John Stain said he previously believed the council would be liable to pay for any damage but he found the policy would not cover the repairs. Council’s general manager (of) services Terry Demeo said Ballarat has a Road Management Plan prepared to the requirements of the Road Management Act 2004. 

“The Road Management Plan sets out the council’s responsibility for the management, maintenance and repair of road infrastructure,” Mr Demeo said. “If a person believes that council has not met its responsibilities under the Road Management Plan and this has caused them loss, they are able to take civil action.”

Mr Stain said forcing motorists to take civil action was “a cop out” because most people could not afford to and the chances of winning would be slim.   The RACV could not directly comment on this case, but said it had led a number of proactive campaigns to encourage councils to address poor roads.

“Not enough has been spent on road maintenance and resurfacing by successive governments,” a spokesperson said.

In a 2014 Regional Roads report the RACV said Regional Victoria remains heavily reliant on a well-maintained, high quality road network to support the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across the longer distances that are travelled. Vic Roads confirmed “as a responsible road authority, (it)  is not liable for loss or damage arising out of all incidents on roads”.

It said it was unlikely to be liable to pay compensation if the incident did not occur on an arterial road or freeway. A VicRoads spokesman confirmed one call regarding the pothole on Ring Road was received and referred to the council as it is not an arterial road. He said all drivers should be made aware they would most likely have to fork out the costs for damage caused by “poor roads”. 

“Council need to look at projects that need addressing (like roads) not just projects that gain public kudos,” Mr Stain said.