OPINION ISSUED DECEMBER 29, 1988

SUZANNE STEINMAN
VS.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS

(CC-87-717)

Claimant appeared in person.
Nancy J. Aliff, Attorney at Law, for respondent.

PER CURIAM:

On December 8, 1987, at approximately 9:00 p.m. claimant was operating
her 1987 Mazda
on Route 88 near Bethlehem, Ohio County, when her vehicle struck a hole.
A rim had to be
replaced at a cost of $250.00 and one tire replaced at a cost of $110.00.

Claimant testified that at the time of the incident it was dark, rainy
and foggy. The highway had
several holes. She estimated the hole to be six to eight inches deep and
as wide as a tire. The
hole extended for at least six inches form the berm into the travel
portion of the highway. The
claimant travels this route two to three times a week, but she had not
observed the hole when she
last travelled it.

The State is neither an insurer nor a guarantor of the safety of
motorists travelling on its
highways. Adkins vs. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645 (1947). In order for the
respondent to be found
liable, it must be shown that the respondent had notice, either actual
or constructive, of the
defect in the road. As no evidence was presented that the respondent had
notice, the claim must
be denied.

Claim disallowed.