Driven over wet tarmac - who is at fault here?

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We would need pics of said girlfriend before we can make a judgement of the above.

Me personally I don't think she is at fault. It isn't even marked. If its a public path she can/should be able to contact the LA.

Looking at those pics... The local authority is at fault. Raise a complaint and tell her to advise client to do the same. Signage goes up before action. Any resident health and safety/highway act guru able to confirm???
 
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It's a £30 job at best. Or free if someone uses paint thinner, rags and a wire brush. I know because I cleaned some of the evil stuff off my drive last month.
 
I am thinking of replying with this:

Hi [Client],

Thanks for your message. Sorry for taking a little while to get back to you and leaving you waiting, I wanted to seek advice before continuing.

I want to state from the off that I will be taking this up with the council as there was improper signage outside your property and along the street. The pictures they [workers] have showed you were taken after the incident when they placed a load more signs down. Pre incident there was not enough signage, post incident there was plenty. I have attached two images. Image #1 was taken before the incident, #2 after.

As you can see, there is a marked difference between the two. The stance of the council to avoid liability and to blame me is to be expected, all councils are cash strapped after all and want to avoid unnecessary expenditure. I want to make it clear that I do not accept full liability for this and will be in contact with the council as I feel they are stonewalling you and looking to me as a soft target to pay up. The fact they hastily placed more signs down straight away shows there were clearly not enough.

As my client, I do not want you to have to live with your drive in this state so in the interests of being pragmatic, please could you source a few quotes from reputable companies that you feel will perform a satisfactory job. Dependant on the cost I will either pay in full for it and then chase the council or if the cost is high I will need to involve my insurance company and then chase the council.

Again, I am sorry this has happened.
[Name]
x
 
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- The tyre marks in the grass were made when she reversed out of the drive, I do think though that she must have half mounted the curb to gain entry though.

There's no physical way she couldn't have looking at the tyre marks, if she tries to tell you other wise then she's invented a hover van.

Personally I'd avoid all the waffle in that response, just tell them you'll have it cleaned. Who you then blame or chase for the cost is of no concern to them.
 
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Tell the Council and your GF's client that she was off her proverbials on a wild mixture of booze and drugs and it was therefore not her fault and, furthermore if you please, she will be pursuing damages to her high which came crashing down when the impact of the tarmac dulled her mood :cool:

#best lawyer
#can't fail
#get a new GF who knows how to drive
 
An accident but the cone was there, you can even see that your other half drove around the crone over the grass.

Your actions should be: you phone around and get the clients drive cleaned (tarmac will clean off it has no magical qualities), no reason to leave the customer to sort it out as they are the one party who have done nothing wrong.

Then if you want take your receipts and photographs to the council and see if you can get your money back (doubtful but worth a go).
 
If it were me, I would do as you are. Complain to high heaven about the lack of signage. In fairness if your in a rush and there is one cone on the floor per 200 feet, you can be expected to ignore it. (she could have actually got closer to it and not mounted the curb, you might want to ask her about her poor driving :D)

On the customer note, it's not their fault. You need to sort that like it seems you are, I would save myself some money and do it myself then if all else fails get the cleaners in. Go do it for her and get massive brownie points. I won't be harder than a bit of elbow grease and a brush/cleaner. Any self respecting client who demands anything more than just returning it to the way it was is trying to get a nice driveway cleaning for free.

I'm suprised the council aren't trying to pursue her for having to redo the pavement. :eek:
 
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Dont ask them to search for quotes, itl just leave a bad taste in their mouth when they deal with you in the future, whether it comes out of their pocket or yours. I would take care of it ASAP and then chase the council yourself.

The problem is that when you start blaming someone else and dont ever hold yourself responsible, whether they are partially or fully at fault, it creates a habit of carelessness. Put it this way: if you feel you require a minimum of half a dozen signs and cones blocking a driveway to inform you that there is wet tarmac, then you wont pay significant notice to less than that.

I'm suprised the council aren't trying to pursue her for having to redo the pavement. :eek:

I would imagine it would more likely end this way than with a council pay out. My money is that no one will get paid except the cleaner.
 
thats slurry seal for footway's.

Unfortunately she wont have an argument as from your pictures she clearly drove up a full height and a dropper kerb (which is an offence under the highway act) in order to get pass the cone which was blocking the dropped driveway entrance. Therefore i doubt the council would be interested

it also looks like the cones up the road have the signs pointed in alternating opposite directions in order to let motorists know that there was wet tar. which to me looks like it may have been obvious.

a bit of brake cleaner or driveway cleaner or even fairy washing up liquid will shift the bitumen from the driveway as all bitumen is now water based hence the pothole we get after bad weather.
 
Im self employed window cleaner and I have liability insurance but for this I would take it on the chin and sort it for this customer asap.
 
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