Went to a few garages this afternoon to find out who does tracking. When I asked about warranty on the work done, all but one of them said there was no warranty as the tracking could be knocked out by hitting a bump, etc.
Needless to say, the garage that would warrant their work (even though it was only 28 days) got my business.
Would anybody like to comment on why the tracking would be knocked out if you go over bumps, etc? I'll bet none of them would be willing to put it in writing so that I could sue the council for their speed bumps contributing to it...
well i cant comment about the tracking, but the idea of taking the council to court over the speed bumps is a good idea, they are known to shourten the life of shock, also they are a restriction. most of them make you go well under the speed limit, just amagine what they would say if you place seveal bumps outside of their houses,, they would say they are an obstruction and take you to court for it and probably say they are a hazard
IANAL but I believe that you take them to court for "non-feasance" which IIRC is failing to perform a required/statutory function - namely, to maintain the roads.
I have heard of several cases where Councils have paid for tyres/wheels damaged by potholes (and promptly repaired said pothole afterwards). Tracking might be a bit harder to prove though as I guess you'd have to prove that the tracking was correct prior to hitting the speed bump.
Only if you try and take them at an unsuitable speed, and even then where's your evidence? Take them at a reasonable speed and the shocks do near nothing.
Been there a million times. If you want to stop cars doing the standard 40 mph+ on urban side roads you put in speed bumps that reduce the speed of some to about 20 mph. If that's too slow for you find a different route or leave more time for your journey.
Went to a few garages this afternoon to find out who does tracking. When I asked about warranty on the work done, all but one of them said there was no warranty as the tracking could be knocked out by hitting a bump, etc.
Needless to say, the garage that would warrant their work (even though it was only 28 days) got my business.
Would anybody like to comment on why the tracking would be knocked out if you go over bumps, etc? I'll bet none of them would be willing to put it in writing so that I could sue the council for their speed bumps contributing to it...
Dave Plowman (News) ( snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Indeed.
That's why my local council are being utterly stupid by putting speed bumps on the main road and not on the residential side roads that can be used to bypass it.
Neil's right. If the speed limit is 30 and there are no conditions that would make 30 unsuitable/dangerous - parked cars etc. - then you should be able to drive at 30 and if the LA put an obstruction to _deliberately_ prevent you doing that then there has to be a legal issue.
Having said that, I understand why speed bumps are used and, in some cases, needed but the big problem is that there seems to be no regulations governing them as there is such a diverse range of styles, sizes, road markings and signing - even within the same LA area - that it seems to be at the whim of the gang laying the tarmac.
We've all seen humps with deep gouges in them and whilst some of those may be caused by the local boy racers in their hot hatches with lowered suspension and "sports" body kits I've seen bog standard cars (typically sports cars) ground even when driving over them as slow as possible, clutch-slipping in first. In that situation the LA surely must be liable for damage sustained by vehicles if you can prove that the damage could occur even at walking pace.
I remember reading many years ago about some flexible speed humps being developed/trialled in Holland(?) which were made up of cells containing hydraulic fluid with small openings between the cells. They worked like shock absorbers and were designed so that at the speed limit they collapsed almost completely but even at a relatively small amount over the limit and they became a vicious bump. The idea, IIRC, was mainly to allow ambulances to drive over them at the speed limit but also reduce the noise nuisance to residents of vehicles accelerating after driving over one - or drag-racing between them in the case of boy-racers.
I managed to get £300 out of mine for an unrepairable alloy and tyre plus tracking. It took me 6 months of perseverance but I eventually got it. In hindsight though I should have claimed for shock absorbers and wheel bearing as I have since had to get these changed.
The garage were pretty confident that the shockers and bearings were as a direct result of hitting the pot hole.
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