Metro declares ‘war’ on potholes in city
Mashigo says the municipality has since declared a “war” against potholes in the city, by establishing projects that sought to repair them.
The Tshwane metro has received a deluge of complaints from motorists regarding potholes recently.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the municipality has since declared a “war” against potholes in the city, by establishing projects that sought to repair them.
On the question of whether residents are allowed to repair potholes themselves, he said this was illegal.
“The city has a by-law on working in a public road reserve and it states that before one can do work in a public road reserve, one has to first acquire a wayleave from the City of Tshwane.
“We urge residents to report potholes at pothole@tshwane.gov.za and claims for car damage due to potholes can be lodged through the City’s legal department,” Mashigo added.
This follows a complaint by a Soshanguve resident Lebogang Mahlangu who told Rekord that potholes in her area were a nightmare.
“My windscreen had an initial crack but potholes from Soshanguve made it worse,” Mahlangu said.
Director of Tyres equipment parts association (TEPA) Vishal Premlall said potholes have ruined the joy of driving for Pretoria motorists.
“The reality is that they are here to stay as heavy traffic, rain and lack of maintenance continue to trouble road infrastructure.
“When a wheel hits a pothole, it drops into the hole and has to roll out of it. The damage is almost never due to the wheel entering the pothole, but rather the impact of it exiting the hole,” said Premlall.
He further said that when one hits a pothole it does not just damage car tyres, but other components of the car as it absorbs the impact.
TEPA advised car owners on what to do when they hit a pothole:
– Depending on where you are and it is safe to do so, get out of the car and assess the damage
– If the car is immobilised, call your insurer or repairer to arrange for the vehicle to be recovered
– It is advisable to take the car to an accredited fitment centre or workshop to be checked out as soon as possible after the event.
ALSO READ: Tshwane-burgemeester sê hy sal saak regstel na AfriForum-lede R15k boetes opgelê is
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
