Frame and tie down damage from unmarked speedbump.

[HadEnough]

Last year they put in a new speed bump in a place that I had been driving for years and I didn’t notice the speedbump. I was driving out of habit, and I hit it and damaged my frame mounts for my truck camper. And broke the water tank.

I replaced these frame mounts And fixed the water tank, only to hit a completely new AND unmarked speedbump this year!


This unmarked speed bump damaged the frame mounted tied downs and the frame itself.

Do I have any recourse here with the city or do I just have to eat this? Do I have to pay for this frame to get welded? And replace yet another set of damaged tiedowns?

I’m a little bit irritated at this point. Please see pictures of the unmarked speedbump and the damage to the RV at the following link.


I posted a picture of the frame mount how it should look, and a picture of the one that was destroyed by the unmarked speedbump. Also pictures of the speedbump itself.


Pictures of the broken frame mount, broken frame, and unmarked speedbump.


This is actually unreal. The truck camper left the bed of the truck. Dishes everywhere. Everything flew off of shelves. Unbelievable impact from this unmarked speedbump.

[ScottG]

Would have looked like a flat patch to me too.

[BB_TX]

Looking at your picture I see exactly what you describe, an asphalt speed bump a few inches higher than the surrounding pavement. Have seen them before. And unmarked they do blend into that pavement. And yes, they are typically clearly marked. I am curious what the diamond shape warning sign about 3 car lengths before the speed bump says though.

Not likely you will get anything at all from the city.

[Tyler0215]

Looking closely at the picture, I don't see a speed bump. I see a road patch that is somewhat level with the rest of the roadway. Have you contacted the city to ask if it is indeed a speed bump?

[Lwiddis]

Party has a good point.

[StirCrazy]

by the looks of your picture that crack was there for a long time and the speed bump just opened it up. so realy any investagator who looked at that would say it was pfrevious damage so the ity wouldnt do any thing. unless you took this picture over 6 months after the incident....

Steve

[fj12ryder]

Honestly the photo shows no speed bump, it shows a section of asphalt, but you can't see any rise so it's impossible to gauge how nasty the speed bump really is.

There should be specs on the size of a speed bump, i.e. length, height, radius, markings, etc. Seems to me your only recourse is to research the specs and see if this speed bump is according to the specs for the speed limit on that street. If it meets all the requirements, it looks like you would be out of luck on being awarded damages.

And I do agree that those tears in the frame look a bit old, from the amount of rust around the crack.

[wnjj]

It looks so new that they probably couldn't paint it yet. They don't stripe new asphalt for several days or more. That's why there are temporary white arrows painted there. I suppose they could have put a sign or orange cones out but someone would probably just move them anyway.

[westernrvparkow]

HadEnough wrote:
You guys really don’t get it do you?

That’s exactly what that thing looks like. A piece of flat asphalt. Yet, it’s actually a full-size speedbump. Speed bumps like this are supposed to be marked with large white arrow is all over them and shrinking in size for about 50 feet in front of them. The speed I was going with the speed everyone was going. They were about half a dozen cars all in a line and another half dozen or more behind me. Must be nice driving out in the country in the middle of nowhere and having the road to yourself, but that’s not what goes on in Jersey City right here outside of New York. If you have ever been to the liberty Harbor RV park that is mentioned all the time on here, it’s right around the corner from that place. You do not drive slower than the speed of traffic or you’re going to get shot.

So enough giving me a hard time please.

I hope each of you that chose to be mean to me when clearly you can see this thing is unmarked, hits something just as big that destroys your RV as well. I’m out of here.

You didn't notice the six cars in front of you bouncing on the speed bump? There must be more in play besides a speed bump to cause the damages you are claiming. Intact frames on vehicles do not split hitting speed bumps.

[HadEnough]

You guys really don’t get it do you?

That’s exactly what that thing looks like. A piece of flat asphalt. Yet, it’s actually a full-size speedbump. Speed bumps like this are supposed to be marked with large white arrow is all over them and shrinking in size for about 50 feet in front of them. The speed I was going with the speed everyone was going. They were about half a dozen cars all in a line and another half dozen or more behind me. Must be nice driving out in the country in the middle of nowhere and having the road to yourself, but that’s not what goes on in Jersey City right here outside of New York. If you have ever been to the liberty Harbor RV park that is mentioned all the time on here, it’s right around the corner from that place. You do not drive slower than the speed of traffic or you’re going to get shot.

So enough giving me a hard time please.

I hope each of you that chose to be mean to me when clearly you can see this thing is unmarked, hits something just as big that destroys your RV as well. I’m out of here.

[Chum_lee]

What you call in your photos an "unmarked speed bump" looks more to me like an asphalt road patch/repair sealed at the perimeter. It could be the ambient lighting and/or the camera angle that disguises the bump, but, that's what it looks like to me, . . . . . from both directions.

The crack in your structural member has corrosion on/around what should be bare metal. How much time elapsed between the damage and the photo? Is that your truck/camper parked in the background across from the construction site?

How fast were you going when you hit this clearly visible "unmarked speed bump" located in a construction zone on a single lane high density downtown one way city street with a bike lane on the left and parallel parking on both sides when the damage occurred? What is the posted speed limit? I noticed that it was also about 3 parking spaces downstream from an uncontrolled crosswalk. (actually two)

Chum lee

[36guy]

Clearly, the speed bump was put there to slow people who drive too fast down, it looks like a narrow street, you shouldn't be going fast enough to launch the camper in the air. Chalk it up to **** happens, fix the damage and slow down.

[PartyOf_Five]

It looks marked to me. Given that it's a smaller side street, if go about 30mph Max anyway, likely less given my stopping distance.

[HadEnough]

I guess I don’t really have a recourse. Nothing that a guy who is still working and not retired can do. The amount of time involved would probably not be worth it right?

So frustrating and unbelievable that they could leave something like that in the middle of the road.

[Lwiddis]

Many local governments in our state require the filing of a claim within a short period. Usually in the city/county clerk’s office. If the claim is denied by the local government then you can file a lawsuit. If you miss filing the claim within the period you’re toast.