Potholes – When you hit the road, the road sometimes hits back
With cash strapped councils reportedly cutting back on all kinds of public service and infrastructure spending, maintenance of the highway seems to be one of the side effects of budgets being slashed. Unfortunately, the more road surfaces are neglected, the worse they’ll get and depending on where you look, figures suggest that even if roads were fully funded, it would take over a decade to restore UK highways to standard.
Roads wear out over time and need constant maintenance, especially on busy routes, a small hole in the road surface can quickly be compounded by being driven over, then rained on and in the winter, where water penetrates every crack, then freezes, the integrity of the road structure can quickly become compromised, leading to the kind of potholes which cause you to shudder as you drive over them. Making them the bane of busy motorists everywhere
Potholes can put your car out of action
A pothole you didn’t spot can come as quite a shock. There’s the perceptible thud as your whole car is jolted by the impact like you’ve hit a brick in the road. That brief moment of anxiety as you wonder if your tyre or wheel has been damaged and the inevitable delays as you pull over, with baited breath to inspect the damage. Most of the time, you’ll be fortunate. Your car will emerge from the trauma and remain drivable, but if you’re unlucky, a pothole can easily take out your tyre, crack your alloy wheels and cause damage to your axles and suspension. Indeed, a third of mechanical issues on British roads have been attributed to potholes, costing motorists around £3 Billion a year.
My car’s hit a pothole what do I do?
Unfortunately, the more driving you do, the more likely you are to encounter potholes on your daily travels. If you’re unfortunate enough to experience that tell-tale thud, first of all don’t panic! Pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so and if you can safely exit your vehicle to inspect your car, check the wheel which hit the pothole. Look for signs of tyre damage, especially ‘eggs’ in the sidewall and more rarely in the tread of the tyre. Bear in mind that the inner sidewall may have been damaged so if you can, feel around, or if practical, take the wheel off for ultimate peace of mind. Steel wheels might be dented, but alloy wheels crack, shatter or have chunks taken out of them when they hit a pothole, so, once again, look for damage. If you find any damage, take a picture for your records and if you can do so safely, also take a picture of the pothole, attempting to include landmarks, signs etc in the background to give an idea of scale. On quieter roads, it might be safe to get closer to the pothole and put a pen or other object in it before you take the picture to show the size of the pothole.
If your car looks ok and seems undamaged (be wary of any differences in ‘feel’ when you’re driving), then continue your trip with caution and make arrangements to get your car inspected by a trusted garage just in case. Otherwise, you may need to contact your breakdown service rather than risk driving a compromised car.
Compile your evidence and report the pothole
Road surfaces should be safe and fit for purpose, but if you’ve been unfortunate enough to ‘discover’ a bit that isn’t, the more evidence you can gather the better. The advantages of gathering evidence are twofold. If you encounter a pothole and take the time to record it, then make sure you report it too even if there’s no apparent damage. There’s a chance that you may discover damage in the future that you weren’t aware of at the time, so having the information just in case is useful. If you report it (most, if not all councils have their own online reporting tool), you’re giving the Council notice that there’s a problem which needs fixing and adding your evidence to the pool of proof that either you or another hapless motorist might need to rely on when claiming back repair bills from the offending council (if the council knew about a pothole but didn’t fix it, they are more likely to have to pay for damage it caused, so report potholes as often as you find them, one day you might be glad someone else reported the pothole you hit).
Getting around while pothole damage is being repaired
The more you drive, the more likely you are to find a pothole. If you have to the misfortune to hit a pothole which compromises your car, then you’ll still need to get around, even if your car is being fixed.
If your car has hit one too many and is in the garage being repaired, there’s no need to stay off the road. At Priory we have a range of cars in all styles, sizes and shapes, to suit any requirement and any budget so you don’t have to put your travel plans on hold while your own vehicle is out of action.
Check out our range of cars for hire, we have small City Cars all the way through to Executive Cruisers, along with some truly special vehicles for the discerning motorist. Don’t let potholes ruin your plans, get in touch with us and find a rental car to suit you today!