In a recent judgment delivered by the Mahikeng High Court in Petrus Jacobus Gerhardus Jacobs v MEC for Public Works and Roads, Jacobs, a civil engineer obtained an order in his favour that the defendant be liable for 100% of his proven damages arising out of an accident that occurred when his vehicle hit a pothole which caused him to collide with a tree.

The road in question was supposed to be a two-way road, however, it has narrowed over the years and both Jacobs and other community members complained to the local authorities about the road with no action being taken by the local authorities.

The state of the road was such that the potholes were 20 to 30 mm deep and half a metre wide, there were no warning signs to warn uses of the potholes and the trees on both sides of the road created a shade on the road which made it impossible to see the potholes.

Although the defendant admitted a duty of care to the public, it contended that it maintained the road ‘in accordance with the reasonable standard expected’ and that Jacobs failed to keep a proper lookout and should therefore be found to be contributorily negligent.

The court rejected the arguments advanced on behalf of the defendant and found that having established the existence of potholes, and a link between them and the accident, the inescapable conclusion is that the defendant was negligent in failing to maintain the road and keep it in a constant state of repair and judgment was accordingly granted in favour of Jacobs with costs.

Felicia Christian further examines the role of Municipalities here:

https://wylie.co.za/Articles/Read/1412/MUNICIPALITIES-TO-BEWARE-AMID-FLOOD-CRISIS