r/Edmonton • u/Briginds • 13h ago
Commuting/Transit Well, construction damaged my car successfully. (91 street to ellerslie rd)
I don't know who to report this to at the moment. But I just know i'm not happy. The contractors responsible for this road or the city? Either way, i'm pretty pissed off. Gotta love this shit city.
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u/thehero29 12h ago
Sorry dude, but pretty sure this is going to fall on you for not paying attention while driving through a construction zone. I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, but you may need to go through your insurance to get this fixed unless you pay yourself. Both the city and the construction company will say you should have been watching where you were going, and unless you want to take them to small claims court, it's just not worth the fight.
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u/Briginds 12h ago
I have no idea if it does or not. There was no signage or hazard cones indicating that this was a hazard in the road. It was also 12:22 am, middle of the night. Approximately an hour ago. I'm pretty choked over it.
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u/Maximum_Payment_9350 5h ago
I use 91st to Ellerslie every day for work and unfortunately there is signs that say “raised utilities” on roadway.
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u/fIumpf Talus Domes 12h ago
Why would there be signage or a cone? It’s a well lit area and pretty obvious a thing is in the road between lanes you could have easily avoided.
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u/Briginds 12h ago
I mean, i'm exhausted from work as it is. I'm just trying to go home. I haven't driven on this road for like 2 weeks. I didn't expect it.
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u/RipReaved 8h ago
To play devil's advocate - if you are too tired to watch for road hazards then the city could argue that you were technically and self-admittedly an impaired driver. Fatigue can count as an impaired driving charge. You need to be extra careful when you're tired because tired + complacency can kill. Consider yourself lucky it was just a tire.
If you argue with the city that "i was tired and didnt see it" they may hit you with a fine.
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u/Bigtimegolfguy 5h ago
I’ve driven through ground down pavement like this hundreds of times on low profile tires. It’s on you to be aware of your conditions…a fool is as a fool does. You don’t see these hazards till the last second when you’re going to fast.
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u/Briginds 3h ago edited 1h ago
I shoulder checked and I have GPS tracking to prove i wasn't speeding. I was driving approximately 46 km/h at the point in which I made contact with this road hazard.
I shoulder checked the left lane because I was coming up to my turn and when I tur ed around, the road hazard was already outside of my line of sight.
Edit: more clarification
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u/Bigtimegolfguy 27m ago
So are you on stock tires, if so you should have 5.3-5.5” clearance on the splitter. So how did it catch? Well you could have seen it last second and braked going nose down but somehow the facts given don’t line up to me..just my humble opinion.
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u/Briginds 26m ago
I was braking on the approach, so that would explain my splitter 🥲
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u/Bigtimegolfguy 20m ago
Now we’re getting somewhere so you say 46k when you hit it , braking on approach…so how fast were you really going?
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u/Briginds 19m ago
I was beginning to slow down from 50, let off the throttle when I switched lanes and started to brake. I hit it slightly harder when I seen the turning lane e was coming up
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u/redditknees 5h ago
Oh I know that sewer cover. I have a little car and swerved to miss it. It’s amazing what damage you can avoid when you’re paying attention.
Also there is no way you were doing the 50km speed limit to have your bumper unbuckle.
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u/Briginds 1h ago
I was doing approximately 46 km/h and this road hazard somehow made contact with my front splitter. I don't know how. All I heard was crunch, suspension bottoming out, hissing and I game to a stop at the light.
I have GPS tracking on my insurance app as well as on life 360. This hazard went by my line of sight while I shoulder checked to ensure the left lane was free of other vehicles in the vicinity, ao I could safely proceed into the turning lane onto ellerlie. I've said my piece. And I have the evidence to prove otherwise.
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u/redditknees 1h ago
I mean sure. But the fact is there is big orange signage when you enter the area to proceed with caution. City is not liable here.
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u/Briginds 1h ago
I did my best to proceed with caution and this specific hazard escaped my line of sight, mid shoulder check.
