DISGUSTED drivers out of pocket because of pesky potholes are being challenged to change the way they react to the persistent problem.
A community leader has issued a call which could potentially prompt a flood of fed-up folk to flag hundreds of holes with council chiefs.
Black Isle councillor Billy Barclay, who has had complaints from by a growing number of irate constituents in the ward, wants locals to log each and every pothole on the peninsula.
He explained, "There are literally hundreds of them on roads across the Black Isle and some of them are in the Third World category. I've had at least half a dozen people in the last wee while bring this to my attention. Some have asked for help in making insurance claims against Highland Council but to be honest in my nine years as a councillor I can only remember one payout."
He said payouts are so scarce because of a "get out" whereby insurance companies are able to state that the local authority has correctly carried out regular inspections aimed at picking up the worst problem potholes. It's also difficult to establish negligence, particularly when potholes have not been reported and so are not "in the system".
Accepting the extent of the issue nationally and a limitation on cash made available to councils to carry out the work, councillor Barclay said he was keen to see the problem rise up the political agenda through public pressure.
Admitted the councillor, "I've driven around a pothole myself and then discovered that my son has landed in it. That has been a problem people sometimes know about quite bad ones on roads they regularly use but fail to report them. I'd like to see every one in the system so that at least there wouldn't be that get-out clause about road inspections. It might cause a bit of a headache for the council but if it results in something getting done long term, so be it."
He warned that without action in the long term, minor roads might have to close.
He said funds set aside by the Scottish Government to help ease the problem across Scotland barely scratched the surface. "My concern is we're looking at major problems ahead unless this is properly addressed."
Statistics obtained from Highland Council show there were 39 claims in 2010/11, compared to 24 in 2009/10 and 30 the year before that. In 2007/08 there were 37 claims compared to 44 in 2006/7.
Cllr Barclay's comments have been backed up by fellow ward councillor Craig Fraser, who has previously called for people to report potholes.
Highland Council's Dingwall-based community works manager Ian Hay told the Journal that while roads are inspected on a regular basis, potholes must be prioritised according to how potentially dangerous they are. He admitted too, "We can only do what we can with the resources, both in terms of manpower and cash, that are available to us."
He added, "We do our utmost to find and fix potholes and are aware that after frost and heavy rain, theydo appear. We prioritise what we do and main routes do come first. We do respond to reports from the public through the service centre. If a pothole is assessed to be serious or dangerous we will try to deal with it within 24 hours. If there is a dangerous one, we want to know about it as soon as possible."
He acknowledged, "On occasion we won't hear about it until a vehicle has been damaged In recognition of the deteriorating condition of Highland roads, Highland Council last February said it would invest £2 million on repairing damage caused by snow and ice over the past two winters. The Council is to receive £1.645 million as its share of the £15 million allocated to Scottish councils for road repairs by the Scottish Government and a further £355,000 has been allocated to road repairs in 2011/12.
