Determining who is responsible
The first thing you need to do before writing an application is to decide who is responsible for maintaining a particular road. The fact is that all asphalt surfaces are distributed , each has its own owner.
Common property
If a hole has formed on the road near the house, then first we determine whether it is part of the local area. If it falls into it, then according to the rules of Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006, its owners are the owners of the areas in this house.
Whatever management option is chosen, the burden of maintaining it rests with the residents . That is, regardless of whether a homeowners association is formed or the house is maintained by a management company, the repair scheme is the same.
The decision on repairs must be made at a general meeting of residents . They are the ones who determine what, when, and in what order to carry out on their territory. There are 3 options here:
- there are funds on the balance sheet of the house, the purpose of which has not yet been determined, then you can plan to spend it immediately on the pit;
- there is money, but it has already been allocated for other work, then you can make a decision: postpone the execution of the assigned tasks and transfer these funds to repair the asphalt pavement this year;
- there is no money, then these works are included in the plan for the next financial year.
Federal property
If potholes have formed on a federal road, then it is more logical to submit an application to the Federal Road Agency. If there are doubts about ownership, you can check whether the name of the route is included in the list of roads for which the federal authorities are responsible. It was approved by Government Decree No. 928 of November 17, 2010.
It will be more convenient for residents of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to use the electronic application form on the Rosavtodor website, filling out the required fields containing information about the applicant’s data and contacts and the essence of the application. Or in the traditional way - send an appeal by mail .
Municipal
And only if the road is under the authority of the municipality, does it make sense to write an application to the city administration. In accordance with Federal Law No. 131 of October 6, 2003, it is this authority that must ensure that the road surface meets quality standards.
Please note that this is not always the City Administration . With the popularization of the division of powers between districts in large cities, and the provision of budgets to individual governing authorities formed within the district, they are responsible for the maintenance of roads.
In order not to make a mistake with the addressee, you can contact the municipality by phone and clarify whether the problem section of the road is within their competence or not . Or send a letter without clarification. Administration employees will be required to forward your appeal to the appropriate authority within 7 days. And provide you with a written response containing information about where the document was sent.
Where to contact
There are many services that accept citizens’ requests. These include government websites and online resources of activists.
City administration
The first way is to write an appeal to the local administration or the city improvement department. Go to the official website of the locality and find the “Appeals” section. Attach photographs to the letter and indicate the exact address of the problem area. You will have to wait approximately 33 days for a response: three days are required to register a request, and 30 are given for a response.
However, this is not the most effective way. They may write to you that the hole has not been found, there is no money, or repairs to this area are not planned.
Often officials don’t even try to lift a finger: they are accustomed to impunity, so no one does anything. Why fuss if you don’t face any consequences for inaction? And a person believes in a miracle that just one piece of paper will cause all officials to immediately rush to work. But that's not true.
Vladimir Kostrov
organizer of "RosYama Lipetsk"
Activist websites
It is more effective to write an appeal through activist services. One of the popular ones is “RosYama”.
It automatically generates a letter based on the data you enter and sends it to the traffic police. It is better to attach photographs to the application and mark on the map the place in question so that the inspection officer can find it. Before submitting information, you need to register on the site so that you can receive a response by email.
Before: broken road in the village of Nizhegorodka, Bashkortostan. rosyama.ru
After: the repaired road. rosyama.ru
In some cities there are communities of activists, for example, “Beautiful Petersburg”, “Beautiful Lipetsk”, “Beautiful Kirov”. On their websites you can complain not only about roads, but also about other problems: broken sidewalks, unauthorized dumping, or parking on the lawn.
The resource automatically generates a message and sends it to the responsible municipal authority, but not to the traffic police. And this is the downside: they may send you an unsubscribe.
If the appeal was effective and the road was repaired, change the status of the complaint on the website and brag about your success on social networks. The required work may not be done in the best possible way, but it is still a victory.