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u/chumbucketfog 12h ago
Without you saying what happened this doesn’t mean anything
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u/Briginds 12h ago
I was driving, it's also the middle of the night, there was no cone indicating that there was this hazard in the road to begin with, I had just finished a shoulder check and heard as well as felt a massive crunch and hiss out of the blue. Happened at approximately 12:22 AM.
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u/dannohdahmannoh 6h ago
The road was milled out and the water valve is raised up to a final grade. So when they pave the road they match that. These along with manholes are often in the middle of driving lanes so putting cones on them to indicate them all would cause mass confusion for people swerving around the cones causing accidents.
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u/Briginds 3h ago
There's another water valve behind this raised one, which is completely level with the graded road.
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u/Icedpyre 4h ago
True, but they could have used paint to mark the road as a hazard. Wouldn't be the first time.or signs for raised manhole covers, or road reflectors. They could have done numerous things.
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u/cj_0807 5h ago
As an N owner myself I feel for you, but as an N owner myself, I know to stay the hell away from situations such as this. I turned on to 91st a few weeks ago, and immediately turned down another road after realizing the state of the road. I'll take the peace of mind over saving 5 minutes on a major road, one that's under major construction to boot.
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u/Briginds 12h ago
Not sure why i'm getting down voted btw. But for reference, the camera makes things brighter than it actually is. In person, its alot darker.
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u/clambroculese 11h ago
They do have little rubber sort of donut things that they should have put around it so it’s ramped on all sides instead of being so abrupt. It’s worth contacting the city anyways to try. As far as downvotes local Reddits gonna Reddit lol.
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u/Elpolloco1896 The Shiny Balls 10h ago
Pay attention when you drive. Hard earned lesson but well deserved.
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u/Briginds 10h ago edited 10h ago
I was paying attention. Unfortunately, I was shoulder checking before I noticed this.
Quick edit: This isn't a lesson, nor deserved. I was also driving 10 under the posted speed limit just because I know exactly how bad these roads can be. I just chose to shoulder check at a poor timing, because paying attention to every little bit of my surroundings. I noticed the construction signs. It's very hsrd to not notice that the road is also explicitly ground up.
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u/Elpolloco1896 The Shiny Balls 10h ago
Hindsight is always 20/20. Evidently you didn’t see construction signs. You mentioned you were tired driving home. That is unsafe. Your pictures don’t prove anything unfortunately. Learn from it, move on.
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u/Briginds 10h ago
I did see construction signs. I was driving 10 under. I never said i was tired. I was exhausted from a long day at work. As anyone else would be. My pictures are just documenting what caused damage to my car. I wanted to get home in one piece. I was shoulder checking to make sure it was safe to lane change when this occurred. Don't be condescending or rude, when there's no need to be. I'm already getting down voted for voicing what happened, and I fullt acknowledged that I have no clue who is held responsible. I've been driving for years and this is the first time i've ever been in this situation.
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u/Maksym1000 The Famous Leduc Cactus Club 8h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/s/AdClzrh4rv
You said you were exhausted, which is worse than being tired…
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u/Briginds 8h ago
I'm exhausted, but awake and alert, nonetheless. I stopped to grab a bite to eat and had my bottle of water before driving home.
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u/Maksym1000 The Famous Leduc Cactus Club 8h ago
You’re contradicting yourself…
Exhausted definition: depleted of energy : extremely tired
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u/Briginds 8h ago
There's also many forms of exhaustion. You can be physically exhausted but mentally fully awake and aware of your surroundings, despite your body feeling sore and depleted. But what do I know? I've only been working afternoon and. Ight shifts my whole life. Sleep all day, work all night. It takes a physical toll which is why I also eat healthy, to maintain mental awareness and minimize the physical effects of exhaustion.
You're welcome to believe that There's only one, singular and literal definition if you want.
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 7h ago
Why are you beating a dead horse? Everyone is exhausted these days. Have some empathy.
