A Scottish motorcycle tour turns into disaster
In November 2022, Steven told us about a horrible accident he had riding his BMW R1250 GSA South on the A939 Old Military Road, near Grantown on Spey a couple of months earlier.
He was on a tour of Scotland from Wales with some mates and all were advanced riders with extensive experience.
Around 5 miles north of Grantown on Spey, Steven took a right-hand bend, but on exit the front wheel of his motorcycle came into contact with excessive joint sealant also called overbanding.
There was nothing he could do; the motorcycle went down in a split second. Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic but Steven was still badly injured. His friend had the presence of mind to take images at the scene while waiting for the ambulance.
What is overbanding and why is it dangerous?
Overbanding itself is a catchall term used to describe a road surface sealant. Joint sealant work is strictly regulated by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Act covers the Specifications for the Reinstatement of Openings in Roads. Section 11.7 specifically deals with overbanding and among other things it requires that tar banding at surface level should not exceed 40mm in width
We submitted Steven’s claim for personal injury and loss to the responsible Roads Authority, Highland Council, on the basis that they failed to adequately maintain the road.
We also submitted Freedom of Information requests to Highland Council and Police Scotland for inspection and accident records.
We travelled to the scene of the crash to take measurements of the width of the overbanding. It was 60 mm which is much wider than the regulations permitted!
Holding Highland Council accountable.
As usual, Highland Council were slow to respond but eventually they pointed the finger at their contractors.
We made it clear to them that this was not good enough as the Council has a non-delegable duty to maintain its roads.
We raised an action in Court for Steven, at no cost to him.
When we raise a Court Action, you can be sure we have every aspect covered. We spoke with numerous motorcyclists who described the locus as an accident hot spot.
We also instructed a highly experienced expert civil engineer. His opinion was that the overbanding inserted on the A939 was excessive and lacking in skid resistance so as to be defective.
As we expected, he confirmed that the joint sealant was not laid down in accordance with industry standards and the defective surface posed a particular hazard to motorcycles when damp.
He was also highly critical of the Council for failing to recognise it had been laid down incorrectly for 13 months following its installation.
Five-figure settlement secured for injured rider.
With the case fully prepared and every aspect covered, the case marched on into Court with liability firmly denied. With less than five weeks to go and facing a wall of evidence against them, the defenders finally caved in agreeing a five figure settlement.
Steven was both delighted and relieved. Delighted with the award of damages and relieved to be vindicated that he was not to blame for what had happened to him. There was absolutely nothing he could have done to avoid injury and justice had been achieved.
As motorcyclists ourselves, we're committed to guiding vulnerable road users through the claim process from start to finish. Where there is a good claim in law, we will use all means at our disposal to get results for our clients like Steven.
Overbanding is horrible and it is time our Roads Authorities recognise such hazards for two wheeled road users. Roads Inspectors should be trained to understand what it is like for us as we use the roads too. This could have happened to any motorcyclist and I fear it will again.
There are no other personal injury Law firms in Scotland staffed by motorcyclists who truly understand what its like for their clients.
Injured because of dangerous road conditions?
If poor road maintenance or dangerous overbanding caused your motorcycle accident, contact Motorcycle Law Scotland today. Our team of biker lawyers understand exactly what riders face on Scotland’s roads.
Our Award Winning Team
Brenda Mitchell
Senior Partner
Brenda has been a Personal Injury Lawyer for over 38 years and for the last 20 years has specialised representing injured motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Jodi Gordon
Partner
Jodi is a Partner at RTA Law LLP with 14+ years’ experience in catastrophic injury claims for vulnerable road users including cyclists and motorcyclists.
Thomas Mitchell
Partner
Thomas represents clients who have been involved in road traffic incidents and he specialises in representing vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
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