Before: there is no sidewalk, in the off-season people walk on mud. vk.com/lipetsk_krasiv
After: the sidewalk is made. vk.com/lipetsk_krasiv
Traffic police website
The traffic police monitors road safety, so the most effective way is to contact them directly.
This can be done through the official website. It doesn’t matter who owns it and where the road is located: in the yard, in a parking lot or on the main street of the city. After receiving the request, the traffic police officer checks whether there is a problem. If yes, he issues an order to the owner of the road for repairs. It must be completed within 1–14 days according to GOST. You can download application templates here; in the header, don’t forget to change the region to yours.
The traffic police website has a feature: you cannot paste copied text into the “Text of appeal” field. In this way, the department stops the mass sending of messages through copy-paste. We bypassed this system and began to attach the text of the appeal along with photographs in a Word document, and in the field itself write a short phrase: “Please consider my application (the application and photographs of the offense are attached in the files).” It is advisable to submit the appeal in Word 97–2003 format so that the traffic police can open and read it.
Vladimir Kostrov
If you see that somewhere there is no hatch or there are dangerous holes that could cause an accident, report them immediately by phone to the traffic police duty department so that the responsible employees can take action faster. Perhaps with this appeal you will prevent an accident or save someone’s life, and not only achieve road repairs.
GOST for pits
The next step is to determine the scale of the disaster. Gosstandart approved GOST R 50597-93, which contains information on the acceptable condition of roads. In 2021, a new GOST was introduced and is currently in force, describing the condition of roads - GOST R 50597-2017.
The document determines the extent of damage for various types of roads, as well as their liquidation deadlines. For example, for roads of category B, that is, just those that are located in municipalities, the violation of a road section can be no more than 2.5 square meters per 1000. And the period for elimination is no more than 10 days .
In addition, the act established the maximum dimensions of the pit: the length should be no more than 15 cm, width - 60, and depth - 5 . If at least one value exceeds the specified values, then the authority in charge of the road must protect road users from possible damage. For this purpose, a sign is installed and the pit is fenced off. And then it is eliminated in the shortest possible time.
Attention: due to climatic conditions, in the spring the permissible damage rate increases to 7 square meters.
Lawyers of Russia +7-921-392-91-03 Sadofeeva Elena Mikhailovna
You can find out how to correctly and consistently get a road repaired in the article “How to get a road repaired?”
Prepared by a lawyer: Sample - Application to the administration of the city of Gatchina for road repairs.
To the Administration of Gatchina, Leningrad Region
From the applicant's full name________________ Registered ________________; Resides _____________________ Tel. ___________________________
Statement
I am the owner of a residential building located at the address: Leningrad region, Gatchina, building __.
This house was purchased by me and my family members for the purpose of moving to a permanent place of residence in the Leningrad region.
In the previously mentioned area of Gatchina there are _____ houses.
Access to my house must be on a public dirt road.
In fact, no one maintains the road surface; the road was leveled with a grader and road filling was last carried out more than 25 years ago.
Over the past period of time, the road has fallen into complete disrepair. The stream that flows next to the road overflows across the road during the flood period.
In its current state, the road to my house at any time of the year cannot be reached by not only a passenger car, but also an ambulance and a fire truck, which jeopardizes my health and safety, as well as the health and safety of my family members.
In accordance with Article 12 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 N 196-FZ (as amended on July 23, 2013) “On Road Safety”, the responsibility for ensuring compliance of the condition of roads during their maintenance with established technical regulations and other regulatory documents is assigned to persons carrying out the maintenance of highways.
In accordance with Article 17 of the Federal Law of November 8, 2007 N 257-FZ (as amended on July 23, 2013) “On highways and road activities in the Russian Federation and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation,” the maintenance of highways is carried out in accordance with the requirements of technical regulations in order to ensure the safety of highways, as well as the organization of traffic, including by maintaining the uninterrupted movement of vehicles on highways and safe conditions for such traffic.
Taking into account the provisions of Articles 13, 18 of the previously specified Federal Law No. 257-FZ, the responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and repair of the previously specified section of the road lies with local governments.
