Sheffield S25 Speed Humps are Destroying Small Cars! 🛑

The speed cushions in Sheffield S25 (Dinnington / Anston) are supposed to be about road safety—but they are completely failing. Over 50% of vehicles don't even slow down for them! Because these cushions are 1.6 metres wide, large SUVs, 4x4s, and delivery vans can straddle them perfectly and fly over at full speed. Meanwhile, smaller cars like my Vauxhall Corsa have a narrower wheel track, forcing us right onto the harsh slopes. Instead of slowing down the heaviest, most dangerous traffic, these humps just punish small car owners. The uneven impact just wrecked my wheel tracking, track rod ends, and snapped my coil springs! If 50% of traffic doesn't need to slow down, how is this about safety? Has this happened to your car in S25? Let me know below! 👇 Dear Complaints Team, CC: Dinnington Ward Councillors Castledine-Dack, Clarke, and Hall, I am writing to log a formal Stage 1 Corporate Complaint against Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s Highways Department. This complaint relates to a severe highway design flaw on Leopold Street and Nursery Road (S25) that is causing significant, cumulative vehicle damage to local residents. Concurrently, I am submitting a public liability claim for the financial costs required to repair my vehicle. 1. Incident and Vehicle Damage The damage to my vehicle (Vauxhall Corsa) has occurred progressively over time due to the daily necessity of navigating the poorly designed 1.6-metre-wide speed cushions on Leopold Street and Nursery Road in Dinnington. The repetitive impact from these cushions has caused cumulative damage, gradually knocking out my wheel tracking and bending steering components. This hidden misalignment has resulted in severe, accelerated wear specifically to the inner edges of both front tyres. While the tyres are currently legal and have passed recent safety testing, this localized inner wear is getting critically close to the legal limit and has ruined the lifespan of the tyres. The full extent of this progressive alignment damage was officially identified and diagnosed during a recent garage maintenance check. Based on current automotive budget rates, the combined cost for the front wheel tracking alignment (£30.00 - £40.00) and two replacement front tyres will total an estimated range of £120.00 to £160.00. I require the council to fully reimburse these repair costs (final garage invoice to be provided upon completion of work). 2. The Design Flaw and Road Safety Failure These specific 1.6-metre speed cushions on Leopold Street and Nursery Road completely fail to meet their intended road safety purpose due to an inherent design flaw: * The SUV Advantage: Large SUVs, 4x4s, and commercial delivery vans have a wide wheel track (typically 1.7m to 1.9m). This allows them to straddle these 1.6m cushions completely and drive over them at full speed (30mph+) without slowing down. * The Small Car Penalty: Lighter, more economical vehicles like my Vauxhall Corsa have a narrow wheel track (approx. 1.48m). It is physically impossible for a small car to straddle these humps. We are forced to drive directly over the steep, angled ramps of the cushion, subjecting our steering components to violent, uneven lateral stress on every single journey. * The Result: Observations of this specific stretch of road show that over 50% of the heaviest, highest-risk vehicles are not slowing down at all. This infrastructure does not calm traffic; it actively accommodates heavy vehicles while penalizing and damaging small cars driven by local residents through ongoing mechanical wear. 3. Action Required Because the council has a duty to maintain a highway infrastructure that is safe and fair for all legal vehicle types, I require the following remedies: 1. Full reimbursement of my mechanical repair and tyre replacement costs within the stated budget range (£120.00 - £160.00). 2. An immediate engineering and road safety review of these specific 1.6m speed cushions on Leopold Street and Nursery Road by the Highways Department. 3. The removal of these failed cushions, to be replaced by full-width speed tables or alternative traffic-calming measures that apply equally to all vehicles. To my local Ward Councillors: I have copied you into this formal correspondence to request your urgent backing. As a local resident, I ask that you follow up on this complaint directly with senior management in the Highways Department to ensure it is handled properly and not dismissed under a standard date-and-time technicality. I look forward to receiving the council's formal acknowledgment and a full response within your standard 10-working-day Stage 1 complaint window. Yours sincerely, Tim Wells