Bad roads costly for authorities
Local authorities and the state will today be seriously pondering the condition of roads in Greece after an Athens court yesterday ordered an Attica municipality to pay over 300,000 euros in compensation to the family of a motorcycle rider killed after his bike fell into a pothole. Yesterday’s decision could pave the way for a number of claims against the authorities responsible for road maintenance as the court of first instance ruled that the Municipality of Koropi, the Eastern Attica authority and the state had to pay some 312,000 euros in compensation to the family of the 48-year-old man. He was thrown from his motorcycle when he drove over a pothole on Vari-Koropi Avenue in April 2002, landing on the opposite side of the road before being hit and killed by an oncoming car. The pothole was 1.2 meters wide, 3.3 meters long and 10 centimeters deep. The court said the state of the road should have been checked, street lights should have been on at the time of the accident and clear signs warning of the pothole should have been erected.
