Whose Fault Is Damage Caused by a Speed Bump?
Dear Tom and Ray: A late-’90s special edition Porsche was driven down a ramp. At the end of the ramp are two speed bumps, 2 feet apart. The first bump is made of concrete and the second one is hard rubber. Neither is more than 2.5 inches high at the center. The concrete bump is about 8 inches wide, and the rubber one is about 12 inches wide. After the bumps is the sidewalk, then the street. The owner of the car is claiming that the valet parkers drove his Porsche too fast over the speed bumps, causing $10,000 in damage to his engine. He claims the bottom of the Porsche hit the bumps, causing the oil pan to separate or loosen from the engine, which led to an oil leak. Please tell me if this is possible, and if the cost of repair is reasonable. Hadi TOM: Oh, you’re in deep doo-doo, Hadi. Yes, it is possible to drive a Porsche down a circular garage ramp at 60 mph and then scrape the oil pan on a couple of speed bumps. And I bet it was fun too. RAY: Actually, it can happen at a lot less t
