Potholes - How To Get Reimbursed If You Hit One
- Bedford Driver
- May 17, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 30
N.S. Public Works – How to File a Claim for Vehicle or Property Damage Potholes, flooding, and other hazards
"If you have incurred damage to your vehicle or property and you believe the province may be responsible, you can submit a claim to the Insurance and Risk Management, Department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, for consideration. Compensation is paid when an investigation finds that the province was negligent in their duties and that negligence resulted in your damage. In other words, when the province is found legally liable for the damage sustained. However, you are expected make efforts to minimize damage to your property. If you do not, you may be held responsible for part of the damage cost."
What is the claim investigation process?
All claims are investigated and reviewed by qualified, internal insurance adjusters. They determine the extent to which, if any, the province may be liable for the damage. Each claim is investigated and considered on its individual facts. We gather information from you, department staff, any third parties who may be witness to the incident, and those who may have been carrying out work at or near the site of the incident.
Deadline: within 30 days – Submit your claim within 30 days of the incident to ensure that your claim meets the notice requirement. Use our Claim Form and send evidence to support your claim such as photos or video.
Submit your claim by email fax or surface mail: risk@novascotia.ca
902-424-2325 (fax)
902-424-4440
Monday to Friday
8:30 am–4:30 pm
Insurance & Risk Management
PO Box 2205
Halifax, NS B3J 3C4
N.S. Public Works – How to report a pothole
Contact us immediately, 7 days a week, to report a hazard: potholes, washouts, fallen tree branches, objects on the road, flooding
TIR Operations Contact Centre (OCC)
1-844-696-7737
Halifax’s Pothole Reporting Page
If a vehicle is damaged by a pothole, it would first be important for the driver to determine who is responsible for the stretch of road the pothole is located on. You can do this by calling 311, or by searching our interactive map.
For example: the province is responsible for highways, many rural roads, and highway on-ramps; the municipality is responsible for streets in the urban core.
If your road is managed by the province, call 511 for further details. If the municipality manages your road, it is advised the driver call 311 to begin the claim process. The claim process begins when residents call 311 to report an incident.
Once the 311 call is logged, the appropriate business unit are notified and staff will connect in a timely manner (typically 10 business days) to carry on the process.
How Potholes Form
The formation of a pothole happens in steps. Asphalt roads are the most popular solution around the world due to the low cost. Asphalt is known as a flexible pavement because it does not distribute weight across a large area as with concrete. After the deterioration of the surface layer, or first layer cracks begin to form. When cracks form, they allow water to seep under the surface layer and into the Base Course. The water will usually get trapped here and eventually wear through and deteriorate the Sub Grade. This is made worse when temperatures drop below freezing causing the water to freeze and expand. This frozen water is referred to as an ‘Ice Lens’.
How Do Potholes Work?
Highway Design
The profile of the road refers to how the road is sloped or how steep it is.
A cross section runs perpendicular across the road.
A crowned road has a rounded cross section. A crowned road will shed water more easily than a flat road.
Super elevation is the term used to refer to the elevation of a curve.
The faster the design speed of a road the higher the bank or elevation.
The radius of a curve refers to how sharp the curve is.
The tighter the radius of a curve the more centrifugal force that will be required to maintain traction.
A curve or "curved section" will usually have a sloped profile which helps a vehicle maintain better traction by reducing the amount of load on the tires while in a curve and increasing centrifugal force of the vehicle.
When designing a road engineers consider many different factors like speed, obstacles, safety, and traffic.
Speed limits are determined by the geometry of the road.
The 3 main considerations when designing a road are the profile, cross section, and alignment.
All of these factors are what create friction and friction is what gives a vehicle traction.
Banked curves are more comfortable for the people in the vehicle because they push you further into your seat instead of pulling you to the outside. They also reduce the risk of a roll over by reducing the vehicle's centre of gravity.
Sight distance and field of view are also considered when designing a curve to ensure drivers can safely see around the bend.
The entry and exit points of a curve are referred to as the transition sections. This is where drivers transition from their current speed and adjust to enter or exit the curve by adjusting their speed.
If a curve has too much of a turning radius (too sharp) then a vehicle's headlights will not be as effective because headlights light the area directly in front of the vehicle and don't compensate for the curve.
There is no one single standard for how a road is designed. It varies by province or state.
Engineers recommend what the speed of a road should be but they do not have final say when deciding what the speed limit will be.