Construction mine field
Are you aware that you may have a legitimate claim against the road authorities for damages caused in areas of road construction? It has been confirmed in a story on Pretoria News that motorists whose vehicles have been damaged as a result of the roadwork on Gauteng’s freeways are able to claim through the contractor’s insurance company.
The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) confirms that claims are processed like any other car insurance claim if it could be proved that the damage occurred as a result of work on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.
Sanral spokeswoman Priya Pillay apologised for any inconvenience caused to motorists by loose stones. It is important to note that:
- Sanral, its contractors and consulting engineers will remain vigilant in preventing stone loss as far as it humanly possible.
- Motorists whose vehicles may have been damaged by loose stones are able to claim for the damage caused to their vehicles from the contractor’s insurance company.
- The contractor and their insurance brokers would investigate the motorist’s negligence and liability in the same way as normal insurance claims.
- It is important that motorists provide the necessary supporting information required for an insurance claim when lodging the claim.
- Visit the contact page on the SANRAL web site.
- Select your region from the map.
- Use the relevant contact details and find the person responsible.
- Good Luck!
Sanral urged motorists to drive with caution in construction zones and not to increase the risk of damage to vehicles. Motorists should adhere to the indicated speed limits as vehicles travelling at higher speeds could dislodge the stones in the period just after the reopening of newly sealed lanes.
Those vehicle owners with potential claims must note that different contractors work on different sections of the project, so motorists should contact the relevant agency to provide the particulars of the incident which led to the damage.
These vehicle owners should note aspects relating to the specific date and time of the damage. We would like to advise the potential claimants to take photos of the vehicle and damage shortly after these incidents and carefully note the exact location and cause of the damage.
Also view:
The Arrive Alive website for more info on “Road Safety and Safe Driving near Construction Zones”
Related posts:
- When are road construction companies deemed negligent for vehicle damage?
- Can I claim for pothole damage?
- Car Insurance, road damage, potholes and the law
- Do disclaimer boards and warning signs exclude liability for damage from road works?
- Will my car insurer pay if the accident was caused by speeding?
- Damage from seawater might be difficult to explain to your car insurer
- Potholes leading to increased frustration and tyre damage claims
- Where in the Eastern Cape can I report animals on the road and road kill?
- How do you annoy a farmer with an unnecessary insurance claim?!
- What are the Rules of the road on overtaking and the lines in the middle of the road?
Hi!
I have heard that there is insurance that pays the outstanding amount on your settlement should your written-off car value be more than your bank settlement. Would you please share some information on it?
09.15.09 at 10:21 am
Hi Ernest,
we assume you meant to say “written-off car value be less than your bank settlement”?
This type of insurance is called Credit Shortfall. Your insurer will pay the shortfall when the amount you owe in terms of a finance agreement (as defined in the Credit Agreements Act) with a finance company exceeds the insured value your insurer pays to settle a claim.
For credit shortfall tpo apply, My vehicle must be uneconomical to repair or have been stolen or hijacked and not recovered.
09.18.09 at 12:09 pm
I would like to find out-my car was damaged in the storm on Friday on the offramp onto the freeway. The road had no lights and my car went onto the side of the barriers where the road is being fixed. It was raining, the road was pitch black and the things blockading the road were not in the right place. Will the Road Agency pay for this damage to my car? If so what’s the procedure?
10.26.09 at 10:15 am
Hi Ernest
My car was written-off about 15months back and the Insurance (Dail Direct) only paid the ‘book-value’ of the vehicle to my Financer. That left me with a settlement of about R17 000.00 still to settle. I had full comprehensive cover, but still “credit shortfall’ was not covered. It that possible, since its called “full comprehensive cover”?
11.03.09 at 3:55 pm
I have had my car damaged due to sanril , i was told that it is sanral responsibility and need to be attended to a.s.a.p
12.30.09 at 12:12 am
I was recently in an accident due to a concrete barrier that had been carelessly moved into the road at the William Nicol off ramp.If I state my claim for this insurance matter to be cleared through Sanral, what time delay would I expect before the matter was resolved?
01.12.10 at 3:06 pm
My car was damaged on sunday, the 10th, under the bridge next to Germiston offramp.
