Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Leif

See here:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/120257/can-i-cla...s-

His answer is informative but it's not the answer to the question posed. I regularly see this in his Telegraph column. So, can you claim for damage?

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - ExA35Owner

The answer is implied - no.

The speed bumps will be signposted; they will be visible; they will be the size and shape required by regulations. So the highway authority have done nothing wrong: the driver has brought the damage upon himself.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Leif

The answer is implied - no.

The speed bumps will be signposted; they will be visible; they will be the size and shape required by regulations. So the highway authority have done nothing wrong: the driver has brought the damage upon himself.

No the answer is not implied. What is it then?

Drive according to the Highway Code, and you may damage your car. Drive as suggested by HJ, and you are okay, but you may be in the middle of the road.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - gordonbennet

The answer should have been ''common sense applies, you're not driving an off road capable 4x4, so drive sensibly according to what you can see with your mk1 eyeball''.

HJ is far more diplomatic than i would have been.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - madf

The answer should have been ''common sense applies, you're not driving an off road capable 4x4, so drive sensibly according to what you can see with your mk1 eyeball''.

HJ is far more diplomatic than i would have been.

Exactly.

The words "m****ic driving" come to mind...

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - gordonbennet

The words "m****ic driving" come to mind...

I do have an off road capable 4x4, and when we visit the local Asda, their approach road has about 6 of those hard rubber moon shaped speed humps, recently renewed too, these are among the nastiest humps out there, they won't damage my car but during the coldest of weathers i find a variety of cars, some well known for breaking springs regularly, trying to push me faster than i have any intention of negotiating these pads, with cars often coming the other way at silly speeds over them the whole car shuddering at the impact..

You have to feel sorry for their cars, what do they think is going to happen to those steel springs and dampers below freezing temps and subjecting them to such hard use continually, do they not think at all, what happened to common sense.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Engineer Andy

He is implying that some cars are more susceptible to damage than others because of they are low slung when they don't need to be, but IMHO many people are the cause because they drive WAY too fast over the 'sleeping policeman' type humps and especially over the pimple ones, particularly is they straddle them (more suspension damage for the last type).

The ONLY way you can claim for damager cause by a speed hump is that they don't meet the minimum specs they have to be built to - essentially their height from the rest of the road surface, the angle of the slope. Like potholes, damage to the hump (especially that which makes the hump go out of allowable specs) MUST be reported to the council/fixmy street first and then give 2-3 days generally, 1 day (?) for serious damage to be temporarily repaired.

I think the specs can be found on some government website somewhere - just Google it.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - John F

I agree it was a most unhelpful answer. A few seconds searching shows the maximum height of humps should be 100mm and the ground clearance of a Touran is 155mm. So I'd suggest going back to the offending hump (there must have been a hell of a crunch) and try to measure its height. Then check that nothing is wrong with suspension or mountings to cause the engine to sag. Nothing to lose by putting in a claim, apart from a small claims court fee if you eventually have to go there and costs if you lose.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Engineer Andy

I agree it was a most unhelpful answer. A few seconds searching shows the maximum height of humps should be 100mm and the ground clearance of a Touran is 155mm. So I'd suggest going back to the offending hump (there must have been a hell of a crunch) and try to measure its height. Then check that nothing is wrong with suspension or mountings to cause the engine to sag. Nothing to lose by putting in a claim, apart from a small claims court fee if you eventually have to go there and costs if you lose.

Other than a driver going to fast or braking at the wrong time and the front/rear of the car dropping at the wrong time, sometimes the problem is made worse or caused by the road sinking just before/after the hump, often because of vehicles are braking/accelerating and thus more force is being applied to the road. This means the difference in height between the lowest point right before the speed hump and the top is increased.

I've seen this locally many times and reported the fault to the council, and generally they are repaired, although mostly with 'fill in' repairs that don't last that long, especially in winter.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Brit_in_Germany

A quick google gives a wide range of values for ground clearance, the lowest being 101 mm.

Why doesn't HJ answer questions? - Engineer Andy

The problem isn't just a car's ground clearance, but how much the front in particular overhangs from the wheels, as the larger the overhang, the more chance the front will scrape on speed humps. Seen this happen a LOT with sports cars, which occasionally can get beached.

The same can happen on sharp increases in the incline of a road - remember the Clarkson-era Top Gear 'road trip' episode when one of them (May?) got beached more than once with his supercar on Italian or French (I can't remember which) roads at a junction?

Edited by Engineer Andy on 09/03/2019 at 13:24