Living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada has got to be the most frustrating thing as a motorist. Not only are the highways outdated (70's) and our overpasses collapsing now it's that dreaded time once again, pothole season! Oh, almost forgot exploding water pipes which flood the streets in the winter months which later become wonderful places to play hockey.
Here is just a sample picture I took today in a west end Montreal neighborhood.
The city has been blaming the construction companies of the 70's of stealing and using low quality materials in the original city infrastructure.
Well guess what when you tender jobs to the lowest bidder this is what you will most likely get. Quebec has been rocked with numerous construction scandals over the years, the most recent SNC-Lavalin.
Knowing this problem exists what has Montreal done, they passed a law which makes it virtually impossible to sue the city for damages. So Montrealers and tourists beware city potholes will cost you.
Just look at this quote from abouttravel.com:
http://montreal.about.com/od/gettingaroundtown/f/pothole_recours.htm concerning making a pothole damage claim in Montreal.
"Before submitting a claim for damages,
be aware that the city of Montreal is not
liable for damage to tires or suspension systems from road conditions
(like potholes). However, damage to steering, wheel rims, alignment,
hubcaps, and other parts can be claimed for compensation. But in order
to receive compensation, the motorist must show city authorities were
aware of the pothole in question and yet did not repair it, or at least
indicate its presence via warning signs, within a reasonable delay.
Motorists have 15 days after the pothole incident to submit a claim by registered mail to the city of Montreal.City authorities are not necessarily going to accept your claim, but it's certainly within your rights to file one. Call 311, the city of Montreal info line, for more details on preparing
your claim. And remember to request a copy of the city's pothole
registry for the time period in question just in case someone else had
previously reported the pothole."
Here is what abouttravel.com suggests you do:
- Take pictures of the pothole (OK cellphone, such as mine above)
- Measure and record pothole depth and width. (yes because everyone has a tape measure in their car, get real!)
- Present witnesses who were aware of the pothole and how long it was in
disrepair (e.g., residents living in front of the pothole, local
merchants with neighboring storefronts, other motorists who suffered
damage, police, etc.) (I will go knocking on stragers doors, ya OK)
- Have a repair estimate from a recognized garage indicating the extent of
the damage and what car parts were affected by the impact.
- This is crucial: find out if the city was aware of the pothole by checking the city of Montreal's pothole registry as well as CAA-Quebec's Road Problem Watch
webpage. And present proof of the date(s) the pothole was reported:
show copies of emails/letters sent to the city on the subject of said
pothole, present recorded times and dates of calls to 311 about said
pothole, show a copy of the city pothole registry -- registre de signalement des nids-de-poule
-- for the period in question (it's available on request and it will
show you if anyone else reported the pothole prior to your accident),
print out a pothole notification entry on CAA-Quebec's Road Problem Watch page if applicable, etc.)
So as you can see it is easier to get hit by lightning twice and then struck by a bus than to receive monetary damages from potholes due to city negligence.
This law was made to protect the city of Montreal and not it's citizens. I though we paid taxes to the government to provide us with usable services and not garbage. Driving in Montreal in the springtime is an obstacle course.
Hiding behind a law is not the solution!
