The council has faced a compensation claim for someone injured by a pothole while sitting in a car.
The council has faced a compensation claim for someone injured by a pothole while sitting in a car.

This time we learn there has been a successful compensation payment by someone who was injured inside a car which went over a pothole.

That of course adds to all the other claims from motorists who have damaged their vehicles. In total almost £30,000 was paid out last year, double the amount on the year before.

In the grand scheme of things, the numbers are not huge.

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But when we are seeing injury claims because of the state of the roads, it is surely yet another wake-up call for the transport department at the City Chambers.

Repairing Edinburgh’s roads is a mammoth task.

Bringing all routes up to scratch would take decades and tens of millions of pounds.

We are not demanding the impossible but it is reasonable to expect that our roads are of such a standard that they are unlikely to cause injury to someone sitting in a car.

After a trip overseas, one of the first things everyone notices on returning to the Capital is the horrendous condition of many main routes. That will also be noticed by overseas visitors and investors.

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Of course this is not a new problem, and today’s figures could well merely demonstrate that drivers in Edinburgh are becoming more savvy with how to claim compensation. In which case, good on them.

The council’s transport leader Lesley Hinds tells us today that millions are being invested each year as the council works hard to bring the roads up to scratch.

She also points to the weather conditions last winter for leaving the streets in such a state.

A dedicated squad to address the issue will be hitting the street along with £200,000 and they have much work to do.

It is better than nothing but we can’t help but feel it’s drop in the pothole ocean.

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