Christopher Fitzgibbon and his lowered VW PassatMichael Cowhey / SWNS via the Daily Mail An Irishman whose lowered Volkswagen sedan suffered damage driving over his hometown’s speed bumps wants the town to pay for its repair because, he says, the traffic-calming measures are a form of discrimination. Christopher Fitzgibbon, 23, wants his small town of Galbally in Limerick, Ireland to pay for around £2,000 ($3,400) worth of damages done by driving his lowered VW Passat over the speed bumps, according to The Daily Mail. Fitzgibbon modified the car in March of 2016 to sit about four inches above the ground, but he claims the new speed bumps, installed in September of 2018, are six inches high, which means he can’t drive over them. “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,” he says. It doesn’t matter what speed I’m at either—I could be driving at 5 km/h or 80 km/h and it wouldn’t make a difference. Having to avoid the speed bumps has meant he can’t drive through the town on his commute, which used to be 50 kilometres. He also says he can’t drive into town to visit the post office, the shops or the pub (which you shouldn’t drive to anyway). Now he must use an alternate route that adds more mileage. Limerick City and County Council has responded by disputing Fitzgibbon’s claim regarding the height of the speed bumps; even though he says they are six inches tall, according to the town’s Traffic Calming Policy Document, they are in fact 75 millimetres tall, or less than three
Origin: Lowered VW’s owner says speed bumps are ‘discrimination,’ asks town to pay