Need help with the damage to my car caused by illegal speed humps.

[RiffRaffMama]

My local shire have installed a bunch of speed humps on the unmade gravel access road to my property for the first time ever. This is the only access to my property so I am forced to drive over them. I drive a very vanilla VX Berlina sedan, totally unmodified, but every time I drive over these humps they scrape the bottom of my car no matter how slow I crawl over them. Even worse now it's been raining and the wheel ruts have made them even higher. We have measured them and found that they do not meet the legal requirements (never have, even before the rain) for speed hump height and, combined with the fact they did not put up signage for them, I feel I have a case for compensation for the cost of repairs to the damage to the undercarriage and suspension in my car. No, I do not have insurance through which I could claim this.

Obviously I don't want to just bang out a letter to them that their lawyers will just shoot down, so I have made sure to make videos of my car driving over them at low speed and take photos, but what I think I will really need is a professional report from somebody qualified to examine the damage to my car and say they are satisfied it was caused by these ƒưƈǩīƞǥ speed humps (yes, you may use that wording if desired).

I approached a local mechanic who did not want to get involved because the shire apparently made things difficult for them regarding their business licence or some crap when they rocked the boat another time. I can understand their reluctance if that's the case. I live in a country town as you may have established, which severely limits my options for local assistance.

Is anyone willing or does anyone know someone who would take a look at my car, either in person or via photos, videos and an existing recent general report from Pedders and declare that in their professional opinion the damage caused to my car's undercarriage and suspension has been caused by these speed humps and that it would cost $x to fix? I am perfectly happy with you or anyone inspecting my car in person, or I can jack it up and take some photos or videos for you.

Any suggestions?

 

[mechanic]

You need the advice of a solicitor before you do anything else. Unfortunately you will pay by the 15 minute block for this ad-hoc type of work.

What damages will you be claiming? Is it just scratched exhaust, or is there body/floor panel damage?
Just make sure the damage couldn't be attributed to anything else, or they'll wipe the floor with you.

 

[gossie]

Drive thru at 45 degrees.

 

[tml678]

Put some ramps either side of them?

 

[Derekthetree]

Put some ramps either side of them?

Or get a friend with an excavator

 

[_R_J_K_]

While I sympathize with you and agree that speep humps blow, the only way that your suspension is going to actually get damaged as a direct result of those speed humps is by traveling over them at speed multiple times.

Not to mention, there are too many variables at play here. At best your car is 18 years old with shock absorbers, bushes, and springs that I assume have already been extensively used prior to this. Depending on which manufacturer you ask, there is a range of 40,000km to 120,000km in which those shock absorbers and bushes should be replaced, that's a pretty big window in which they will legitimately claim that your suspension was pretty damn worn already. I'd say there are too many variables for a professional too unless they were in the car with you or you actually have components that have catastrophically failed - broken/bent LCA or a bent strut etc...

Also, all I'm seeing from what you've written is that you think there is damage based on what you're hearing in the car. You have no photos or documentation of any specific areas of damage directly after whatever incident you think has taken place. You cannot actually confirm to us reading at the moment if there is any damage to the actual under carriage or chassis rails, just that you think there is. Have you actually gotten under the car to investigate or document? You're gonna be pretty red faced if you try to claim all of this damage only to find that your exhaust has some scratches on it - which surprise, is the cause of scraping in every single Commodore I've been in, it hangs low and the Commo is a pretty long wheelbase car.

You're clutching at straws, and TBH you will pay more in fees trying to prove this than just replacing the extremely common and cheap parts that probably weren't broken because of your council (factor in the value of you're own time too, so few people do this). Sure, try to get them to fix the ruts and piss off the speed humps and do their job but the only realistic way there is damage to your car over a given time frame is driver negligence multiple times. You haven't mentioned what components of the suspension you think are damaged or anything to the effect that it is (you only mention scraping as a problem, no handling issues), but you still want them to replace the "suspension" (where does that begin and end BTW) anyway. Really until you have pictures to prove otherwise it sounds like you're just scraping on the exhaust.

 

[losh1971]

Or get a friend with an excavator

Maybe, mattock and shovel?

 

[Immortality]

If the speed humps don't meet state requirements than a simple letter to the council should have the problem fixed. Failing that, ACA? The media tend to get **** sorted.

As for the damage, damn hard time to prove it was caused by them (the council). Once many moons ago I damaged both front wheels where a road crew had dug up a road and back filled but left a ditch across the road about 800mm wide and about 75mm deep. Both front wheels had dents in the rims as there was no warning signage and it was on a steep downhill section at twilight so by the time I saw it, it was to late to wipe of enough speed. I contacted the council to make a complaint but they fairly much said it wasn't their problem and more an issue with the contractor. When I went back to get pics there was full signage for works and the ditch had been back filled more.

 

[losh1971]

I hit a pot hole next to a bridge that council should have should have fixed but was there for months. It busted my strut top bush and dented my bonnet. Knowing it was going to be too hard to have them pay I had to fix it myself.

 

[vc commodore]

Going back about 10 years ago, I used to get people coming in with damaged rims as a result of a poor road close to my work place....In the beginning the council was coughing up for the damaged rims (surprise surprise), but them it got to much and they stopped....When they stopped, they actually began fixing up the offending road.

As for the op's issue...I seriously doubt anything will come of it...Good change the council will laugh at it and use the paper submitted to them as toilet paper