01.13.10 at 12:34 am
This happened in the evening at 20h30 due to big loose stone in the middle of the road
01.13.10 at 12:36 am
Hi, my car was damaged on the freeway coming from Pretoria Potgieter street on my way to Midrand near the Centurion off-ramp, due to stone on the road in the right hand lane. The one tyre is written-off, recently replaced @ R1000 a tyre. Where and how do I claim for this damage?
Thanks
Ben Vorster
01.20.10 at 4:28 pm
Hi.
My windscreen was damaged by the stone on the R21 in Centurion. I cancelled my insurance a month ago and in a process of getting another one. can I claim for this damage and where would I go?
02.04.10 at 12:21 pm
hi, my car was damaged just past goololies interchange. something(stone) was on the road, my left front tyre had burst and my rim has been seriously damaged. i’ve got photo’s of my damaged tyre/rim, this happened on the 06/02/10 at 20h45. my total quote this monring R 4068.00.. Where do i claim and who do i speak too???
02.08.10 at 12:19 pm
Hi,
I’m absolutely livid! Following a 5/6 week wait for a replacement windscreen for my Renault Koleos following a nasty whack from a stone, I finally had the brand new windscreen fitted on Monday afternoon this week and guess what?!?! Another large stone chip this morning (Thursday) while heading back East on the N12. To date I have replaced a low profile tyre due to pothole damage, my wife has had to replace two front tyres as result of a pothole, I’ve replaced a portion of my exhaust system (on a 4×4!!!) after hitting rubble on the N12 West and now a 3 day old windscreen needs to be repaired once again. While I’m thrilled that we will have superb Gauteng roads in several months once the work has been completed, I’m so sick and tired of having to negotiate potholes, rubble, piles of stones and other hazards during my daily commute. I wonder just how much damage is being caused to people and possessions thanks to the state of the roads…. please advise if you are able to assist me with claiming for this damage! Many thanks. Paul Rotherham – paulr@highveld.co.za
02.11.10 at 12:00 pm
Hi ppl,
i need some help please, friday night i hit a piece of building meterial that was left in the road after the caution boards has been removed, this caused me alot off damage as it broke one of my wheels nad bend another one and 2 lower control arms and balljoints…
what i need to know is how to claim and who to contact??
it would be really appreciated for any help.
02.15.10 at 9:20 am
Hi all,
I am a reporter for the Randburg Sun newspaper and if any of the above accidents happened in Randburg please let me know. Furthermore I am currently working on an article about an accident that occured on C.R Swart Road under the N1/N3 bridge in Strijdom Park. If any of you have driven into this construction sight please contact me.
My email sddress is nawhalk@caxton.co.za
02.17.10 at 1:00 pm
Hi,I have damaged my front two tyres because of potholes, I have to buy a new tyre and repair the rim on two of my tyres, who can I contact to put in a claim.
02.22.10 at 3:40 pm
Hi.
I am driving on the highway every day between beyers naude and allendale.
with the old tar being lifted my mags and tyres is totaly bend and bubbled.
windscreen is cracked.
who do i contact about claiming for my mags and tyres?
thank you.
Eddie
03.16.10 at 11:36 am
I damged my wheels and tyres on to different occasions travelling on the N12 east to work how can I claim for damages
04.29.10 at 2:29 pm
Hi
My windscreen was damaged by stones on the centurion highway, please can tell me where i can get it fixed.Can u contact me ASAP
Thanks
04.30.10 at 5:53 pm
There are instructions in this post above on how to claim from SANRAL – Good luck!
04.30.10 at 6:18 pm
I DAMAGED MY TIRE AND WHEELS ON THE HIGH WAY PASSING CENTURION.
HOW DO I GO ABOUT CLAIMING FOR MY DAMAGE?
PLEASE SEND ME SUFFICIENT INFO A.S.A.P..
TAHNK YOU!!!!
05.03.10 at 2:47 pm
HI there
My vehicle was damaged last year September 2009 on a construction road, my insurance refused to pay due to technicalities and since I owe more than 90k on it, can I claim from SANRAL?
I really need assistance on this
Ta
05.05.10 at 10:40 am
Hi
All good and well to say the contractor’s insurance will have to pay.
Why not post the contractors names and areas of road that fall under their responsibilty? I have tried believe me.
Any suggestions otherwise?
I see accidents every second day from Botha ave to the N4 Witbank road, north and south bound, because of uneven road surface and insufficient drainage of the road.
