Could this $560 road mistake happen to you? Aussie couple demands council action

This is the bane of every Aussie driver’s existence. Whether you’re cruising down a country lane or navigating the suburban sprawl, there’s always the risk of something going wrong when you least expect it.

For one couple, a simple risk turned into a costly reality—and a frustrating battle with their local council over who should foot the bill.


Nila Mezei and her partner, Bruce Randall, were simply going about their day, driving along Sally's Corner Road near Exeter, when disaster struck.

With oncoming traffic leaving her no room to swerve, Nila had no choice but to drive straight over a sizeable pothole lurking in her lane.

The result? A 'popped' tyre on their Range Rover Evoque and a $560 bill for a replacement.


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Aussie couple left with $560 tyre bill after pothole damage, but council denies payout. Credit: Mike Clark / iStock


To add insult to injury, Nila was late for work, and the couple’s day was thrown into chaos.

But the real frustration began when they sought compensation from the Wingecarribee Shire Council.

Despite what Bruce described as a 'deep, established pothole' that had clearly been there for some time, the council denied their claim.


They reasoned that they hadn’t been notified about the pothole, so they weren't liable under Section 45 of the Civil Liability Act 2002.

In other words: 'If we don’t know about it, it’s not our problem.'

Bruce was left shaking his head at the response, calling it 'crazy' to suggest that no one else had reported the pothole before.

'It feels like they’ve just wiped their hands... It’s disappointing... It is time they do something about the roads,' he said.

The council, for its part, pointed to the immense challenges it faces. Since 2019, the Shire has weathered 16 declared natural disasters, racking up more than $43 million in road damage.

With $24 million in outstanding claims still tangled in state and federal funding processes, it’s clear that local authorities are stretched thin.


The council did confirm that the offending pothole has now been filled, but for Nila and Bruce, that’s cold comfort after being left out of pocket.

Potholes aren’t just a local issue—they’re a nationwide headache. NSW alone has over 180,000 kilometres of roads, with councils responsible for maintaining more than 85 per cent of them.

While there are grants like the NSW $50 million Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round, the reality is that most councils are left to juggle repairs with limited resources and ever-growing to-do lists.

And it’s not just the cost of repairs that stings. Potholes can cause serious damage to vehicles—tyres, wheels, suspensions, and even the undercarriage can all fall victim.

The legal side of things can be just as frustrating as the potholes themselves. Under the Civil Liability Act, councils are generally protected from liability if they weren’t aware of the specific hazard.


That means unless someone reports the pothole and the council fails to act, it’s unlikely you’ll get compensation for damage.

This puts the onus on drivers to report road hazards as soon as they spot them.

But as Bruce and Nila’s story shows, even when a pothole is 'deep and established,' it can still slip through the cracks—sometimes literally.
Key Takeaways

  • An Aussie couple were left $560 out of pocket for a new tyre after hitting a pothole on a local road near Exeter, NSW, but Wingecarribee Shire Council denied their compensation claim.
  • The council stated they weren't liable as they had not been notified of the pothole prior to the incident, citing Section 45 of the Civil Liability Act 2002, which protects councils if they had no actual knowledge of the hazard.
  • Despite frustrations from the couple who believe the pothole was well-established, the council stressed that frequent natural disasters have heavily damaged the region’s roads and limited their resources for repairs.
  • While the specific pothole has since been fixed, ongoing issues with potholes in NSW continue to frustrate drivers, sometimes leading to public protests and vandalism designed to draw attention to unrepaired hazards.
Have you had a run-in with a rogue pothole? Did you manage to get compensation, or were you left footing the bill? We’d love to hear your stories—share your experiences in the comments below.

Read more: Crumbling roads catch Aussie advocacy groups' attention: 'People want better'
 

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vehicles have to be road worthy to be on the roads, IT stands to reason that roads have to be vehicle worthy to have cars on the road
This bullshit of "we didn't know so therefore we are not liable" is total rubbish from a council that is not out and about patrolling the roads and streets looking for hazards
Councils have the same duty of care to the rate payers and road users as any one else has so they should be held responsible for vehicle damage if the roads under their car are not vehicle worthy
There should be council trucks driving the streets and roads loaded with pot hole repair material all the time and not just a response unit o go out when some one calls in.
 
Here in Brisbane we were constantly driving over one particular bad section of road. Reported it to our council and after two more phone reports was given a reference number. It did take some time for repairs to be effected and that road section is now smoother.

Next time I will phone, get a reference number for my phone complaint, and then follow up with a written complaint as that seems to be the sure way to have any action and evidence of a complaint being made. The roads everywhere in Brisbane are in a dreadful state and I’m constantly threatening to tell my local member and the relevant council, in writing, that I am the one paying for repairs to my car (and paying taxes as well) while the head of that department probably gets his/her car (and it’s repairs) paid for by government.
 
For some reason Australia has lost the ability to construct proper roads. If roads are laid with proper material & done with Professional means they will last, BUT, they are not, hurry, hurry, hurry, shit materials, F***IN useless Engineers/Councils, shoddy sub contractors & the list goes on. What we need is some Old Roman Road builders.
 
Here in Brisbane we were constantly driving over one particular bad section of road. Reported it to our council and after two more phone reports was given a reference number. It did take some time for repairs to be effected and that road section is now smoother.

Next time I will phone, get a reference number for my phone complaint, and then follow up with a written complaint as that seems to be the sure way to have any action and evidence of a complaint being made. The roads everywhere in Brisbane are in a dreadful state and I’m constantly threatening to tell my local member and the relevant council, in writing, that I am the one paying for repairs to my car (and paying taxes as well) while the head of that department probably gets his/her car (and it’s repairs) paid for by government.
Don't sit there & GUNNA, Wop a good one right up Em Cath.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: HelenB55
Having severely twisted my ankle in a city pothole in Perth all I received in response from the council when I rang to notify them was belligerence. The local firms whose staff assisted me said it had been present for a considerable time. I never had any intention of claiming damages but to this day remain astounded by the council staff and their attitude. The pothole did get fixed really quickly and I retained the photos of my football sized swollen ankle as a talking point with friends.
Maybe we all need to be taking the time to document these hazards formally.
 
