Nightlife Maven Kyle has had a rough start to her morning. (No, she’s not hungover … I don’t think.) She woke up to find a flat tire. Seems the pothole on Lemmon at Cole finally did her in. As Kyle describes it, the pothole is more of a torn-up patch of road that she’s hit three or four times in the past two weeks it’s been there. If you’re in the left lane, she says, it’s pretty much unavoidable.
She’s tracking down the phone number to report it to the city. But can’t she pass the bill for the new tire along to the city, too? Am I imagining that? If not, can she sue? Lawyers, speak out.
Not a lawyer here, but been there done it …
No, you cannot sue the City for stuff like this. They have immunity that protects them (sort of like a state-mandated force field).
Similar case - A tree on the parkway falls on your front yard fence, trashing it to shreds.
City says, nope not gonna pay it. We have IM-MU-NITY
You can, however, sue when the actions of employees or the council or departments are causing you damage, eg in 1997, the City of Fort Worth and American Airlines sue “the City of Dallas, Legend Airlines and Continental Airlines in a Fort Worth state district court, to block additional service at Love Field.” (from the Love Field website)
Not a lawyer and I don’t play one on FB either. However, it seems to me that common sense would factor into this. If she’s hit it three or four times in the past two weeks, when will she realize that maybe should get in the other lane?
And more importantly…did the nightlife maven spill her drink and stain her carpet with the bloody mary?
Well, I drive that street frequently now, and if you want to turn, you pretty much HAVE to be on the left lane, so it’s not just a trivial “change lanes” solution
Missing Dots and Bobby Ewing….Come on now…common sense isnt ever a factor when you’re driving…don’t you know that? You have one hand on the wheel, text with the other, think about the cute boys at the next destination and focus on the radio station. We can’t possibly change lanes whilst doing all that now can we?! There were no bloody mary’s either, it wasnt Sunday morning, it was Wednesday night.
There were places to go and people to see her. Duh.
Nightlife Maven, you can be THAT perfect all the time…I’m on your side. :/
I’ve hit that sucker a few times too, but I’ve learned to anticipate it and slow down a lot, or somehow swerve a little into the “gutter” space. It at least minimizes a total smack into that pothole.
I’m sure someone with more automotive knowledge can prove or disprove this, but I think ensuring the tires are at the proper pressure can also minimize the chances of a flat or blowout in the same situation. If anyone needs to have their tires filled with more air, I would recommend going to any Obama or Clinton rally…be careful. The air might be too hot.
Two words: Discount Tires. Love their $14 warranty replacements. East Dallas has their share of ‘holes, too.
http://dallascityhall.com/html.....tions.html
The number is very difficult to track down, but perhaps you have heard of it:
3-1-1. Just call that number and the city will redirect you appropriately in situtations like this. E.g., the lights at Frankford & Coit were totally out a couple of Saturdays ago, one quick phone call to a friendly dispatcher and she’d notified whoever it is that fixes the lights that they needed to be fixed pronto.
The city council needs to ban potholes outside of school zones - inside the zones they would act as speed bumps.