Hitting a pothole: we receive compensation for a broken car

In the era of developed road transport, the problem of poor condition of roads and highways is especially pressing. Despite the fact that taxes are regularly collected from motorists and pedestrians, government agencies rarely show the desire to repair road surfaces. If a citizen of the Russian Federation, concerned about the state of the roads, decides to write a complaint, he is faced with multiple problems. In different instances, he may be redirected to other supervisory and executive bodies, not wanting to take responsibility. Let's try to figure out where to complain about bad roads and how to fill out the application correctly.

Reasons

The GOST 50597 - 93 standard allows you to assess the quality of the road surface. In the document, roads are conditionally divided into 3 categories (A, B, C) depending on traffic intensity: more than 3 thousand cars per day, from 1 to 3 thousand and up to 1 thousand Each of the roads should not have any damage that limits the speed of traffic flow within the permissible norm.

Clause 3.1.1 of GOST specifies the permissible amount of damage per 1000 m2 for categories A, B, C - this is 0.3 (1.5), 1.5 (3.5), 2.5 (7) m2 for different seasons, since roads are not repaired in winter. The dimensions of separately located pits should not exceed the dimensions: 15x60x5 cm, where 5 cm is the depth of the pit. By comparing the standards with the problem, you can understand whether it makes sense to contact the competent authorities. The time frame for removing unevenness varies from 5 to 10 days, depending on the season and category of the road.

If a housing management company is responsible for the quality of coverage in the yard, when a problem is detected, the algorithm of actions will be different than when contacting government agencies. GOST requirements apply to internal roads, but repairs will be carried out at the expense of the residents of the apartment building, which should be mentioned in the relevant agreement with the housing department.

Legal requirements

Few people know, but specific requirements have been established for roads, which were already enshrined in GOST R50597-93 in 1993. There are certain standards for roads. For example, potholes should not exceed:

• 15 cm in length;
• 60 cm in width;
• 5 cm in depth.

Individual figures speak about the standards regarding inspection well hatches. The first thing worth noting is that the wells should not rise or sag above a certain level of the asphalt surface by more than two centimeters.

The standards also say that some deviations are allowed. For example, for a storm drain grate, a deviation of 3 cm is allowed. This also includes the flooring between the rails at a railway crossing. It is also important that there are restrictions regarding the depth of the unevenness, which should not be violated, namely, about 4 cm is allowed.

If you decide to file a complaint, first of all study the legislation on this issue. If you do not do this, then the complaint will no longer be properly drafted. Remember that the best arguments are those based on the law. Next, we’ll find out how to get the road repaired.

Where to send documents

It is necessary to submit an application along with the evidence base, then the response from government agencies will follow much faster. To do this, it is recommended to take photographs of the hole or pothole and additional photos that allow you to identify a specific section of the road. They can depict nearby road signs, buildings, green spaces and other attractions. A necessary condition is to indicate the dimensions of the hole. You can attach a photo with measurements using a tape measure and level gauge.

You can learn more about the rules for writing appeals to official authorities in the article “How to write a complaint correctly”

Depending on the location of the road, a claim may be sent to the following authorities:

• municipality - is responsible for the condition of city streets of the municipal district;
• district administration - will help in case of significant damage to the roadway;
• Rospotrebnadzor is an organization that you should contact if letters to other authorities did not bring results;
• The traffic police is responsible for ensuring traffic safety, which largely depends on the quality of the roads;

The last authorities to turn to if other government agencies have not helped solve the problem are the prosecutor's office and the court.

In order for the problem to be resolved faster, it is recommended to show awareness of road quality issues by referring to GOST standards, laws and regulations, according to which the application is being submitted.

Collective appeals are more effective. In order to collectively complain about any section of the highway, it is necessary to find people interested in solving the problem. This can be done using the Internet, expanding your circle of communication by visiting specialized forums. To submit a collective claim to the administration, 3 like-minded people are enough.

A complaint to any of the authorities must be considered within 30 days. Otherwise, you must submit an application to the prosecutor's office indicating the problem and the organization that did not take action to eliminate it.

What to include in a complaint about poor road surfaces?

The current legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain certain requirements for the content and structure of a claim. Despite this, when writing a complaint, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

1. It is necessary to measure and write in the text of the claim the extent of damage to the road surface, attaching a clear photo confirming this fact.
2. Indicate the exact coordinates where a certain damage to the roadway is geographically located.
3. Provide links to articles of legislation that regulate the current state of Russian roads.
4. If there is information about who owns the road section, it must be indicated in the appeal to the regulatory authorities.

Helpful advice! A collective complaint is more effective for filing a complaint about bad roads. The legislation does not limit the number of persons who sign it.

Municipality

Municipal authorities are responsible for the quality of local roads within populated areas. This is specified in Law No. 131-FZ dated October 6, 2003, Part 1, Article 14, Clause 5. Municipal authorities enter into contracts for the maintenance of individual sections of roads, and if the driver’s property or health was damaged due to poor-quality road surfaces , the responsibility must be borne by the organization specified in the document.