We had a section of road near us that always had potholes in it. One was getting worse and worse. I rang the council to ask them to repair it. This section of road had continually been bad and needed to be properly repaired. We are talking about a 30 year old issue. Needless to say council said that it wasn't on their agenda that financial year. Hence I did a letterbox drop to my neighbours asking them to complain as I had done. There was still no response from council.

I then sent council a "Freedom of Information" request asking how many complaints had been made about this section of road. Although I would have liked the Officer to go back over 30 years, he did it over 5 years. By law, they have to provide me with an answer within 28 days. On the 28th day, I received an email from council providing the information I sought plus at the same time, council were fixing up the entire section of road that should have been fixed years ago.

Hence my problem was solved.
 
For some reason Australia has lost the ability to construct proper roads. If roads are laid with proper material & done with Professional means they will last, BUT, they are not, hurry, hurry, hurry, shit materials, F***IN useless Engineers/Councils, shoddy sub contractors & the list goes on. What we need is some Old Roman Road builders.
I listened to an engineer from the University of Technology in Sydney who said that doing a top road construction is more expensive and takes longer, than a lesser construction but the long term maintenance costs are lower. He further stated that road builders (councils, contractors etc) take the cheaper option which has increased maintenance costs because the funds saved can be used elsewhere. A matter of 'penny wise and pounds foolish'. It is the same when expressways and toll roads are built. 2 lanes each way is the norm but when traffic builds up a third lane is added. Probably costs more and causes inconvenience to users but the funds initially saved can be used elsewhere in the intervening years.
 
I have gone through three tyres within three weeks. Three times unavoidable potholes. These were on local council roads. But I have noticed that the roads are getting worse especially the M5 in various parts from Campbelltown to King Georges Road, which you would expect to be a good road as it is a major motorway road. Solutions and constant maintenance that is done properly, roads need to be regularly checked as well to avoid this happening. Many of the potholes are quite deep and dangerous waiting for a serious acident to happen.
 
For some reason Australia has lost the ability to construct proper roads. If roads are laid with proper material & done with Professional means they will last, BUT, they are not, hurry, hurry, hurry, shit materials, F***IN useless Engineers/Councils, shoddy sub contractors & the list goes on. What we need is some Old Roman Road builders.
Leave the Pope out of this! 😁
 
  • Haha
Reactions: HelenB55 and DLHM
vehicles have to be road worthy to be on the roads, IT stands to reason that roads have to be vehicle worthy to have cars on the road
This bullshit of "we didn't know so therefore we are not liable" is total rubbish from a council that is not out and about patrolling the roads and streets looking for hazards
Councils have the same duty of care to the rate payers and road users as any one else has so they should be held responsible for vehicle damage if the roads under their car are not vehicle worthy
There should be council trucks driving the streets and roads loaded with pot hole repair material all the time and not just a response unit o go out when some one calls in.
Ìn our Shire the council has a truck and 2 men constantly driving around all the shire roads and fixing all damage as they find it. The roads in the Coolamon shire have the reputation of being the widest and best maintained roads in the riverina.
Most drivers say they can tell where the council boundaries are by the state of our roads.
 
Where was the Civil Liability Act 2002 in 1985?

When riding my Kawasaki GPZ750 motorcycle along a secondary road and turning into a side street at night, I immediately hit the road, rendering the motorbike unrideable and multiple pieces of gravel in my right elbow, requiring hospitalisation and surgery.

The whole side street was gravel, however, when I rode along the same street during the day, it was completely sealed.

I sought advice from legal injury specialists, only to be told that local councils were not required, by law, to erect warning signs and flashing lights at roadworks to warn motorists of changed road conditions.

So, in my case, the Canterbury Municipal Council breached their statutory duty, however, the Act wasn't in existence in 1985. ☹️
 
  • Sad
Reactions: HelenB55 and DLHM
For those interested, from the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002 .

45 Special non-feasance protection for roads authorities
(1) A roads authority is not liable in proceedings for civil liability to which this Part applies for harm arising from a failure of the authority to carry out road work, or to consider carrying out road work, unless at the time of the alleged failure the authority had actual knowledge of the particular risk the materialisation of which resulted in the harm.
(2) This section does not operate—
(a) to create a duty of care in respect of a risk merely because a roads authority has actual knowledge of the risk, or
(b) to affect any standard of care that would otherwise be applicable in respect of a risk.
(3) In this section—
carry out road work means carry out any activity in connection with the construction, erection, installation, maintenance, inspection, repair, removal or replacement of a road work within the meaning of the Roads Act 1993.
roads authority has the same meaning as in the Roads Act 1993.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Dynomite and DLHM
Just a suggestion…. Try driving a little slower & you might have time to dodge a pothole!
And have a head on collision with oncoming traffic as indicated in the article. Great idea!

With oncoming traffic leaving her no room to swerve, Nila had no choice but to drive straight over a sizeable pothole lurking in her lane.
 
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Just a suggestion…. Try driving a little slower & you might have time to dodge a pothole!
And then, driving a little slower, will bring up the same old story - ‘old people who drive slower/slowly are the main cause of accidents on the roads’. So much BS instead of addressing the real problem - PROPER CONSTRUCTION AND TIMELY REPAIRS WHERE REQUIRED and good (so-called) Town Planners with foresight to plan for building towns/cities with every thought given to future development and expansion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dynomite

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