Pakenham drivers furious after forking out hundreds of dollars to fix pothole damage
Dozens of motorists are fuming after being stung up to $800 to repair damage caused by potholes, only to find VicRoads is using a “ridiculous” compensation system to avoid forking out cash for repairs.
South East
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Angry motorists are calling for roads to be urgently fixed in Pakenham after at least 35 drivers had their cars damaged by potholes in the past month.
Some car owners had their tyres punctured and rims damaged on the Monash Freeway near the Cardinia Rd exit last week leaving them with hundreds of dollars worth of damage.
Drivers say they’re furious as VicRoads will only compensate them if their claims amount to $1460, but several drivers say their damage is about $500 to $800 – leaving them out of pocket.
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And Bridgestone Pakenham worker Danny Scott said the business had five times the amount of customers in the past month due to pothole damage.
“We’ve repaired several rims and punctures due to potholes – we’ve definitely had an influx of customers,” Mr Scott said.
Carolyn Bligh, who was left with $800 worth of damage after her tyre was punctured by a pothole on the Monash Freeway on November 7 said Pakenham roads were in an “unacceptable state”.
“At least seven other drivers had the same thing happen to them at the same time I did so we all had to pull over – but I know of at least 15 other drivers this happened too and it’s shocking,” Ms Bligh said.
“I spoke to VicRoads last week and they told me the damage has to be $1460 before you can claim anything – it’s just ridiculous.
“We pay money for our cars to be on the road and while our cars are roadworthy our roads aren’t carworthy.”
Driver, Leni Van Der Werff, said he was angry after also hitting the same pothole last week, which left him with $500 worth of damage.
“Honestly I haven’t even bothered to contact VicRoads, I read up on some forums that other people have had no luck unless they go through legal avenues, which of course I’ve not got the funds for,” Mr Van Der Werff said.
Other motorists also contacted Leader saying roads across Pakenham and surrounding suburbs were in a “shocking state”, with many saying there were potholes on major roads.
Alkira Collie said her car — and she believes at least five others — struck a pothole on Ballarto Rd, Clyde in June leaving her with $1250 worth of damage.
“It would be nice if VicRoads could be held accountable as my expenses didn’t meet the threshold of $1400,” Ms Collie said.
“Unfortunately the pothole is still there now. despite the fact that I described the road and conditions very clearly to VicRoads on night I hit the pothole.
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“There was poor to no lighting, single lane and no way to avoid it, including no signs to warn of a danger in a 100km/h zone, nothing has been done to rectify the hole – the roads need to be urgently fixed.”
She said the pothole had been patched many times and was so hazardous it now has its own warning sign.
VicRoads has been contacted for comment.