Pothole Payback Contest: Program will reimburse drivers for damage from potholes

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    METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — There isn’t anything much worse than hitting a pothole and having to shell out hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, to fix your car.

Unfortunately, it’s something all too common for us in Michigan, but now, you could get some of those repairs paid off.

It’s through the Pothole Payback Contest, happening now, through the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) — paying back drivers for their car repairs. The chosen winners could get some much-needed help.

When I went out, it didn’t take me long to find drivers who have been impacted by potholes.

“Just hit a pothole, bent the rim, control arm, front end work,” Nathan Young said.

“How much did you have to pay to fix it?” I asked.

“I think like $400,” he said.

Now through June, MITA is giving five drivers a month up to $758. Why that amount? It’s the average cost Michigan drivers pay in repairs because of bad roads.

“What’s been the feedback so far on this survey from people?” I asked Rob Coppersmith, the executive vice president of MITA.

“Overwhelming, I think the first night that we put it out, it’s one of those things that gets shared quite a bit, within an hour we had 30 or 40 entries,” he said.

All you have to do is fill out your information, describe what happened, attach a picture of the damage and a receipt or estimate for the car repairs, and you’re entered to win.

“There’s a cost to all of us for inaction,” he said.

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