Based on the foregoing,
ASK:
- Conduct a survey of the road section that is the entrance to house No. ____, located on the street. _____________ in Gatchina, Leningrad region.
- Carry out repairs to the previously specified road by filling the road, leveling the road, laying a drainage pipe for the smooth flow of the stream, and also take measures for regular further maintenance of the previously specified road on the street. _____________ in Gatchina, Leningrad region.
- Please send the response to this application to me by mail to the address _____________________ within the period prescribed by law.
Appendix: If available, you can attach a photo of the “road”, on ______ sheets
Date: ____________ Signature: _____
For citizens located far from St. Petersburg, remote legal advice and assistance from a lawyer is possible: sending photocopies of documents to the email address [email protected] , followed by consultation with the client via mobile communication,
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Please note that each case is special and requires an individual approach.
By rushing and saving on consulting a lawyer, you can lose the case at the stage of filing a claim, and lose much more.
Use the proposed sample statements, complaints, claims ONLY after consultation with a professional lawyer or qualified lawyer.
Application procedure
Regardless of whose control it is to ensure the safety of the road surface for users, if it is a government body, then it must be guided by Federal Law No. 59 of 06/02/2006 to take into account and respond to requests.
The regulatory legal act determines the procedure for consideration and the content of the application itself. It must contain information about the applicant, his data and contacts . Information about which structure the paper is fed into.
If the appeal is made to the municipality, then it will be enough to indicate: to the City Administration. All requests received by the organization go through the public reception, which distributes applications among departments. And the transition process is accompanied by the signature of the head. Therefore, if it is possible to indicate the name of the head of the city, then this will not be superfluous.
The application itself will need to describe the essence of the appeal. Naturally, when processing it, administration employees are required to go to the site, but it would still be a good idea to attach photographs. To accurately determine the location, the street is registered, at the level of which house numbers a hole or other identification marks, buildings, etc. were formed . The document must be signed and dated.
The application is drawn up in two copies. One is submitted to the authorities, the second remains in the hands of the applicants. On the document that remains with the citizens, the administration employee puts a stamp, affixes the date of acceptance and signature. Despite the fact that all applications received by the authorities are subject to registration, it is better to have the fact of submitting the paper with you. If the application is submitted via mail, it is better to do this by letter with notification.
The same rules apply to requests submitted via the Internet. The only difference will be the address. For this method, you will need to indicate which option for receiving a response is more acceptable: sending it by email or sending it to your actual residential address.
Application for road repair to the administration: features
The design of this document can be arbitrary. The law does not provide specific requirements for such documents. Therefore, you can use printed forms as a sample to fill out. When filling out the form, you must correctly indicate the name of the local government authority. In addition, the document must be addressed to the head of the administration. The requirement is drawn up in one copy and submitted to the general administration department in person.
The period for consideration of applications cannot exceed 30 days from the date of submission.
These documents are not concluded or terminated, as they represent an appeal from residents to local authorities. They do not need to be notarized.
Reasons for return
Article 11 59 of the Federal Law defines the grounds for leaving a request unanswered. These include:
- anonymous;
- if there is already a court decision . It is returned within 7 days with an explanation of the appeal or cassation procedure;
- containing profanity and threats ;
- unreadable _ But if it is possible to decipher the address, then within 7 days a response is given with a request to provide the text in a more understandable form.
If an appeal to the authorities occurs on the same issue, no new grounds for the application are given in the paper, while the answer has already been given more than once, the head of the organization may decide to stop the correspondence. The applicant is provided with a response that due to the lack of new information that could be provided by government officials, the exchange of letters is suspended until new arguments or information emerge.
In addition, answers will not be given if their preparation requires the disclosure of state secrets.
How to complain correctly?
The first thing to consider is knowledge. Of course, before filing a complaint, you should study the road, the laws regarding roads, the standards already mentioned, you may even have to find the owner of the road.
