Answer
This is a good question. The tractor driver flicking mud all over the road is liable to you if you hit the mud and crash. Your example is very easy as you know who put the mud on the road – i.e., the driver of the tractor with the registration number you’ve seen.
It gets much trickier when you come across the mud after the event and haven’t seen who deposited it there. Your only way to make a successful claim then is either to find the mud-slinger or bring a claim against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). It deals with untraced driver claims when the wrongdoer has failed to stop or left the scene and their vehicle ought to be ordinarily insured for use on the road (which a tractor does) – then, they should compensate you.
However, be aware of the MIB. They will try everything to avoid paying out. This includes investigating the claim and gathering evidence which may suggest the mud has come from elsewhere, i.e., run-off from the roadside in a rainstorm.
The MIB will not take witness statements itself; rather, it will outsource the work to independent companies to contact you and take a statement. This is when you need a lawyer involved as I have seen statements which do not actually address the issue in the case, i.e., where the mud may have come from.
I have also carried out Land Registry searches to find the owners of land where mud is dragged off. This is sometimes the farmer of said land. If they get a letter from my firm, and subcontracted work out to other parties, this can be a method by which you ‘trace’ the persons who left mud on the road.
Some of you may remember the case of Mesut Kayran, 28, from Swindon, who died on the B4014 between Tetbury and Malmesbury in 2008. The farmer, George Withers, from Malmesbury, left mud on the road and failed to clear it away. It began to drizzle, and the wet mud was likened to driving or riding on ice. Mr Kayran was driving a motorcar which skidded, rolled, and hit an oncoming car. He died of a head injury in the accident.
Withers was prosecuted under the Health and Safety Act and fined £11,250 and ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs.
Such a conviction would open the farmer up to a civil claim for damages. So, you see, such a minor issue as ‘leaving a bit of mud on the road’ can have far-reaching consequences.
Gavin Grewal
Fast Bikes – December 2025