In rainy weather you cannot even drive safely at 60km/h! Dams of water on the “highway” is unacceptable!
05.10.10 at 8:36 am
You are talking about stones…I have seen them…Rocks would be a better description! Beware on the N1 S Botha Ave side…
05.10.10 at 8:37 am
i fell off my motor cycle between 14th ave and bauers naude. i hit a block, that holds the chevron board, but did not have a board on it which was left in the middle of a open lane. not only is the bike damaged i also have 2 cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. this happened at about 05:35 in the morning. what can i claim from SANRAL
05.10.10 at 2:08 pm
Bought a new car – whilst driving on the N17 from Boksburg to Jhb picked up 4 stone chips on the windscreen whilst driving at a constant 120km an hour. On observing the shoulders of the road, there are heaps of stone from resurfacing and construction work. Taxis and emergency vehicles bring these stones right back onto the lanes and then it is picked up and thrown on following vehicles – I have to date replaced 4 windscreens and it is becoming extremely annoying that despite we pay to use a toll road we get such damage – Why on earth should I be driving a new vehicle which has to have it’s windscreen replaced within the first 6 months – somewhere along the line SANRAL who collects the toll fees need to make good losses of vehicle owners. I buy a new car to enjoy the finer benefits of having a car that has not been repaired. One would think that SANRAL accepts responsibility towards motorists as there is no contract between motorists and SANRAL’s contractors.
05.18.10 at 7:13 pm
I drove into a massive pothole that damaged my rim and tyre.What further can I do to be reimbursed for this unforeseen expense?
05.22.10 at 1:18 pm
I would like to point out to SANRAL that narrowing a highway down from four lanes to one, as is frequently done in various places all along the N1, N3, and N12 road works, is massively dangerous – esp. as it is not signposted that the lane reductions are taking place, and the problem is further compounded by the incorrect posting of speed signs in the relevant areas. Courtesy of the SANRAL yahoo’s, my father is in a critical condition on a ventilator in icu after being involved in a multi car pile up on the N12 west on the 20th of May. I am curious to know the death toll so far, which can be attributed to the current road works.
05.31.10 at 10:25 am
I damaged my tyres on two different occasions traveling on the old Witbank Middelburg road. I drove into a massive pothole on the 30/6/2010 and 09/07/2010, how can I claim for damages. I did replaced the tyres @R2280.00 a tyre
07.09.10 at 4:31 pm
I was driving on the N12 Witbank towards Boksburg on Friday evening 16 July 2010.And there’s still a whole lot of construction going on. and my tyre got damaged and my windscreen got chipped due to the unfinished road works. and i had just replaced it on the 24th of June this year.so i need to find out how i can claim this from Sanral.
07.19.10 at 10:37 am
HI, shattered windscreen cos of loose stones on n12. did a claim through Sanral, but they came back and said that :
Dear Sir
We refer to the above incident and advise that as our client, Rumdel Construction Cape, complied with the Contract Conditions with regard to the display of Disclaimer Boards and warning signage at the site of the incident, no liabiolity or negligence can be attributed to them in this matter.
We suggest that you approach your own Insurers.
Yours truly
For and on behalf of Mr Paul Lewis – Director – Engineering
Irene Gibbon
Claims Consultant
What do i do now?? Help??
07.20.10 at 12:00 am
What to do? 8weeks ago I had a serious car accident that was not mechanical or my fault can I get compensation?
I had multiple serious injuries and was in ICU for a week as well as almost another week in hospital, It was not caused by driving error and my car as well as tires were 100%, I find it hard to believe a car can pull off on a straight dry road, When I got released from hospital driving back on the hway I noticed that under 2 kms of straight Hway stretch there were 17 skid marks that means 17 cars pulled off the hway, the exact spot my skid marks began from theres a tollgate tower been constructed I know this has something to do with my car loosing control, I pay tollgate fees to drive on this hway is it safe? not been at work means no pay as well as the tramatic experience of of the accident and my injuries, not forgetting all the other financial losses caused by this accident. Is there anyway that I can hold SANRAL or the municipality responsible. I heard before on 702 that pothole damages can be sent to the municipality how do I go about this.
