VW Owner at Odds With Local Government, His Car Won’t Make it Over New Speed Bumps

Sometimes, when coming across a story, it seems to be a hilarious read but then it’s not long before you discover that it’s satire. For this one, I had to do quite the bit of research. I was quite determined that this absolutely had to be a joke. However, after confirming with multiple sources, it’s safe to say that it’s true.

When 23-year-old, Christopher Fitzgibbon, decided to lower his VW Passat, he didn’t seem to consider the consequences.

When all of the dollar figures were tallied up, the end result wasn’t pretty. Altogether, including the $6300+ yearly insurance rate, it’s cost him over $16,000 to keep his ride on the road. He claims over $2500 worth of damage from scraping on the bumps. This damage includes the tow hitch, shock absorbers, drop links, springs, and the bumpers.

He wants the local government to pay for the damage, citing that the car can’t make it over the bumps. We’re told that it sits at around 4-inches from the ground. Christopher says that the bumps are around 6-inches high but Limerick City and County Council say they’re about half that.

And it doesn’t matter what speed I’m at either – I could be driving at 5km per hour or 80 km per hour and it wouldn’t make a difference.

‘I feel discriminated against because I’m driving a modified car – it’s lowered, so it’s four inches off the road – and I’m being denied my right to drive on these roads.

Christopher even took the liberty of adding up the extra mileage that he has to travel to avoid the bumps. This tacks an extra 7000 miles on to his yearly commute. That’s just the trip to work, not to mention all of the other trips that he has to avoid the city for.

The car itself cost about $3100 for Christopher. However, even though he’s now tens of thousands of dollars in the hole, he thinks it’s still a battle worth going to bat for. So far, his concerns have yet to be addressed after filing several complaints. He’s even taken trips to the council office.

A spokesperson told the Daily Mail that they’ve “received no other complaint in relation to them.”

“A traffic survey carried out prior to installation indicated high levels of speed through the village and non-compliance with existing speed limits. The introduction of the measures has resulted in a safer village for all.”

Man Spends £3,000 To Lower Car Suspension, Can’t Get Over Speed Bumps: People will go to all sorts of lengths to jazz up their cars, and although the additions might look cool, they’re not always practical.  23-year-old Christopher Fitzgibbon learned… https://t.co/6CjPjhiwa6 pic.twitter.com/TK2Upzm2Ab

— Rebel Dublin (@RebelDublin) April 25, 2019

“Similar speed cushions were introduced in other areas of the county without issue.”

We’re certainly no law experts. However, we would venture to guess that the government will probably win this one. After all, those regulations for automakers to follow ARE there for a reason. This is not the video from Christopher and his VW but we have to bet, that it can’t be any worse than this!