Court issues state compensation for hazardous drainage design
Court issues state compensation for hazardous drainage design
2024-11-21
When cycling, you might not think anything of checking the ground you’re riding on, but you probably should. In 2022, a cyclist in Maolin District in Kaohsiung had her bike get stuck on a drainage grate, which caused her to be lurched forward onto the ground. A district court on first ruling, ordered the Maolin District Office to compensate the cyclist NT$217,000. Even though this type of large-grid drainage grates are only installed in areas prone to flooding, do take note of what’s under your feet to avoid serious accidents.
This drainage channel across the road near the remote village of Kongadawan in Kaohisung’s Maolin District caused a cyclist to get bad injuries in 2022.
Her bike had got stuck on the drainage grate, lurching her forward onto the ground. She filed a lawsuit asking for more than NT$960,000 in state compensation. The Ciaotou District Court has ruled that deficient management by the Maolin District Office was to blame, awarding compensation of NT$217,000 to the cyclist. The ruling can be appealed.
Cyclist
You have to avoid the wide gaps on the grates, but even if you try to do it, some people still fall over. Not so much now, because nowadays the grates have metal plates on wider gaps.
Cyclist
Smaller tires can’t get past, like the narrower wheels on racing bikes. It depends on the thickness of the wheel. Like these bigger ones on my bike won’t have problems. But bikes designed to ride up mountains could get stuck.
Over in downtown Kaohsiung, there are similar grates on some of the streets. Though they appear flat enough and don’t have much of a height difference between bars, the galvanized metal is actually quite slippery. In addition, the gaps between bars are quite wide. Even in areas where the bars are closer together, there is still a chance of accidents. So why doesn’t the city just change all the grates to a design safer for cyclists?
Tseng Hsien-lin
Kaohsiung Water Resources Bureau
The grates have bigger drainage holes than the old black iron grates. That allows rainwater to pour in faster. The grates need to withstand a higher capacity, so the holes are smaller and closer together. That’s what makes them different from the grates in Maolin.
Though flatter grates with smaller grids are theoretically safer, cyclists and people wearing high heels are still advised to step aside when they see grates with designs similar to those that have caused accidents in the past.
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整排連續水溝蓋害單車騎士慘摔 茂林區公所判賠21.7萬
2024-11-21
民眾騎自行車，經過水溝蓋時得多留意，2022年高雄茂林區多納林道上，有一整排連續水溝蓋，因為"鍍鋅格柵蓋"，中間縫隙比較大，導致一名女子騎自行車摔倒受傷，提出國賠，法院認為，茂林區公所管理有欠缺，判國賠21.7萬元，仍可上訴。這類型水溝蓋，市區不常見，通常設置在容易淹水地區，因為比較方便快速排水。
一排連續水溝蓋，橫跨在高雄茂林區多納林道上，這個地方2022年時，造成一名鄭姓女子騎自行車摔倒受傷。
當時女子就是騎自行車卡進"鍍鋅格柵蓋"，導致摔倒受傷，提出國賠求償96萬餘元，最後橋頭地院認為茂林區公所管理有欠缺，判國賠21.7萬元，仍可上訴。
[[騎自行車民眾]]
“就閃那個比較寬的地方，要閃過去，有人還是會跌倒，但現在比較少，現在格柵比較寬的地方，他就會做鐵片。”
[[騎自行車民眾]]
“小輪胎沒辦法過，像是專門騎腳踏車比賽，那個輪胎薄過去就會，你要看輪胎厚度，像這種大輪胎不會，但是要是爬山騎的自行車，那種就會。”
其實高雄市區，也有這類型的水溝蓋，即使水溝蓋外觀平整，無高低落差，但"鍍鋅格柵蓋"的材質遇水容易打滑，加上縫隙較大，即使市區的間隔已經加密，仍有機率不慎摔倒，但為何沒有全面更改水溝蓋的樣式，水利局透露，是為了防淹水。
[[高雄水利局市一科股長 曾顯琳]]
“該格柵具有排水孔洞較多、較大，較早期黑色鑄鐵蓋有優勢，可減少路面雨水停留時間，市區道路格柵承受載重比較高，開孔較小、較密，與茂林格柵形式不同。”
雖然水溝蓋在平整狀況下，並不會造成危險，但還是提醒騎單車或是穿高跟鞋的民眾，看到這樣的水溝蓋，盡量繞道而行，避免一時不慎打滑受傷，
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