SKIBBEREEN’S Safer Routes to School scheme has been blamed for the damage caused to a local woman’s car.

‘Not everyone has a brand-new car,’ said motorist Susanna Huber, who told The Southern Star she had acquired a second-hand car, with a full NCT, two weeks before the incident.

She complained that driving at Cork Road, at night, for the first time in a while she was not aware of the new road works. And, after landing ‘with a bump’ on the raised area, the driver said she knew her car had been damaged.

‘I had my car checked in my garage and had to replace a bushing in the front, which is part of the suspension, and thereafter, it needed tracking and is not running as smoothly.’

She complained that the repairs were an extra expense that she could have done without. Susanna said she was ‘unaware of any obstacles being built’ and said non-locals are insufficiently prepared for the height of what the local authority is calling ‘tables’ that are designed to slow traffic.

‘I was driving in the rain after finishing work at 10pm from Cork Road towards North Street, with an appropriate speed of 30km, approaching the crossing at the playground,’ she said.

‘It did not look any different in the rain at night. And with the street lights reflecting on the very wet road, no markings were visible. It just looked like a normal pedestrian crossing.

‘I hit the speed bump, or rather the ramp, full on, which caused an impact as my car hit it, and off it, with a bang. And I immediately knew damage had been done.’

After taking a closer look at the speed bump Susanna believes: ‘It is too high, and the angle is all wrong, too steep and not smooth’. Reflective paint, certainly warning signs and much better and brighter lighting needs to be put in place.’

Councillors also criticised the ramps at a recent meeting with some suggesting that the gradient was too steep.