The following letter is reproduced from the Honest John motoring column in the Daily Telegraph of 29 October 2005. Further specific examples are sought of compensation payments having been made owing to inept design and construction of road humps in the UK. Staffordshire County Council are reputed to have paid out large sums of money - all at taxpayers' expense.
Concrete and the claim
Last year I cracked the sump on my VW Passat
while going over a speed hump in a 20 mph zone. I was not breaking the speed limit. I
claimed for the damage from the Watford/Herts council on the basis that the hump had been
hit several times before and that I was not doing anything wrong. It claimed the hump met
all regulations and that it was regularly inspected and maintained, although a copy of the
inspection report barely stated that the hump existed. I found a document by the Transport
Research Laboratory - Project Report 18, Road Humps for Controlling Vehicle Speeds - that
gives details of recommended dimensions. The hump at Watford was too high by 10% (10mm)
and the top was too short by one metre. On presentation of this information I received a
cheque for the sump replacement. They don't give up without a fight - it took me about six
months to get a result. A. M. Watford.
Good for you - further evidence that I need to get my Cash (Campaign against Speed Humps) project off the ground. Honest John.