The Dangers of Potholes | How to Protect Your Car Against Potholes

There are many different dangers on the road. You could come across pedestrians, bikes, wet weather, snowy weather, other drivers and all of them pose potential threats. There are also road conditions that could pose threats as well. Potholes are the most common among them. The dangers of potholes are very serious and could get very costly to repair. It is important to know how to protect your car against potholes. This way you stay safe, keep your car safe, and save a ton of money.

Your car faces some serious injury when it comes across one of the most sneaky dangers on the road, the dangers of potholes.

What Are Potholes

Potholes are the result of water that gets in between the pavement and the soil beneath it. This water freezes and thaws and that causes the soil to sink a bit. All it needs now is for a heavy car to roll over the area to cause a crack in the pavement. That is the most common cause of a pothole. This is why winter and spring are the most common times to come across the dangers of potholes. Someone fixes the potholes eventually. However, you will still have to deal with the potholes yourself for some time. 

The Dangers of Potholes

The obvious danger of running over a pothole at a normal speed is tire damage. But your tires aren’t the only thing at risk with potholes on the road. Run over a pothole fast enough and you could cause alignment issues, suspension problems, and more. You can spot the damage by checking for deflated tires, severe cracks or bulges in your tires, or dents in the rims. Your car will most likely start shaking or pull to either the left or the right while you drive. Take your car to get checked out if you come across the dangers of potholes and notice any of the above. Contact your insurance agent if you do sustain damage from a pothole. It is possible that the charges will be covered since potholes are no one person’s fault. 

How to Protect Your Car Against Potholes

The first thing is to make sure you always keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you. This way, you can see any potential dangers on the road before it’s too late. Puddles should be avoided as well. A puddle forms when there is a dip in the pavement and that means it could be a pothole. The dangers of potholes are amplified when you can’t spot them. You can drive around the potholes in some instances. However, it is important to quickly diagnose the situation. You want to be sure that you can safely maneuver around the pothole before you attempt it. Unfortunately, there are some instances when you just can’t avoid the potholes. 

Preemptive protection

There are a couple of things you can do to make sure that your car has better odds against the dangers of potholes. Firstly, your tires should always be filled to the manufacturer’s recommended levels. Fill your tires if your low tire warning comes on and don’t put it off. You will also want your car’s suspension to be in working order at all times. A deflated tire will not stand against potholes. The bad suspension will just make the damage worse. Drive slowly during pothole season so you can spot a pothole from far away enough. That also means keeping your windshield clear and your headlights in working order as well. Together, all of these things will put up a good fight against the dangers of potholes.