Recourse for Bent Rims on 5 FWY in LA...

[Uber-fanatic]

Riding my motorcycle home last night on the 5 S. and hit a pothole that nearly dislodged me from my bike! Went out to the garage this morning, found flat rear tire, and subsequently found enormous gouge in the rear wheel. Front tire still holding air, but front wheel is bent pretty significantly as well.

My Question:

Has anyone ever had luck getting the state to reimburse for the cost of two new wheels? It's due to the states negligence that I will be spending $400, not discounting the fact that I could have been killed.

I haven't even begun to peruse various websites of the state, local, city, etc...; just curious if anyone has ever had a similar issue, and what outcome I should expect.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Uber-fanatic

Has anyone ever had luck getting the state to reimburse for the cost of two new wheels?

Best laugh of the week! Thanks!

[Uber-fanatic]

Pipe dream...huh?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

These guys look pretty good (I have a set of BBS RS wheels, one of which has a crack - I was going to have them repair it for me).

NFW you're getting the government to pony up for damage to your bike. They're there to TAKE your money, not give it to you silly boy.

I don't know if they'd do motorcycle wheels though - lot of liability there if a repair fails and kills you. Personally if it were my bike I'd buy a new wheel. They ain't that expensive for motorcycles. I sure as hell wouldn't ride it in the meantime.

[Uber-fanatic]

No question as far as repair or replace...I am not futsing around with repairs on the wheels; they will be replaced with new ones...

I was thinking that with the additional liability burden of not only the damage of personal property, but the potential loss of life, they may be more willing to part with a check.

I know I may be delusional. I am only a law abiding, tax paying, fully documented resident in a sea of illegal yahoo's...

...yeah, I'm delusional aren't I...

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Uber-fanatic

I am a ... tax paying...

THERE"S your problem.

[Heel n Toe]

I'm sure the state could be held liable if a nasty pothole caused a Greyhound Bus to blow a tire, careen off an overpass, crash, burn, and kill 20 people.

What you have to do is decide who you need to call in order to find out if they're liable for smaller stuff. The State Attorney General's Office might be a good first step.

I have heard of people getting reimbursed for damage caused to their vehicle by potholes in city streets. I don't know details, but it would seem to me you'd have to have some kind of way to substantiate exactly where it happened so you could say for sure which government entity is responsible for that particular roadway.

At the very least, make a formal, written complaint about that particular pothole... if 40 peeps' vehicles are damaged before it's fixed and do the same thing, that would help your case.

[Uber-fanatic]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

substantiate exactly where it happened

Tonight I'll be driving the 911 down the same freeway in rush hour traffic, giving me an opportunity to locate the pothole and notate the mile marker; all while attempting to keep my Fuchs intact!

Thank you for your suggestion...I am going to google the state attorneys office website right now for some info...

FWIW...new rear wheel and labor for install: $450
Front wheel probably repairable: $165

(This weekend was going to purchase pop-up tent camper for family vacations in future; cost of used, good condition 1987 starcraft camper=$1250. Looks like that will be put on hold...)

[Porsche-O-Phile]

You can't install a rear wheel on a motorcycle yourself? You're kidding, right?

How do you adjust your chain slack? Just loosen the bolts a little more and pull. It ain't that hard. If they're charging you more than $20 for that, you're getting raped.

[Uber-fanatic]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

You can't install a rear wheel on a motorcycle yourself? You're kidding, right?

The cost of the wheel alone is $375...the labor is really just installation of tire and balancing wheel...neither of which I am capable of doing.

[Heel n Toe]

You might also try checking the state DOT office... or Public Safety department or whatever it's called.

You may not find any info on gubmint websites... it might help to get on the phone and try to talk to someone... "If you're not who I need to talk to, can you tell me who can help me with this?"

[Uber-fanatic]

A glimmer of hope?


http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/business/claims/

[Heel n Toe]

Looks like it.

If you can print legibly.

LOL

[Uber-fanatic]

Spoke to representative...asked about my chances. I offered 'slim or none' as choices and she laughed and said 'slim'; her honesty was refreshing.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Try it. Curious to see what kind of runaround they give you.

FWIW my wife ran over one of those 1" thick steel plates used to cover excavations for street work a couple years ago. For whatever reason it completely screwed up her alignment (I had to pay $100 or whatever to get the car realigned). We inquired into putting a claim in and were basically told we couldn't because the public works department had put up all the required "construction zone" signs and what-not (which is true), therefore it HAD to be our fault. She didn't hit it all that hard and wasn't driving all that fast. Maybe just bad luck or whatever (there are potholes around with lips on them a lot deeper than one of those steel plates) but long story short we were told tough luck. It wasn't worth my time to pursue it further than that.

A pothole incident like you're mentioning would have me furious - that could have damn nearly killed you on a motorcycle. Road heaves, potholes, poor patch jobs, etc. are inconveniences for cars/trucks but are very lethal hazards on a bike - I'm sure you know that. I'd be screaming bloody murder about it but I'd also be very surprised if you see any compensation for it...

[Dan in Pasadena]

uber, Call the Cal Trans office in downtown L.A. Ask who to file a claim with for damamge to your vehicle as a result of deferred maintenance. Get ready to be on the phone a loong timne but stay on it and you will eventually get the forms. It may take a long time to ever get any action (thats what they hope for) but you DO have recourse...just lousy recourse.

Oh, and when its all over, post how to do it here of course!

[Uber-fanatic]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Try it. Curious to see what kind of runaround they give you.

A pothole incident like you're mentioning would have me furious - that could have damn nearly killed you on a motorcycle.

Dude...something like this in a car I would write off as s***ty luck. But it rocked me last night, and took me a few minutes to get over the adrenalin rush of having just about taken a dive at 70 miles per hour on the 5 FWY (right next to Dodger Stadium) after sundown...God knows how many times I would have been run over lying on the busiest freeway in the world at 8:00 at night! THANK GOD I had both hands on the handle bars and was fully aware of my surroundings.

I am going to file all the appropriate paper work, and then prepare myself for the long fight.

[Mule]

It's Bush's fault.

Obama will fix this.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Uber-fanatic

Dude...something like this in a car I would write off as s***ty luck. But it rocked me last night, and took me a few minutes to get over the adrenalin rush of having just about taken a dive at 70 miles per hour on the 5 FWY (right next to Dodger Stadium) after sundown...God knows how many times I would have been run over lying on the busiest freeway in the world at 8:00 at night! THANK GOD I had both hands on the handle bars and was fully aware of my surroundings.

I am going to file all the appropriate paper work, and then prepare myself for the long fight.

This is part of why I'm adding a pair of PIAA 510 driving lights to my R1200GS. I really don't like riding at night on LA freeways because it is so hard to see these kinds of hazards. I figure the PIAAs should helpd turn the night into day a bit better...plus I'll get noticed by the cars

[Uber-fanatic]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

...deferred maintenance...

I just wrote that exact phrase on my claims form; thank you! Beautifully succinct!

"...deferred maintenance that nearly lead to my personal extinction..."