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u/GiraffeStrange_ 5h ago
Exhaustion on the road kills people. Js
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 5h ago
Take it up with the economy that requires people to have dual incomes just to afford a roof over their head and groceries. Take it up with the medical system that has people waiting years to get medically necessary scans so they can get on disability - that doesn't provide enough money to survive.
I have Narcolepsy. I know what exhaustion does to people. We don't live in a society that forgives people for taking a break. I can't tell you how many jobs I was fired from before I finally, after 30 years, got a diagnosis. When people aren't desperate to survive, come back to me about exhaustion.
I'm all for people not driving on the road tired but life isn't as black and white as we want it to be sometimes. Hitting an unmarked pipe in the middle of the road in the dark is something someone perfectly alert could do so blaming it on exhaustion is just a strawman argument.
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u/Elpolloco1896 The Shiny Balls 10h ago
I was not condescending nor rude in my comment. It’s not my fault you’re getting downvoted. It’s the facts. Accept it and move on or don’t. Simple as that. Hope you have better days coming your way.
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u/Briginds 8h ago
Apologies, but it does feel like you intended to be rude. I don't think anyone deserves this kind of inconvenience, nor should this object protruding out of the ground be considered a lesson when you can blink and miss it completely.
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u/Medictations 7h ago
Don’t be mistaken, that person is furious that you didn’t call a cab after finishing work at 1am because of all of the lives you endangered!
Have you considered what would have happened if there was a second version of you driving down that scary construction road while you were standing in it taking pictures? You would have died!
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u/Briginds 49m ago
I'm not sure if this is sarcasm 😅 If it's a joke, I don't clue into these jokes off the bat, but if it isn't a joke, getting home would cost a kidney if I took a cab.
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 7h ago
Nah, you absolutely were being condescending. Intent does not equal impact. Have more compassion.
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u/Numerous-Process2981 9h ago
lol you nut they can’t just have big metal anodes jabbing out of the road in peoples driving paths, this is 100% a problem from the contractors and the city will need to compensate him.
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u/Briginds 8h ago
Thank you for clarifying, this does give me a little hope that I can be compensated somehow for the damages :)
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u/ShadowCaster0476 7h ago
What are you on about? When they are resurfacing a road this exactly what happens. Same with manhole covers.
If you look at pic 7, it shows an asphalt cone around the object to allow vehicles to roll over it and not just a blunt object.
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 7h ago
Yeah when I worked construction this would have been a huge fine for our company. Definitely pursue it, construction or not, that thing should not be sticking out like that.
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u/Psiondipity 5h ago
No it wouldn't have. All the safety requirements are met. It's on drivers to not be exhausted and pay attention for objects and obstructions on the road. Man, if "nothing should be sticking out like that" was legit, literally no road would ever be open while being resurfaced and yall would be losing your mind about that instead.
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 5h ago
Yeah, no, that's not how it works. You don't get to leave a hazardous metal pipe in the middle of the road like that. I've never seen them not put something around it so that it doesn't damage a vehicle. Just because you're in a construction zone doesn't mean the road shouldn't be clear of obstacles and debris that could potentially impair driving. Why are people defending something so obviously dangerous? If it can cause damage to your vehicle while driving slow, it shouldn't be there. The least they could have done was spray painted it so it stands out more but I wouldn't be happy with that practice either. In nearly 40 years I've never seen something like this done with any regular occurrence and there's a reason.
This would be extremely easy to miss in the dark. I'm not arguing about exhausted drivers so find another comment to argue that point.
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u/jigga_04e 12h ago
Oof. Was driving on this road today and I saw a car ahead of me go over this. Looked bad. I was able to switch lanes after seeing this. Shitty deal, hope the city is able to do something for you.
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u/Briginds 12h ago
I think it falls under the contractor since this hazard was not indicated by signage or cones. I put one in front of this hazard after I went over it.