At the request of the administrative body of the municipality, the responsible organization may be held liable in court and pay the amount of damage caused.

You can leave a complaint to the local administration in writing at your place of residence or by visiting the official website of the local government authorities of the relevant locality. By activating the “Citizens' Appeals” window, you can fill out the form in the Internet reception. It is important to note that the following applications will not be considered:

• submitted anonymously;
• not within the competence of the body;
• having a commercial background;
• containing profanity.

It is important to indicate the return address and email. In accordance with the Federal Law of May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation,” a complaint should be considered no more than 30 days. It is recommended to attach a photo of the inappropriate road surface to your email request.

District administration

The district administration is contacted in case of significant damage to the roadway. The document is drawn up according to a standard procedure identical to filing a complaint with the municipality. It is necessary to indicate one person or group of people filing a claim, a detailed description of the problem, and a photo report of the size of the hole or pothole. It is important to characterize the road damage because it will determine whether repairs will be made.

The complaint is submitted to the district administration in paper or electronic form, where it will be considered in accordance with the existing protocol. To apply electronically, you must visit the official website of the administration.

If no action is taken after the appeal, you should contact Rospotrebnadzor or the prosecutor's office.

Rospotrebnadzor

On the Rospotrebnadzor website you can not only leave a complaint, but also get information on how to act if there is a poor-quality road near an apartment building, as well as familiarize yourself with the legislative framework.

You can contact Rospotrebnadzor in one of the following ways:

• To get background information, just call the toll-free hotline: 8-800-100-0004. For regions of the Russian Federation the call is free. Information is provided on weekdays from 10.00 to 17.00 Moscow time, except for the break from 12.00 to 12.45. Another phone number for inquiries.
• An electronic appeal can be submitted on the page petition.rospotrebnadzor.ru/petition/. It is important to fill out personal identification information and leave contact information for feedback.
• Come with a complaint in person or send it by mail to the address: Vadkovsky Lane, building 18, buildings 5 ​​and 7, Moscow, 127994.

To speed up the application review process, residents of the regions are recommended to contact the branches of Rospotrebnadzor, the addresses and telephone numbers of which can be found on the organization’s official website.

We offer collective complaints about bad roads.

traffic police

You can file a complaint about bad roads with the traffic police in the following way:

• In writing, in person when visiting the relevant traffic police department or by registered mail. The addresses of the departments are indicated on the official website of the organization gibdd.ru. If you indicate your place of residence, contact information for the selected region will be displayed: address, telephone number of the duty station of the traffic police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a hotline.
• In electronic form on the official website of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate gibdd.ru/letter/.

Citizens' appeals are considered only if they contain constructive, reliable information and are not sent from an anonymous person.

The sending program allows you to select the desired region. Next, indicate the purpose of the appeal, the sender’s data, and you can attach electronic photographs and videos to the letter.

Registration of electronic requests occurs within 3 days, consideration - within 30 days. If solving the problem is not within the competence of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, then within 7 days it is forwarded to the appropriate body or official, of which the originator receives a notification.

You can contact the main department for ensuring road safety in person or by registered mail to the address: Myasnitskaya street, building 3, Moscow 101000. You can find out information about receiving citizens by phone. Information about the receipt of a complaint will be provided by the records management department: tel.,.

We offer to download a sample complaint about the state of roads to the traffic police

Increased fines for potholes

Already in March 2021, a law was passed stating that fines for potholes will increase, so it is better for road owners to respond to complaints received from users of these roads the first time. If the owner does not take any measures to repair the road, then he receives a fine and will still have to make repairs, but on top of that he will also have to pay this fine. As for specific amounts, the fine for an official is 20,000 - 30,000 rubles. But a legal entity cannot be envied at all; the amount of such a fine increases to 200,000 - 300,000 rubles.

Prosecutor's office

If, after sending a written appeal to the traffic police, there is no response, citizens have the right to complain about the condition of the roads to the prosecutor's office.

The application must be sent to the structural units of the prosecutor's office in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, a complete list of which can be found on the website genproc.gov.ru/contacts/map/?DISTR=&SUBJ=.

It is also possible to submit a claim through the Internet reception on the website ipriem.genproc.gov.ru/contacts/ipriem/.

To obtain reference information on appeals sent to the prosecutor's office, you should call 8 (495) 987-56-56.

Court

If you constantly fall into the same hole with your wheel, you can cause significant damage to your car, but it is extremely difficult to prove this for the purpose of compensation for damage. And if a pothole caused an accident, you can obtain funds to restore your car and health through legal action. To do this you need:

• call traffic police officers to the scene;
• involve witnesses to the incident to testify;
• carefully read the protocol drawn up by the traffic police officer indicating the cause of the accident and its detailed description, and also ask to indicate the exact parameters of the pit and data on the absence of fences;
• take a photo or video describing the situation.

