Can You Sue the City for Pothole Damage? (Washington, Penn: military, dangerous)

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I received my driver's license in July 1973 out on Washington Blvd., and I've hit a few potholes in my time in many different cars over the past 40. Never blew out a tire, got a flat or bent a wheel on one.

I wonder if they are doing something wrong.

Haven't been driving as long, but have hit my share of potholes and never had a problem.

Is it the car? Is it the driver? Is it luck?

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Hmm, I don't get it. I have a feeling people don't check their tire pressure. You need to keep tire pressure at the manufacturer's recommended pressure. This time of year tire pressure would be lower due to temperatures. Best to keep the inflated correctly. I run 18's on my car AND have run 19's in years past with no issues. I would run a little higher pressure with the 19's to avoid problems. Of course that means the middle of the tires will wear a bit faster. With the 18's I run recommended pressure. SCR, keep up on that stuff. Get a good tire gauge. I got one from Mac Tools or Snap On. It wasn't cheap, but it rocks!

I don't think you get it. When your car drops 4-6 inches into one of these holes, it's like your tire hitting a brick wall. It punched a V into my rim.

And, I should add that my tires were the correct pressure. It's a new car. It has TPMS. Most new cars do. If a tire is more thank like 2 psi below the spec on my car, the light on the dash goes on. I know it works, because when it hit 10 below recently I had to add 3 pounds to get the light off.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Girl.In.The.Woods

I don't think you get it. When your car drops 4-6 inches into one of these holes, it's like your tire hitting a brick wall. It punched a V into my rim.

And, I should add that my tires were the correct pressure. It's a new car. It has TPMS. Most new cars do. If a tire is more thank like 2 psi below the spec on my car, the light on the dash goes on. I know it works, because when it hit 10 below recently I had to add 3 pounds to get the light off.

Yeah, I have been driving on these roads for over 3 decades, so I am sure I don't understand potholes. Here is a thought, learn how to avoid them. I am on 18" rims. Not sure if you know what that means? Low profile tires. I do have a high quality car, not some Chevy with crap wheels and tires though. That might be the difference.

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Yeah, I have been driving on these roads for over 3 decades, so I am sure I don't understand potholes. Here is a thought, learn how to avoid them. I am on 18" rims. Not sure if you know what that means? Low profile tires. I do have a high quality car, not some Chevy with crap wheels and tires though. That might be the difference.

I've got a brand new Subaru Impreza Limited with low profile 17" wheels.

Is that a crap car?

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

What a joke. The pothole blitz was just on the news. It said to call 311 to report pot holes. So I just called to report the one by the police station on Washington Blvd. 311 is closed. They're only open to take your call from 8-4:30 pm. Ignorance is bliss for them, and we can't prove a thing.

[charisb]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Haven't been driving as long, but have hit my share of potholes and never had a problem.

Is it the car? Is it the driver? Is it luck?

I drive a 2008 Subaru and I drove a 1997 Toyota Corolla before that. I have never driven an expensive car and have no desire to. I have hit potholes and I have never had problems either. I even lived in Philly up until a few years ago. I wonder if it is luck? I do not speed (maybe 5 miles over the limit) and definitely look out for them. I have no trouble seeing them at night.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Girl.In.The.Woods

I've got a brand new Subaru Impreza Limited with low profile 17" wheels.

Is that a crap car?

Not the quality of a German car, but a nice little car. Are they Yokohama AVID S34D? That isn't a very good tire and I think you can do better. When you need to replace them give me a shout and I will direct you to a better tire.

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by charisb

I drive a 2008 Subaru and I drove a 1997 Toyota Corolla before that. I have never driven an expensive car and have no desire to. I have hit potholes and I have never had problems either. I even lived in Philly up until a few years ago. I wonder if it is luck? I do not speed (maybe 5 miles over the limit) and definitely look out for them. I have no trouble seeing them at night.

It's not worth owning expensive cars while living or working in a city. I've had two Mercedes, a Beamer, and a host of other stuff. I traded down a week before moving here. And first week here, someone used the backup camera in a Prius to put their car 1/2" off my front bumper on a street. People just don't care.

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Not the quality of a German car, but a nice little car. Are they Yokohama AVID S34D? That isn't a very good tire and I think you can do better. When you need to replace them give me a shout and I will direct you to a better tire.

I know the stock tires are usually crap, but those tires aren't bad in that scheme of things. But I only had 3k miles on the car when the tire blew from the pothole, so it made sense to just replace the blown one and the rim. Crazy, but I had the dealer and another shop check it and it didn't knock the alignment out any.

I prefer buying something like Goodyear Assurance 60-80k wear tires.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Girl.In.The.Woods

What a joke. The pothole blitz was just on the news. It said to call 311 to report pot holes. So I just called to report the one by the police station on Washington Blvd. 311 is closed. They're only open to take your call from 8-4:30 pm. Ignorance is bliss for them, and we can't prove a thing.

You can leave them a voicemail. That's what I did. The pothole was promptly repaired the next morning---either due to my complaint or due to the fact that more powerful people read City-Data than we really suspect.