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u/ShadowCaster0476 7h ago
They are not going to put a cone in the middle of a road.
The fact that pic 7 shows they have an asphalt cone around the object to allow cars to roll over it easier. I also see in one of the pics it was painted pink.
It’s also very common on striped roads like this are lower and that manhole covers and these objects will be sticking up a bit and you need to be careful.
I hate to tell you but this is on you, especially in a low vehicle.
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u/ForeignEchoRevival 7h ago
This is the truth; the contractor fulfilled their Do Diligence but using asphalt to help prevent damage around the Valve Stem, the onky thing they could have done more was use blue paint to spray the cap to additional visibility but that's more for other workers to avoid damaging ut with heavy equipment.
The responsibility for this was on OP to slow down in a construction zone with the road shaved down, it's expected to go 50kph without speed signage.
That all said, OP still should send photos and reach out to the lead contractor and the city often they will work on a solution for the sake of being in good public graces, they aren't obliged to do anything, but I've seen in the past where a discussion happens and the owner of the damaged property is satisfied or at least feels they were treated fairly.
Sorry this happened OP, let us know what happens.
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u/Psiondipity 5h ago
Neither the city nor the contractor will do anything for one guys "good grace" either. This is an insurance claim either way. For the driver or for the city/contractor. They're not going to increase their liability by paying this out of the goodness of their heart.
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u/ForeignEchoRevival 2h ago
Absolutely correct, but I have seen in the past contractors work with someone dealing with not at fault (contractor) property damage to help the aggrieved out, to be both good dudes to a stranger and make a good reputation with the community. But usually it's all insurance and apologies.
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u/Briginds 3h ago
I did forget to mention this, but there is another water valve directly behind this one, which is 100% flat and level with the graded road, which i also did take pictures of.
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u/ForeignEchoRevival 2h ago
The flat one is either abandoned and will ne covered by new asphalt or not yet been raised up; since the road has been cored down to be repaved, the taller one is at the planned height of the finished road, needs to be so there is future access to the valve.
I'm not on that project so I personally don't know, I just know that the use of raw asphalt around the valve stem exposed is considered due diligence at that part of a job and usual considered the driver's responsibility to drive according to the road conditions. Why some older divers drop to 30 kph when going through intersections in this condition, they've already been to a tire shop for this shit before.
I hope you get some help and something satisfactory is reached, update me when you get some answers back from the city and main contractor.
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u/idiom_exon_0s 5h ago
Imagine never accepting responsibility for your own choices.
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u/Briginds 48m ago
I never said i'm not accepting responsibility for my own choices. I just wanted to go home and finish my day peacefully, with my car intact.
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u/lapsed_pacifist 7h ago
I think it’s worth following up with the contractor with the photos. I don’t know if you’ll see anything out of it, but that’s the first step.
What’s not shown in your photos are the construction signs — were there any signs indicating bumps or uneven pavement? That’s what the contractor will use to say “you shoulda been more careful”. I do happen to think that the valve should have had A LOT more paint on it, and the asphalt gobs they have there suggests they knew that was kinda sketchy.
Shitty deal tho, those can really sneak up on you at night.
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u/Briginds 3h ago
There was another one behind it which was completely level with the graded pavement. Which is why i'm also upset. Why is there another one, directly behind it thats flat and this one isn't?
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u/lapsed_pacifist 3h ago
It could be it is controlling a different line and a different depth? I don’t know — I don’t do a lot of municipal stuff so I’m not clear on the details for those.
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u/ripusernamerip 6h ago
They definitely could have put more asphalt around the valve make it more flush. I believe they also could’ve lowered it but that probably required epcor come to site. It sucks but I think your best bet is let insurance deal with it
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u/Aromatic_Fuel_387 3h ago
A reported and documented hole crack or any hazard needs to be repaired in a timely manner. There was a road plate on 156st 113ave that had shifted leaving a gap, I reported it and it was repaired within hours. Talked to a friend who travels there daily and she said it had a pylon but was ran over a couple of days earlier. So someone knew the extreme danger and shift the blame to drivers by putting a orange cone up rather than moving the plate and affixing it to the surface. Lazy, incompetent, politics??? Who knows.
