Laws on speed humps and claims?

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,774
Location
Leicestershire
If I was to buy a car that as standard out of the factory was low where would I stand on speed humps?

Could I claim easily if they scratched or dented the underside of the car or the bumpers?

Looking at a nice car but these stupid speed humps are everywhere and I'd struggle to leave my house!
 
claim from who? the local authority would laugh at you, speed bumps don't cause damage unless a) you go too fast or b) your car is silly low, Ive seen supercars easily get over speedhumps, they just go slow
 
Whoever puts the speed humps down. Surely there's a minimum ride heights set in law that they have to abide by?
An extreme example I was thinking of was a Porsche 996/997 with a GT3 kit.
It got me thinking. Obviously go slow but I was thinking about the bumpers that over-extend a bit.
 
II have horrendously harsh speed bumps in my estate and there are 2 911's (a c4s and a turbo) that clear them just fine, as above just by taking it easy/angling the wheels.
 
helpimcrap said:
Whoever puts the speed humps down. Surely there's a minimum ride heights set in law that they have to abide by?
An extreme example I was thinking of was a Porsche 996/997 with a GT3 kit.
It got me thinking. Obviously go slow but I was thinking about the bumpers that over-extend a bit.
Click to expand...

rodenal said:
II have horrendously harsh speed bumps in my estate and there are 2 911's (a c4s and a turbo) that clear them just fine, as above just by taking it easy/angling the wheels.
Click to expand...

Lift systems.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/watch-the-porsche-911-gt3-lift-system-in-action-video-84115.html
 
We've got some pretty aggressive speed bumps around us and I've not come across a modern performance car that struggles to clear them. Just have to be careful and not charge into them.
 
rodenal said:
It doesn't look to me like they use them (lift) but I'm hardly staring at the things as they traverse every horrid hump
Click to expand...

Usually barely noticeable adjustment anyway. I don't think it's much more than a few centimetres.

The other option is a 65 caddy on hydraulics. Negotiate speed humps with the ass dropped rolling on three wheels gangster style.
 
My car is quite low stock and the only time I scraped the front was going into a very nasty car park.

The lower front splitter on most performance cars is more a consumable bumper protector than a style or aero piece!
 
There are guidelines for councils on the dimensions of speed bumps i can't remember where i found them though..

We used to have issues in our lowered MX5 on some private speed bumps but all council installed ones were fine as long as you took it (very) easy.
 
Quite a few around here that people struggle to get over with even low-ish cars. Seem to see people driving up lowered bits of the pavement for driveways, and around them over the pavement :/
 
helpimcrap said:
Whoever puts the speed humps down. Surely there's a minimum ride heights set in law that they have to abide by?
An extreme example I was thinking of was a Porsche 996/997 with a GT3 kit.
It got me thinking. Obviously go slow but I was thinking about the bumpers that over-extend a bit.
Click to expand...

My car (the mk1 996 in my sig) has gt3 aero side skirts and the front bumper of the gt3 also sits the same height as the normal 996 front bumper. If the car sits at its normal ride height you will not have any problem with speed bumps of any kind. They really aren't that low.
 
helpimcrap said:
Whoever puts the speed humps down. Surely there's a minimum ride heights set in law that they have to abide by?
An extreme example I was thinking of was a Porsche 996/997 with a GT3 kit.
It got me thinking. Obviously go slow but I was thinking about the bumpers that over-extend a bit.
Click to expand...

It's not the councils fault that manufacturers are stupid.

Wy Westfield is 110mm off the road at it's min height (bracing hoop under the gearbox) and I don't struggle with speed bumps. There aren't many cars lower than my Westfield.
 
I've owned a few lowered cars and never had any issues with hitting speedbumps but I've only lowered by 60mm at the lowest point.

Unless your planning on getting a 'dub' car and slamming it down 100mm than you shouldn't have any issues.

Had a few friends who did the 'dub' scene thing and they soon got bored with having to plan routes with no speedbumps before they set off.
 
Those bolt down plastic ones you sometimes see on private roads are nasty. My MX-5 used to bottom out on those :/
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom