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Beware of sheep

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Wills
In: New Brighton
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Karma:

From the Press Association: A council which billed a motorcyclist for damaging a road when he collided with a stray sheep today defended its decision. Biker Moray Ferguson was sent a bill for £200 by Aberdeenshire council after his bike hit a sheep which had wandered into his path on the unclassified Cuminestown to Fyvie Road. The 47-year-old was flung from his black Honda Fireblade motorbike which burst into flames, and suffered a broken hip socket, pelvis and collarbone, seven cracked ribs and a collapsed lung in the accident. The fire caused the road surface to melt, leaving it with a "bubbly" texture covering approximately six feet by six feet where the accident happened, a neighbouring farmer said. The sheep was also killed in the accident, which happened on July 4 this year. After five weeks of hospital treatment, the father-of-two returned home, but was shocked when Aberdeenshire council sent him their invoice to cover the cost of repairing the road surface. A council spokesman said it was a "standard procedure" to charge people involved in accidents for damaging its roads. But Mr Ferguson, a construction engineer, from Cuminestown, Turiff, told the BBC he was "completely shocked" by the bill. "I didn’t know there was going to be a stray sheep on the road," he said. "The accident wasn’t my fault." Mr Ferguson’s wife, Susan added that the road was "really bad for stray animals wandering about". The road was temporarily repaired, but neighbouring farmer Davey Moir, of South Teuchar Farm, said the council still hadn’t fixed the damage. "The tar melted in a puddle. There isn’t a big hole, but the surface is bubbled now," he said. "It hasn’t been fixed yet, and you can still see the chalk marks from the accident. An Aberdeenshire council spokesman defended its decision to try and claw back the money for repairing the damage. "When damage is sustained by the public road network as a result of an accident it is the council’s duty to reclaim the cost of the required repair work from the relevant party involved. "We regret that the motorcyclist was injured but we contact individuals involved in accidents which cause damage to our property directly because it gives them the option of putting it to their insurers, or paying for it themselves if it’s a minor claim and they don’t want to affect their no claims bonus. "This is standard procedure, except in the case of fatal accidents, where requests for payment are sent directly to insurers. "It may be that his insurers will be able to reclaim costs from the owner of the sheep if they were negligent in some way, for example, if there was a hole in fence or a gate was left open."

From the Press Association:
 
A council which billed a motorcyclist for damaging a road when he collided with a stray sheep today defended its decision.
Biker Moray Ferguson was sent a bill for £200 by Aberdeenshire council after his bike hit a sheep which had wandered into his path on the unclassified Cuminestown to Fyvie Road.
The 47-year-old was flung from his black Honda Fireblade motorbike which burst into flames, and suffered a broken hip socket, pelvis and collarbone, seven cracked ribs and a collapsed lung in the accident.
The fire caused the road surface to melt, leaving it with a "bubbly" texture covering approximately six feet by six feet where the accident happened, a neighbouring farmer said.
The sheep was also killed in the accident, which happened on July 4 this year.
After five weeks of hospital treatment, the father-of-two returned home, but was shocked when Aberdeenshire council sent him their invoice to cover the cost of repairing the road surface.
A council spokesman said it was a "standard procedure" to charge people involved in accidents for damaging its roads.
But Mr Ferguson, a construction engineer, from Cuminestown, Turiff, told the BBC he was "completely shocked" by the bill.
"I didn’t know there was going to be a stray sheep on the road," he said. "The accident wasn’t my fault."
Mr Ferguson’s wife, Susan added that the road was "really bad for stray animals wandering about".
The road was temporarily repaired, but neighbouring farmer Davey Moir, of South Teuchar Farm, said the council still hadn’t fixed the damage.
"The tar melted in a puddle. There isn’t a big hole, but the surface is bubbled now," he said.
"It hasn’t been fixed yet, and you can still see the chalk marks from the accident.
An Aberdeenshire council spokesman defended its decision to try and claw back the money for repairing the damage.
"When damage is sustained by the public road network as a result of an accident it is the council’s duty to reclaim the cost of the required repair work from the relevant party involved.
"We regret that the motorcyclist was injured but we contact individuals involved in accidents which cause damage to our property directly because it gives them the option of putting it to their insurers, or paying for it themselves if it’s a minor claim and they don’t want to affect their no claims bonus.
"This is standard procedure, except in the case of fatal accidents, where requests for payment are sent directly to insurers.
"It may be that his insurers will be able to reclaim costs from the owner of the sheep if they were negligent in some way, for example, if there was a hole in fence or a gate was left open."

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Beware of sheep

Beware of sheep

Posts: 47 Pages: 1/3

Posts: 47 Pages: 1/3

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