Crash Boom Bang
It is no secret that many of the roads in South Africa, whether they are city or rural, are in a terrible state due to years of decay and low maintenance. The poor state of the roads means that drivers are constantly confronted with destructive potholes that can seriously damage your vehicle's wheels and even suspension.
Related: What is alloy wheel and tyre insurance, is it worth it?
With many personal budgets being very tight due to increasing costs of living, striking a pothole and receiving some of the aforementioned damage can be a financial bomb to embattled consumers.
Help is near
There is some light at the end of the tunnel for struggling motorists though, did you know that if your vehicle is damaged due to poor road infrastructure, you can claim from Sanral or the relevant municipality?
If damage occurs on the National routes: anyone starting with an N (N1, N2, N3 etc.) will be directed to Sanral and damage occurring on local roads will be attended to by the local municipality.
The catch here is that you will need to prove your case, this being, that the entity responsible for the piece of road was negligent in not repairing the surface which led to you receiving the damage.
This is most likely going to be a long arduous process but if the repair bill is large enough it is a course of action you may want to pursue as the cost of an insurance claim these days could prove a financial nightmare.
There are proviso's though, your vehicle will be standing for that time period of the litigation as you cannot process an insurance claim and take on the relevant authority. at the same time and as we said it will be a drawn-out process as you will be dealing with the government. The burden of proof will also be on you to show that the damage was caused by a certain pothole at a certain time on the vehicle in question and that the entity had been negligent in not repairing the pothole in an acceptable time and manner.
Process and Procedure
Before instituting a claim you will want to gather the following info:
- Claimant’s Certified ID copy.
- Affidavit commissioned at a police station, describing the incident, and confirming the items damaged.
- Affidavit commissioned at a police station confirming non-insurance (if applicable).
- Three recent repair/ replacement quotations of the damages.
- The invoice should the claimant have replaced tyres or fixed the vehicle damage.
- Damage report from the supplier/ repairer confirming the items which are damaged.
- Photos of the damages (colour photos are preferable)
- Photos of the pothole and location on the road (colour photos are preferable) (if applicable).
- Copy of the motor vehicle license certificate
- Copy of vehicle registration certificate
- Copy of the purchase invoice of the original damaged tyre/s to verify the age of the damaged tyres. Please retain the damaged tyres should an inspection be required. (if applicable)
- Towing invoice to validate if claiming two tyres or more
The claims process is different for each province but if you are in Gauteng you can submit your completed claim form with applicable supporting documents to claims@jra.org.za or contact 011 491-5734/ 011 298 5168.
If you are in Cape Town you can submit at the Civic Centre at 12 Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town 8001, or contact the relevant department on Transport.Info@capetown.gov.za or 0800 656 463.
Durban's motorists can send their claims via email to claims@durban.gov.za. Claimants are also urged to visit 6th floor Florence Mkhize Building, 251 Anton Lembede Street, Durban in order to fill in the forms provided.
Government responds
In an effort to improve the state of provincial roads, the government said in a recent report that it was rolling out a labour-intensive road construction and maintenance programme with targets for physical works including resealing, blacktop patching, and pothole repairs and maintenance of gravel roads.
Among projects authorities have committed to is the maintenance of about 20,000km of roads in South Africa’s secondary road network by March next year. These are Provincial roads in urgent need of being upgraded to an acceptable state of repair.
