Addingham motorist has the hump over speed bumps

By James Edgar, Ilkley Gazette

SPEED bumps in Burley Woodhead could fall foul of anti-discrimination laws, a disabled Adding-ham woman believes.

Christine Gale, who fractured her spine five years ago, finds the road humps too painful to drive over and says they prevent her from enjoying Ilkley Moor.

Mrs Gale, whose injuries resulted from a sledging accident, thinks the speed bumps are preventing disabled drivers from using the roads, and she has called on Bradford Council to make a study of their impact.

The 11 humps in Burley Woodhead stop Mrs Gale from using the moor road because they cause her so much pain when her car goes over them.

She said: "I have no problems with speed bumps per se, but I find these ones too severe and painful. There is very little gradient into the bump, so the impact is very harsh.

"My problem of access is caused specifically with these speed bumps, since I have no difficulty driving over other speed bumps, such as the ones on Springs Lane in Ilkley."

The humps were put in place three years ago following approval from Bradford Council's Shipley Area Committee in 2003.

Since December 2006 any planning for new traffic-calming measures needs to adhere to disability equality legislation. This ensures their suitability for disabled people.

Mrs Gale believes permission for the bumps would not be granted if an application was made now.

She has been advised by the Disability Rights Commission to ask Bradford Council to carry out "a retrospective impact assessment."

In a letter she wrote to City Hall chiefs, Mrs Gale said: "I believe little or no consideration was taken into account concerning disabled drivers when the speed bumps were originally installed."

Mrs Gale also doubts the road humps have had an effect on motorists speeding through the area.
Her husband Andrew expressed his concern on other safety issues. He said: "She has to go over the bumps at such a low speed, people behind her start beeping and some of them even overtake her. It encourages road-rage."

A spokeswoman from Bradford Council said: "We will look at the issues that Mrs Gale faces with the speed bumps on Ilkley Moor/Burley Woodhead Road and investigate, and we will reply to Mrs Gale direct with the findings."

Mr and Mrs Gale were made famous in 2003 when they staged a John Lennon-Yoko Ono-style bedroom Love-In' at their home in Old Station Way to protest against the war in Iraq.

The former Beatle and his wife staged a similar stunt to protest against American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Because of the publicity over the event, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono invited Mr and Mrs Gale to meet her in London.