The second is a competent drafting of the complaint. Here it is worth paying attention to one important nuance - photographs of potholes on the road. Some people neglect this point and do not include it in their complaint, but this is direct evidence, which is very important.
How to take a photograph for a complaint? It is better to take photos during the day or in the morning, when it is light, so that the hole on the road can be clearly seen. Be sure to take several photos to show the depth, width and length of the hole. In general, change angles. Be sure to take a photo that will help the authorities find the hole, show in the photo what is around.
After the photo is taken, you should decide which method of sending a complaint is closer to you. There are only two of them:
- Online complaint.
- Paper letter via mail.
When choosing a method, consider the time you will spend sending, as well as the money spent, the waiting time for a response, and other factors that matter to you.
Let's start looking at both options. The first one is online. To send a complaint online you need to find the website of the State Traffic Inspectorate. In the “Services” section you will find “Reception of requests”, click on it and fill out certain fields with information. Don't forget to select your region, this is an important point.
Also indicate your real name and correctly formulate the purpose of your appeal. As for the text, in general, here it is worth indicating the street on which you found the hole. Indicate the house number or stop that is located near the pit, this will help in finding it. It is also worth indicating exactly where the hole is located; it could be the side of the road or its middle. Make a specific description so that it is easy to find and study the pit.
Don't forget about the photo. There is a function here that allows you to attach photos, but their size, in general, should not exceed 5 MB. If you have a lot of photos, then you should reduce their size so that they all attach without problems.
Read on topic: Where to complain about bad roads
As for the second option for filing a complaint, that is, by mail, it is better to send a registered letter, which will include a list of the attachments. Why is this so? Because such a letter can be tracked using a special track number. The sent letter will thus reach the recipient, and you will be notified when the letter will be delivered. A list of attachments is needed to prove that you included photographs in the letter, and that the purpose of contacting the State Traffic Inspectorate is for potholes on the roads. Also, if something happens, the inventory will help prove that the letter contained a statement addressed to a specific person.
If we talk about the application, it must be drawn up correctly. Here it is important to write down all the laws and indicate the points in which these laws are violated. As for the application form, it is standard.
It is also worth mentioning the response from the traffic police. You should receive it within 30 days, no more. Such norms are again established by law.
Consideration
Received requests must be registered within 3 days. If it was decided that the document was not submitted within the scope of competence, then within 7 days it is forwarded to the appropriate authority and the applicant is notified about this.
If the application is submitted at a personal meeting, then explanations on the issue can be given right on the spot. When the applicant admits that the information received is enough for him, an entry is made about this on the admission card and a written response is not given.
If it is impossible to provide information about options and time frames for solving the problem on the spot, or if the applicant insists on receiving a document, then answers to questions are given in writing.
And if the appeal occurs through a letter, then the answer must be drawn up on paper. That is, if the application contains a request to repair the road, then you should receive a response about the measures that were taken to eliminate the violations, or that the object is included in the list of repairs for a specific period.
The application processing period is 30 days . If additional study of the issue is necessary, requesting other documentation from other organizations, then the time may increase by another month , taking into account that the applicant is notified about this.
While the application is being processed, the applicant can supplement the case with new evidence, provide other materials, and ask to request the necessary documentation from other structures. Even before a verdict is made on the issue, the applicant can familiarize himself with the already collected data and give his explanations.
How to force officials to repair the road to the dacha
Attention It is possible that the application will be submitted to officials when the budget of municipal expenditures for the coming year is determined and they will, among other things, be allocated for the repair of the street referred to in the application. How to force officials to repair the road to the dacha Then attach a photo to the letter that you send to the officials demanding that the road be repaired.
It would be better if this was a collective appeal from street residents to the administration. Important However, nothing prevents one resident from contacting the officials with a letter.
In the application, which is drawn up in any form, indicate the location of the street, describe the area that is to be paved. It is worth displaying the arguments why you think that high-quality road surface is necessary here, and how difficult it is to move along the street now.