My damage report (Just some injuries that I can remember)
3 / 4 broken ribs
2 front pelvis dislocations
1 back pelvis crack
Entire right side neck to toe extreme bruising
Bruising of internal organs
Punctured lung
Bladder damage
2 broken teeth
Ongoing pain and restricted movement till I fully recover (that will only be in December)
2 months out of work (no work no pay so all my sick and annual leave is gone and the ballance is unpaid leave)
MTN wants close to R10 000 to replace my contract phone.
I
Did contact the road accident fund, they wont conpensate me RAF does not compensate on potholes or inferior roads, They want me to take it up with Department of Transport or SANRAL. Puting the tollgate on the spot where the accident happend SANRAL should compensate me. Just found out that SAPS is investigating a homicide case on that same spot, that’s scary considering how many motorist travel on the N1 between Olifantsfontien and New Road everyday.
Can someone please advise me what to do.
09.21.10 at 4:35 pm
I Know these comments go back to 2009 and 2010 and it seems as if people have given up in frustration, but the roadworks are still going on. On the N3/N12 it has been constant and I have suffered significant damage to my vehicle over the last year and a half traveling this road very regularly. Added to which my vehicle is 12 years old with reasonably high mileage. I take great care in maintaining this vehicle and diligently service and repair it when it needs to be, but the last two years have been ridiculous. Virtually all of my repairs have been suspension or wheel related.
4 Bent rims repaired last April and need to be repaired once again
2 lower control arms the were replaced last May
both front lower control arm bushes on 3 seperate occasions
both rear shock towers repaired and upper shock mounts replaced as well as the rear floor diff mounting that had to be pulled straight.
The total cost of the repairs have been over R30 000 which I have paid out of my pocket. I am hesitant to put a claim in as I will probably be told that my car is old and its a result of wear and tear, although I know this to be not the case.
What can I do?
07.30.11 at 2:38 pm
Hi
I damaged a tyre on the N17 toll road heading from JHB to Springs thanks to the road being ripped out and I hit a pothole, can i claim for this and if so what is the procedure.
09.08.11 at 6:53 pm
Hi
My vehicle was damage by the windscreen and one tyre have big whole. The road was ripped out by woodmead. This is not the first time this happen, why are we paying tax’s for in South Africa. I feel the department of roads must pay for this. Can sumone please advice me what will be next step. I drive polo TDI 1.9
I can be contact on 072 631 8775.
This happen 24/10/2011 at 17:25 – 17:40
10.25.11 at 3:22 pm
Hi, My car is written off due to a signboard that fell on my car. What and where can i claim??
11.21.11 at 4:42 pm
On the 20 January 2012 I was driving my car(Silver grey Astra CDE,1600,2001 model>number plate CA 699985), at about 21H30 , it was raining, I was following 2 trucks and a Citi Golf ,we were driving bumper to bumber. I was on my way to Pretoria from Cape Town. I started to rain harder . This time around we were still in N1 39 km to Beautfort West in a place called Springfontein Farm. Suddenly those 2 trucks and 1 Citi Golf stopped and I also stopped in the middle of the road as it was raining harder . The water pushed my car from left hand side to right until my vehicle fell on the drivers side. Then the water suddenly came in. The water pushed my car further as there was no rail-barrier and my car fell over on the big hole. Me and my friend were lucky to come out of that vehicle. The water were full in the car. I lost my car cos according to Koos contact number :0823706464 my vehicle is declared written off . He only manage to take that vehicle the following day after the rain sunk on that hole. I lost financial implication, first Koos charged me R1900 to take out my vehicle by crane, secondly my laptop and blackberry torch cell phone are damaged due to water and no longer working. My ID and passport were damaged. My car radio is also damaged. The worst of all I dont have an insurance on that cos I finished paying for it. I also lost financial implication cos I had to book a hotel to sleep that night and also I had to book for bus ticket as I was suppose to carry on with my trip to Pretoria. I did report the accident to Beautfort West SAPS(my AR number is:30/01/2012 and my OB number is:1948/01/2012). The peron who witness the incident was Jerome Buys(route Manager) ,his contact number is:082 328 9422. The vehicle is still at Beautfort West and I am only going back to cape town on 29 March therefore my address there is 572 Church Street, 217 Naval Mess, Arcadia ,Pretoria ,0083 and my contact number are 0724273168, my ID numbers are 6710185606082.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Mr LZ Meje
02.01.12 at 7:18 pm