Wick woman's double whammy pothole plight costs close to £300
A young mum spoke about the damage caused to her car after two pothole incidents on Wick's streets in the space of a few weeks.
Alison Calder who lives on Macleod Road in the town said she was driving her Volkswagen car along Argyle Square on September 28 when the most recent incident occurred.
"I was on the opposite side of the road trying to miss the potholes when a car came towards me so I had no option but to pull over to the other side and that took me into the pothole," said Alison.
She went to a tyre company in Wick and was told that her front passenger side tyre had "ripped right under" so it was replaced costing her over £70. "Before that I had to get a new exhaust as it fell off when I hit another pothole on Glamis Road.
"That was a couple of months ago. The whole car was rattling and I think it damaged my suspension. I'm not the only one and I know so many people whose cars are making noises after these potholes."
Alison said she needs her car for work and picking up her children. She says it's not easy trying to survive as a single parent with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and then finding she has to fork out for the additional costs of car repairs when the roads should be fit to drive on. "It's just ridiculous and I've not been able to get the suspension fixed yet – I just turn up my music to cover the rattling noise!"
The 34-year-old mum of two said she shared the images on the Facebook page for Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR) – a pressure group that is campaigning to get better road maintenance in the county – and looked into applying to Highland Council for compensation. "People are saying not to bother applying as they're not paying out but I'm going to make a claim anyway. I've kept my receipts but I know there are other people who have tried but got nothing."
Alison also shared a video she shot on Argyle Square to show the pothole that appears to be around three inches deep. It lies in a damaged section of road that stretches for many yards next to the pavement. The broken road surface contains multiple other potholes that join together creating a serious driving hazard.
"What a thud it made. I knew straight away the car was badly damaged but I was able to drive it home. It was a wee while later when I came out the house and I saw the tyre was completely flat. It's really frustrating – you fix one thing and another needs done."
The road campaign group posted a selection of pothole pictures from around Caithness that were sent in by the public and Alison's Argyle Square photo was included. Iain Gregory, co-founder of the group, said he has written to a few MSPs and "sent them an up to date snapshot" of Caithness roads in 2023.
In direct reference to Alison's issue he said: "I am afraid to say that CRR receives such reports from motorists on a daily basis, advising us of hugely expensive damage to wheels, tires, and suspension, as their vehicles are relentlessly destroyed by the shocking condition of roads throughout the county.
"We regularly hear of repair bills reaching hundreds of pounds, and many people are simply unable to meet the costs from income, being forced to dip into savings, or to use a credit card to cover the bills. At a time when so many people are struggling to make ends meet, due to the ever-increasing cost of living, inflation, and constant additional costs imposed by taxation and levies, this is something they can well do without.
"It should be remembered that not only are drivers affected, but pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, and those who use wheelchairs, are also at constant risk. The time for the Highland Council, the Scottish Government, and the UK Government, to publicly acknowledge the scale of the crisis, and to sit down together and resolve the inexorable collapse of our infrastructure, is long overdue."
A spokesperson for Highland Council said: "Our local roads team have been busy all summer carrying our work as per their agreed programme of works.
"This programme of planned works was completed on Friday so now the focus moves to picking up work not included in the repair programme. They have confirmed that they expect to be in the locality tomorrow and Friday so, weather permitting, the repairs will be done then."