A sample letter about a request to pave the access roads to street A, the transition process is accompanied by the signature of the head. Therefore, if it is possible to indicate the name of the head of the city, then this will not be superfluous. The application itself will need to describe the essence of the appeal.
My war for the road The applicant is given an answer that due to the lack of new information that could be provided by government officials, the exchange of letters is suspended until new arguments or information emerge.
Moscow Viewed once. Moscow Viewed 81 times. That's what a piece of paper with legal requirements can do! So to everyone who is trying to whine that the laws in our country don’t work, we suggest that you first try this option yourself, and then whine, if you really want to whine... There are laws in the country, the laws are quite good and working.
You just need to enforce these laws. That's the whole secret! Yes, we have to strive to repair broken roads! But this is quite possible and nothing is impossible here. So take these templates into service, fill out applications and send them to the prosecutor's office.
Asphalting rural streets collective letter If there are doubts about ownership, you can check whether the name of the route is included in the list of roads for which the federal authorities are responsible. Within a month plus time for postal forwarding, if you sent a registered letter, the officials did not respond to the appeal or a refusal was received?
Feel free to make the same statements to officials of higher rank. Write to the head of the city, then to the governor, citing the decision of district officials. You can contact local deputies who may provide support in resolving this issue. Do not hesitate to seek satisfaction of your demands; if officials refuse and deputies do not help, contact the prosecutor’s office or the court.
Review Received requests must be registered within 3 days. If it was decided that the document was not submitted within the scope of competence, then within 7 days it is forwarded to the appropriate authority and the applicant is notified about this. If the application is submitted at a personal meeting, then explanations on the issue can be given right on the spot.
When the applicant admits that the information received is enough for him, an entry is made about this on the admission card and a written response is not given. If it is impossible to provide information about options and time frames for solving the problem on the spot, or if the applicant insists on receiving a document, then answers to questions are given in writing.
All applications must be made in 2 copies, both copies must be filled out and signed, so that you have one set in your hands, as it will be useful in the future. These templates already contain all references to federal laws and GOSTs that regulate road maintenance issues and the responsibility of local authorities.
All you need to do is fill in your details in the header, indicate in the text of the application the names of the streets whose roads are broken or damaged, and sign it or collect the signatures of your neighbors. We believe that the inaction of the village administration, expressed in the failure to ensure the proper quality of public roads, is illegal, significantly violates the rights and interests of a certain circle of people, and contributes to the increase in the occurrence of accidents on the roads.
And children need to go to school, kindergarten, people need to go to work along miserable paths and trenches, like after the war. God forbid that someone needs medical assistance, they will have to carry the person to the federal highway in their arms. Can this happen in the 21st century, in Russia??? According to paragraph. However, in practice, complaints made on behalf of several people are subject to more careful consideration and search for options for its satisfaction.
The rules for writing a paper on behalf of several applicants are the same as for one. The difference is that if there are many applicants, then their list is indicated after the description of the essence, and one or more representatives of the initiative group are written in the header.
If their number allows you to register everyone before the text of the statement, then you can do it this way. Complaint about inaction If there is no response to your application or your legal requirements have been denied, then you should complain.
Sample application to the road repair administration
It must contain information about the applicant, his data and contacts. Information about which structure the paper is fed into.
If the appeal is made to the municipality, then it will be enough to indicate: to the City Administration. All requests received by the organization go through the public reception, which distributes applications among departments.
And the transition process is accompanied by the signature of the head. Therefore, if it is possible to indicate the name of the head of the city, then this will not be superfluous. The application itself will need to describe the essence of the appeal.
Naturally, when processing it, administration employees are required to go to the site, but it would still be a good idea to attach photographs. To accurately determine the location, the street is registered, at the level of which house numbers a hole or other identification marks, buildings, etc. were formed.
The document must be signed and dated. The application is drawn up in two copies.
Gryaznovka, and the most broken section between the villages of K. Lubna and Gryaznovka remained in disrepair. Every day along this road our children get to school by bus to the village.
