So, while trolling the Pittsburgh Bloggers site, I came across an article about Pennsylvania potholes. “Potholes!” I exclaimed out loud (hey, I hit relative ranting writer’s block and was very excited!). I read the blog posting, which was interestingly enough from “Edgar Speaks Out” or the blog for Edgar of Edgar Snyder’s law firm. The article cursorily explained how to recover damages from Pennsylvania potholes. But, the part that really GOT me and made me want to really RANT is that you can not claim property damages on PA (PennDOT) roads (although you can sometimes recover some injury damages).
So, you get into an accident that was not your fault and PennDOT refuses to take any liability. Did I mention that Pennsylvania has consistently been named the state with the worst roads in the United States (I almost started typing Universe and you know…I think the roads in Pittsburgh ARE actually comparable to the crevices on Mars, so this may be an entirely accurate comparison). We actually get hit with a double whammy here in PA because not only does the terrible wintry weather we’ve all been experiencing so frequently erode potholes, but our road system is seriously screwy and the potholes barely get fixed.
I guess we all have to learn to be super careful when approaching potholes - being that the responsibility for an accident caused by one may fall squarely on your shoulders. Edgar Snyder says:
“You can’t recover property damages on PA state roads, but you may be able to receive compensation from PennDOT for your injuries. For roads in local municipalities, you may be able to collect both property damages and compensation for personal injuries from local governments.”
Check out another helpful feature of good ol’ Edgar Snyder’s Web site: A Q&A section where you can find all the answers to hazardous road questions you may have. And, Pittsburghers will surely agree with me that we unfortunately have many - hazardous roads AND questions (especially for you PennDOT employees….boy, have we got questions for you).
Rant and Rave!
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Great post. Glad that my potholes blog post could be of value. It can be very frustrating dealing with poorly maintained roads - not to mention dangerous as well. It may be getting warmer outside, but that doesn’t mean the roads are getting better. When ice and snow thaw out they can erode the roads just as bad as rock salt and snow plows.
If you guys want to embed a map in your blog that allows anyone to report non-ermgency issues like potholes:
http://www.seeclickfix.com/widget
It’s a 311 system that allows anyone to enter a ticket, anyone to view a ticket and anyone to get alerts about tickets.
The site just went live a month ago and check out how its working already in New Haven where it started: http://www.seeclickfix.com/issues?search=SEARCH+CLICKETS+BY+KEYWORD&at=New+Haven%2C+CT%2C+USA&x=7&y=8
Buffalo is just starting to catch on. It would be cool to see it catch in Pittsburgh too.