CHANGES in the way potholes are measured could put the brakes on compensation claims in Hull.
Hull City Council paid out £3,984 to settle claims from injured pedestrians and motorists who suffered damage to their vehicles after driving over potholes.
Now, the authority is introducing new rules to determine how quickly potholes should be repaired.
The move will see the current 40mm threshold used to decide whether a pothole is hazardous being reduced to 20mm on certain roads.
The new criteria will apply in busy areas, such as near shops, outside schools and pedestrian crossings.
Michelle Goodhand, whose 12-year-old daughter, Morgan broke a leg in a 3in-deep pothole near their home off Holderness Road, east Hull, has welcomed the council's decision.
She said: "We have gone through six weeks of heart ache because of a pothole.
"The roads are in a disgusting state and it's about time something is done about it."
Morgan's left leg is in plaster and she is likely not be able to return to school for months.
Officials say the pothole changes will strengthen the council's defence against future compensation claims because the new-look inspection regime will assess the degree of risk to road users and pedestrians as well as the actual depth of the pothole.
A new 30mm threshold is also being introduced for potholes at the edge of a road used by high numbers of cyclists. The threshold for potholes on footpaths is being changed from 20mm to 10mm.
Richard Townend, the council's road network management team leader, said: "By setting the new thresholds, we can also account for user risk in the case of pedestrians and cyclists."
He acknowledged the new rules would increase the number of potholes being identified for repair.
But he said by targeting inspections in specific areas where there are high volumes of pedestrian traffic, the council would have a stronger defence against compensation claims.
Typically, councils avoid liability if they can prove a specific pothole hazard has already been identified before an accident or injury happens.
Mr Townend said: "To ensure a sound defence, any recorded inspection needs to make clear that such defects do not meet the normal intervention levels and such repairs are desirable due to local circumstances.
"This new category of repairs will only be undertaken where there is a high volume of pedestrians near to places like schools and medical facilities and in areas where there are large numbers of vulnerable residents, such as outside sheltered housing accommodation."
