Thanks to these infernal devices I have had my 2k's worth of ohlins suspension wrecked. I am not in a good mood as I have had to shell out about £1400 on replacing it with some cheaper stuff as I just can't afford to replace them with what was on there. I go over most humps at about walking pace. Some I can't even get over without the car scraping as they are so large, or the road has sunk.
How do I go about suing the council and showing my utter disgust at these devices? How many more people have to suffer financial loss because of them? My work place also has the odd illegal hump so how do I go about suing the pair of them and make sure both of them cough up rather than each blame the other and I get nothing?
Right now I feel like with holding my council tax for the next however long until I have got my money back.
teabelly
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Presumably you have a bike with Ohlins kit on? I find it difficult to understand how speed humps have wrecked it. What speed are you hitting these things at? My ZX12r is 3 years old and my neighbourhood is riddled with speed humps and the suspension is fine.
Can the Ohlins not be rebuilt?
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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They're on a car. The seals have gone. Speed humps can easily wreck suspension if the seals are quite small which they are on the skyline. The diameter of the shocks is relatively small so they're more prone to blowing when undue pressure is put on them (hefty work collegue in passenger seat + illegal hump + 350kg pressure per corner of normal car weight) The ohlins might be rebuildable but it would have taken several weeks and I can't be without the car as it is my every day transport. One of the rods (the badly leaking one) also appears to have some damage so it might not even be rebuildable. I haven't seen the state of them yet.
The appalling state of Staffordshire's roads won't have helped either. There is no other explanation for why shocks that have been on a car for only 18 months are leaking oil badly already. The local area is infested with humps now and there are lots I have to contend with which are illegal in height. Have you got any humps on hills where you are? They put even more pressure on the suspension. Both my work place and where my other half lives have large humps on hills which are just making it even worse as you have to be braking while you cross them to stop your speed rising too far and banging over the humps free wheeling. The suspension didn't creak at all when I first got the car. After a few visits to some of the villages with massive humps the front corner started creaking and that's the one that is leaking.
A bike won't put as much pressure on the suspension I would have thought as they tend to weigh much less and the weight on each shock is a lot less.
Councils seem to pay out if you prove a hump is illegal so I assume there is some evidence that humps cause damage. It would be easy to compare two identical cars and similar driving habits for someone that rarely goes over humps compared to someone that has to suffer them all the time.
teabelly
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Talking to local technition at my main dealer some time ago and got onto speed-humps, he told me that since local councils started putting them everywhere the life of car suspension has halved and is proving a real money-spinner for garages, and they (the garage owners), love them and long they remain. He then said if you want to beat the humps, get a 4X4 with a wide track.
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A village on my route home has these infernal things.
The council has managed to combine over-height humps with a poorly built edge that is crumbling and, you guessed, sinking. Which makes it even higher....
I refuse to drive over it "properly" and have caused irritation by waiting for a gap so as to drive down the middle.
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Have you looked at your council website?The Leeds one has a section entitled'making a public liability claim',inclucing a claim questionaire.Look under highways.They also say they maintain the roads!The only tarmac some roads see is whan these traffic harming measures are installed.A bit off topic but does anyone know the idea behind narrowing side roads where they join the main,so that only one vehicle can get through?These virtually cause gridlock when it is busy and force people to mount the kerb to squeeze past,I really cannot see what they are meant to achieve.
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Whereabouts in Staffordshire are we talking?
Ben
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The village with the evil humps is Talke Pits. You'll know it I'd imagine.
I'm going to have a look at the council site and see what it says.
teabelly
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My C5 needs new front shocks at only 72k. Confirmed as leaking, and undoubtedly due to humps, as tracking is also slightly out.
Dealers quoting £500+, as the hydraulics have to be "recalibrated" - normally a 5 year job.
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Oh yes I know the Talk Pits ones well- mind you, even those are dwarfed by the ones they've installed in Silverdale. Not normal sleeping policemen, but cushion type ones that you straddle to get across. Even at walking pace the thump is huge.
Ben
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I've had the misfortune of going over the Silverdale ones too. At 1 mph they are just about ok. Upsets following cars as you end up accelerating between the humps just to get someone off your boot lid. They drive so close you nearly get them on the back seat when you have to brake to get over them safely!
I think it is disgusting that councils are allowed to install items on the highway that actively damage vehicles. It's reprehensible.
teabelly
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Got back ok, althought the fiesta was chugging a bit up some hills, I reckon my power to weight ratio was about 27bhp/tonne! (no clutch smell or overheating, despite 100k on the clock)
Thanks again,
Rich.
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I see your problem now teabelly. I didn't realise Ohlins made car suspension.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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Glad you got back ok. I'm slightly amazed a fiesta could have towed it actually! I'll send you the details of the chap with the replacement bonnet when I get them. I thought I had a spare set of keys too but I can't find them. My mate also has an exhaust, drivers manual, another sill and a few other bits n bobs. He's got bits of door trim that were missing too.
The boot badge doesn't swing. I was convinced it did, ooops! The release is definitely a small lever in the car. Might be black.The emergency release is under the back seat but you have to take the seat out to find it!
It should keep you out of mischief for some time :-)
Don't forget to SORN the car when you get the registration details through as the DVLA are getting uppity about continuous registration.
teabelly
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teabelly,
probably best to take this to email, rich_newbrook at hotmail dot co dot uk
Thanks for all your help.
Amended in line with Teabelly's very good advice. smokie, BR Moderator
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teabelly, probably best to take this to email, rich_newbrook@hotmail.co.uk Thanks for all your help.
FWIW it's best not to post full email addresses as they are simply hoovered up by spammers and you then suffer. You could simply post your email address as rich_newbrook at hotmail dot co dot uk and I think most people would understand.
Leif
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Mentioned in a previous thread, here are the regulations for spspeed humps.
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1990/Uksi_19900703_en_2.htm
Also worth reading are the Association of British Drivers comments on speed humps.
www.abd.org.uk/speed_humps.htm
Luckily for me most of my driving is on roads without speed humps. I know the clearance on many humps is very minimal for my car, so I also have a loathing of them.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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