Kuiman, which is 18 km, because... our school was closed. Children suffer (because of potholes, the bus constantly stops, children get seasick, and travel time increases), all this negatively affects the quality of knowledge acquisition, children are physically and mentally tired. Also along this road, fellow villagers every day get to work in the nearest settlements, as well as in the city of Lipetsk and the city.
Lebedyan, because There are not enough jobs in the village for all the jobs. Our cars suffer from this; due to the impossibility of driving around, the wheels of our cars fall into holes, which leads to significant damage, many are late for work.
How to file a collective claim for road repairs?
Common property If a hole has formed on the road near the house, then first we determine whether it is part of the local area. If it falls into it, then according to the rules of Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006, its owners are the owners of the areas in this house.
Whatever management option is chosen, the burden of maintaining it rests with the residents. That is, regardless of whether a homeowners association is formed or the house is maintained by a management company, the repair scheme is the same.
The decision on repairs must be made at a general meeting of residents. They are the ones who determine what, when, and in what order to carry out on their territory.
Collective letter
59 Federal Law in Art. 2 defines the right for applicants to submit individual applications or to join groups for this purpose . According to the law, if the application is justified, then there are no priorities for considering applications from one person or several. However, in practice, complaints made on behalf of several people are subject to more careful consideration and search for options for resolving it.
The rules for writing a paper on behalf of several applicants are the same as for one. The difference is that if there are many applicants, then their list is indicated after the description of the essence , and one or more representatives of the initiative group are written in the header. If their number allows you to register everyone before the text of the statement, then you can do it this way.
Collective complaints – is it worth it or not?
To achieve their goal, some are starting to collect signatures from neighbors so that the authorities can see that there are a lot of people who want to achieve smooth roads. In fact, it is worth understanding that roads are required to be repaired in any case, especially when a complaint is received, no matter whether it is signed by one person or an entire street. The article has already mentioned compliance with laws, which cannot be ignored, and if something happens, you should definitely contact the prosecutor’s office. She is obliged to resolve all legal problems regarding you and the government agency.
If you decide to make a collective complaint, then you will have to spend a lot of time going around each neighbor and asking for his signature. Most often, all neighbors sign up because roads are a common problem. After your complaint has been signed, which you have drawn up in advance, read to each neighbor, checked with the address, location, and maybe even added important data, you send this complaint by mail. Here, again, do not forget about the method of sending by mail, which was described above, this will be more correct and effective in such a matter as getting the road repaired.
Complaint about inaction
If there is no response to your application or your legal requirements have been denied, then you should complain.
You can contact the traffic police. This body is obliged to monitor not only how participants comply with traffic rules, but also how the authorities maintain highways .
Since the quality of roads naturally affects safety, this area is within the competence of the inspectorate.
Inspection staff will conduct an inspection and, upon reaching a verdict on the need for urgent repairs, will issue an order to the municipality .
In addition, you can contact the prosecutor's office . This is a government body created specifically to carry out supervisory activities, including over the administration.
Code of Administrative Offenses in Art. 12.34 we provide sanctions for this violation in the amount of 20-30 thousand for officials and 200-300 thousand for legal entities. And in a situation where the poor condition of the roads has led to minor and moderate harm to health, a fine of 50-100 thousand is imposed on the employee and 400-500 on the organization.
If, due to the poor condition of the roads, a person himself or his property was injured, then he can go to court for compensation for damage . Read how to complain about a judge here.
Quality requirements
Several GOSTs have been developed that define the requirements for the condition of highways. According to GOST 52766-2007, general requirements are set; GOST 52398-2005 specifies the classification of roads and a list of requirements for them.
Special SNiPs have been issued with rules for road repairs. Repair work on rural roads is carried out, according to GOST 50597-93, within 10 days, expressways must be repaired within 5 days.
If responsible persons do not comply with road safety requirements, do not carry out timely repairs, or do not fulfill maintenance obligations, they are subject to administrative fines. The local administration has no right to inaction in eliminating problem areas on the road that pose a threat to the safety of movement along the highway.