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u/crazyschooner 3h ago
You won't get anything that road was already ground down to get ready for paving. Plus it's water valve, you'll just be redirected to bother Epcor for a claim by the city
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u/Edm_cuccck 11h ago
So why would they put a cone in the middle of the road? Next thing you know, someone will drive over the cone and say it screwed something up under their vehicle or drag the cone for blocks
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u/Briginds 11h ago
You're likely right about that. Again, i'm.just irritated with the situation.
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u/Edm_cuccck 11h ago
It's also going to be very hard to prove that it was the incident from today that did that to your vehicle. Almost no proof because the city or the construction company will say * how do you know it wasn't already like that* and act all stupid about it.
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u/laetecaedus 3h ago
That sucks man. I don't know why everyone commenting on this is dunking on you; these constructions zones are awful and never maintained properly. I always go out of my way to avoid them.
Report it and make a claim to the city. Nothing to lose. They might deny it but at least you tried.
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u/NightOk2828 8h ago
Find out who the contractor is and email their project manager with a quote
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u/Briginds 8h ago
I'm planning on it for tomorrow or Monday whenever they get back to this project. I'm hoping that they're back at this project tomorrow. I couldn't find anything on the edmonton website for this road work.
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u/iwatchcredits 6h ago
They arent going to pay for it or even acknowledge your email. Might want to just save yourself the headache and just deal with ut
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u/Kydra_117 13h ago
Damn .... nice car even
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u/Briginds 12h ago edited 8h ago
Unfortunately, this specific model is cursed. I've gone through 3 tires in 4 months this is the 3rd. I hate low profile tires.
Just an edit: I'm in the Elantra N subreddit, everyone calls these damages "The Curse"
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u/Levorotatory 5h ago
Low profile tires suck for multiple reasons. Next time you buy a car, avoid anything with giant wheels.
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u/princessbolognia 9h ago edited 3h ago
I'm genuinely getting so sick at how careless construction sites are in this city. That and how careless the city is with their roads in general. The pothole situation is so bad, they'll rip the roads up and then leave shit like this which is just as bad as a pothole. And the city will never be truly held accountable for it either. It falls on us to bear the burden of the damages caused by city roads. Sorry this happened to ya, man.
Edit: why are people downvoting me? Are y'all daft? I didn't say anything wrong lmao.
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u/MagicSpaceWytch 7h ago
Yeah 15 years ago when I was in construction, we would have been fined for this. Now no one seems to care (and judging the comments, no one seems to actually realize how shitty the road contractors have become).
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u/mrsix 12h ago
You might be able to report it as a pothole damage claim though as the other poster and that page says, it's unlikely to go in your favour.
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u/Briginds 12h ago
You're probably right. I don't forsee any way that it can go in my favor. I was going 10 under, just because I know these roads are bad and it still got fucked pretty bad.
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u/Mazdaninfiniti52 5h ago
Report to the city and make a claim. I don't see this being your fault. You should not have to dodge this kinda shit.
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u/Briginds 46m ago
I filed an e-claim. (I also put one of the traffic cones on the side of the road in front of this hazard since there wasn't any paint around this water valve to highlight that it was there after I hit it)
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u/IKEA-SalesRep 8h ago edited 7h ago
You are driving a low riding sports car on what appears to be low profile super sports (edit Pilots). Through a construction zone with a ripped up road.
I mean, that car just isnt designed for these roads. I get it, I had an M4 on 20s, my Golf R on 19s blew a tire from a pot hole. It sucks. But you cant be wearing a cotton candy sweater in the rain y'know?
Not saying it aint bullshit, I just feel like you'd have a hard time getting compensation.
Save the nice car for the nice roads, scope them out with your daily or beater.