The traffic police is responsible for eliminating damage to the road by contacting the relevant authorities. Funds for car restoration are obtained only in court. To do this, you will need to provide a copy of the protocol, a photo or video of the accident, involve witnesses, and confirm the information with a professional assessment of the harm caused. The claim is filed at the location of the cause of the accident or in the city court.

Traffic light

If you think that the traffic light cycle can be changed and the throughput of the intersection will only increase, please inform the data center.
Maybe the object really is faulty. If you think that the traffic light cycle can be changed and the throughput of the intersection will only increase, please inform the data center. Maybe the object really is faulty.

It is possible and necessary to report not only about turned off traffic lights, but also about objects with a disrupted operating cycle. As a rule, this immediately leads to the formation of congestion “out of the blue.” The Center for Traffic Control will also consider the appeal regarding the legality of installing road signs and speed bumps.

Traffic light malfunctions are fixed within a few hours (I complained in the morning - everything works in the evening). Unauthorized signs and speed bumps disappear within a few days

Abandoned and dismantled cars

Complaints about ownerless cars are accepted by the Association of Administrative and Technical Inspections (OATI). In order to correctly identify such a car, there is a Decree of the Moscow Government dated September 23, 2014. According to it, “abandoned vehicles” are “vehicles that create interference in the organization of improvement of the territory of the city of Moscow: dismantled vehicles, vehicles that were abandoned by the owner in the prescribed manner, vehicles that do not have an owner.” A dismantled vehicle is defined as “a vehicle that is missing one of the following structural elements: door, wheel, glass, hood, trunk lid, fender, chassis or drive.” The initial inspection will be carried out by local authorities, after which the traffic police will search for the owner. He will be offered to bring the car into proper condition or dispose of it at his own expense. If the owner is not found, the car will be removed without his consent.

Unattended cars disappear - verified. So there is an easy (and legal!) way to free up one or two parking spaces in your yard that are occupied by trash growing into the ground

"Roads without problems"

There are websites where you can complain about the quality of the road. Such portals provide the opportunity to leave a complaint not only about the road surface, but also markings, poor access roads, and poor quality work of snow removal services. The website “Roads Without Problems” dorogibezproblem.ru/ works on this principle, where it is proposed to mark on the map the location of a pothole or hole in order to fix it.

The appeal will be forwarded to the experts of the working group of the public council at the territorial department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, and after the problem is resolved, the relevant information will appear on the “Roads without Problems” website.

Where to file a complaint about the poor condition of sidewalks?

In most Russian cities, there is an “emergency” condition of not only roads, but also sidewalks. If there is poor lighting in this area, then passers-by may not only step into a puddle formed in the potholes of the road after rain, but also get injured. This problem is especially relevant in areas adjacent to houses and in the courtyards of multi-story buildings.

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A single or collective complaint about the “unsafe” condition of sidewalks must be submitted to the Homeowners Association. Most HOAs, to which residents of a residential building approach with complaints about the unsatisfactory condition of sidewalks, refuse the applicants. The refusal is based on the fact that the contract does not take into account the costs of repairing sidewalks and road surfaces.

Helpful advice! Before writing a complaint, it is better to find out from local government representatives the reality of meeting your demands. It is possible that the old coating can be repaired or a new one installed solely at the expense of the residents’ personal finances.

The legislative framework

When filing a complaint about bad roads, you should be guided by the following state standards and regulations:

• State standard of the Russian Federation GOST R 50597-93 “Roads and streets. Requirements for operational condition acceptable under the conditions of ensuring road safety"
• Federal Law No. 196-FZ of December 10, 1995 “On Road Safety”
• Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation.”
• Federal Law No. 131-FZ of October 6, 2003 “On the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation.”
• Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Civil Code of the Russian Federation) dated November 30, 1994 N 51-FZ.

Rules for drawing up a collective complaint

The application form must be filled out by hand in any form, but it is important to indicate the following information:

1. Name of the body to which the claim will be submitted and details of the applicants (full name, residential address, contact numbers).
2. Applicants must indicate 1-2 telephone numbers at which regulatory authorities can contact them.
3. In the main part, it is necessary to briefly and succinctly indicate the reason for filing this complaint and the violation based on GOST standards.
4. Describe the size and coordinates of the damage to the road and attach photographs of the hole in which it is clearly visible.
5. For orientation, it is advisable to attach a photo of the pothole against the background of the surrounding area.
6. Briefly and succinctly state the applicants' requirements.
7. Signatures of the authors of the complaint about the bad road.
8. It is advisable to indicate information about the affiliation of this site with a specific organization.
9. To make a decision in favor of citizens who filed a collective complaint, it is recommended to refer to the current legislation.
10. Date of filing the claim with the regulatory authorities.

Helpful advice! When drawing up a collective complaint, it is necessary to collect a minimum of 3 votes, and the number of citizens signing is not limited.

A collective complaint is considered faster than a single one. Therefore, this is an effective way to solve the problem in case of any violations of road operation and repair. A completed claim is submitted to the city administration at the address of residence and is considered within a certain period prescribed by law.

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