Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Thursday, 28 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 February 2010. It was answered by Chris Mole (Labour) on Thursday, 4 February 2010 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what advice he has received on the level of compensation payable to motorists in respect of damage to vehicles during the recent severe weather conditions, incurred as a result of the state of repair of roads for which the Highways Agency has responsibility.

Answer: The Highways Agency has a comprehensive road resurfacing programme to reduce the potential for potholes and other surface defects but there is no doubt that the severity of the recent weather conditions has led to an increase in defects to the road surface. The Highways Agency is confident that the regime for identifying these defects and the resources necessary for undertaking repairs is sufficient to keep England's motorways and trunk roads in a safe and serviceable condition.There is no automatic right to compensation. The law makes it quite clear that highway authorities cannot be blamed for everything that happens on their roads and provided that they can demonstrate that they took all reasonable steps to ensure that the highway was safe, they will not be found negligent. Unfortunately, incidents do occur but very few are actually attributable to negligence on the part of the highway authority. The majority of claims brought against the Highways Agency are successfully defended.

Secondary information