Michigan’s bad roads cost the state’s drivers billions of dollars in vehicle damage every year.
There is a system to reimburse motorists who get a flat tire or need other repairs after hitting a pothole, but only a fraction of claims is being paid out by the state and local roads departments.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Lauren Gibbons with Bridge Michigan who reported on why it’s so hard for drivers to get paid back for repairs.
Interview Highlights
On how the claims system typically works
Road agencies essentially have 30 days upon learning about the pothole, or if the pothole has been there for more than 30 days and nothing has been done about it, that would be the situation where somebody might be able to get reimbursed. But if it's less than 30 days, if it's a situation where a person is the first person to hit a pothole, for example, and no one knew about the pothole before, in those instances, they wouldn't get reimbursed because that person would be the first to find out about this pothole. The road agency wouldn't have known yet.
On why there hasn't been a big push to change the system
Government agencies are not thrilled with the idea of changing the current system, right? There's concern that increased liability for government agencies, specifically, road agencies could ultimately detract from the amount of money that goes into fixing the roads, fixing the potholes in the first place. So, there's a big push-pull here.
On what drivers can do if their vehicles are damaged and want to file a claim
Some ways that make it a little easier, or at least present the best case for a claim to be considered is if you have extensive documentation collected, if you have a chance to take a photo of the damage, of the pothole that caused it or whatever road damage it was that caused the damage. Another important thing to remember is to figure out which state agency owns the roads. There is a time limit with which you can submit your claim and if you send it to the wrong agency that could make the process go a little slower and potentially time you out of the claims process.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Michigan’s bad roads cost the state’s drivers billions of dollars in vehicle damage every year.
There is a system to reimburse motorists who get a flat tire or need other repairs after hitting a pothole.
But only a fraction of claims are being paid out by the state and local roads departments.
Lauren Gibbons with Bridge Michigan reported on why it’s so hard for drivers to get paid back for repairs. She joins me now. Thank you for being here.
Lauren Gibbons: Thanks so much for having me.
Saliby: Can you talk about the state's claims system for damages from potholes, just as kind of an overview?
Gibbons: So essentially, what this damage claims process is, it's the highway exception to Michigan's government immunity laws. So, for the most part in Michigan, government agencies and their employees can't be held liable for government activity, and that's in part to, you know, save from frivolous lawsuits and those kinds of things. But in the case of Michigan highways, there is an exception to that rule which is if the road is not considered in a state of reasonable repair, that would be a situation where somebody could potentially file for claims damages if their vehicle is damaged.
Road agencies essentially have 30 days upon learning about the pothole, or if the pothole has been there for more than 30 days and nothing has been done about it, that would be the situation where somebody might be able to get reimbursed.
The bar is set pretty high for people to meet that claim because what's considered reasonable repair is 30 days. So, road agencies essentially have 30 days upon learning about the pothole, or if the pothole has been there for more than 30 days and nothing has been done about it, that would be the situation where somebody might be able to get reimbursed.
But if it's less than 30 days, if it's a situation where a person is the first person to hit a pothole, for example, and no one knew about the pothole before, in those instances, they wouldn't get reimbursed because that person would be the first to find out about this pothole. The road agency wouldn't have known yet.
So, there is that exception, and this claim process does exist. It is just pretty hard to get reimbursed for highway damages.
Saliby: And you also found that quite a few claims are rejected beyond just kind of how short of a filing period there is, you know, why are the state and these departments from local municipalities defending their choice to reject these claims?
Gibbons: Well, it's the way that the law is written. If, again, they have that 30-day window, and oftentimes, if they have gotten a report, and they moved to repair it within that given time, or if, as I said, you know, no one knew about it or if it was a brand new pothole, those were often some of the reasons that things got rejected.
It's usually, road agencies, if they get a claim like this, they will go back through their records, see the repair records, when they last checked the road, whether they got any reports from the public about damages on that road, and oftentimes, they will fall within that 30-day window. So, that's usually some of the reasons, you know, and there's always exceptions.
And of course, it's important to note that not all highway damage claims are related to potholes. Most of them are, a vast majority of them are. Sometimes it's damage, like from a windshield or an issue with a road maintenance truck on the road. So, sometimes there are those claims as well, but I would say the vast majority of them are denied because they don't meet that reasonable repair window.
Saliby: Does there seem to be an impetus maybe in the state legislature to fix the current system, make changes?
Gibbons: Yeah, so when I was investigating this and looking through the FOIA, I went back and looked, and there have been efforts in the past by some lawmakers who have looked at this system and looked at potential ways to change it.
Some have suggested increasing the amount of money that could be filed for a claim. Right now, the cap is at $1,000, and as anyone who has had to fix their car based on potholes may know, it does add up pretty quick. So, that's been a suggestion.
A suggestion has been made in the past to, you know, potentially reduce that timeframe from 30 days to a lower amount of time. And then past Senate [Minority] Leader Jim Ananich back in 2018, suggested the possibility of maybe creating a fund for people who have hit potholes, specifically, and perhaps simplifying the damage claims process for that group of individuals.
There's concern that increased liability for government agencies, specifically, road agencies could ultimately detract from the amount of money that goes into fixing the roads, fixing the potholes in the first place.
But those haven't really gone anywhere. Partly, I would imagine, in part because, you know, government agencies are not thrilled with the idea of changing the current system, right? There's concern that increased liability for government agencies, specifically, road agencies could ultimately detract from the amount of money that goes into fixing the roads, fixing the potholes in the first place. So, there's a big push-pull here.
But yeah, right now, there's not any specific legislation out there. I talked to some lawmakers as I was reporting this story, who said, it's something they might be interested in revisiting. There's no specific plans in the works at this point.
Saliby: So in your research, if a car gets damaged from a pothole or something else on the roads, what's the most successful way that drivers are getting the cost of that damage reimbursed?
Obviously not guaranteed, but what seems to be the best way to get that done?
Some ways that make it a little easier, or at least present the best case for a claim to be considered is if you have extensive documentation collected, if you have a chance to take a photo of the damage, of the pothole that caused it or whatever road damage it was that caused the damage.
Gibbons: On Bridge, I sort of listed out in more detail. If somebody is interested in this process, they can look that up. But just to sum up that information, you know, some ways that make it a little easier, or at least present the best case for a claim to be considered is if you have extensive documentation collected, if you have a chance to take a photo of the damage, of the pothole that caused it or whatever road damage it was that caused the damage.
Another important thing to remember is to figure out which state agency owns the roads. There is a time limit with which you can submit your claim and if you send it to the wrong agency that could make the process go a little slower and potentially time you out of the claims process.
So, determining whether it's a state-owned road, a county-owned road, a city-owned road is a pretty good step. And then yeah, just submit as much information as you can. Figure out the best way to do that, and see what happens.
Saliby: Lauren Gibbons is a reporter with Bridge Michigan. Thank you for joining me.
Gibbons: Yeah. Thanks so much for having me.
