If you drive at a speed and go through a pit, there is an increased risk of damage to your car.
It is advisable to reduce the speed when you are forced to go through the pits (in case you cannot safely avoid them) and to check later if no signs of damage have appeared in the suspension system.
When the weather cools down, potholes can appear overnight. If you are luckier, you may be able to avoid most of them, but you may be convinced that there are many other dangers of this nature in your path.
Read the article below to learn about the essentials of driving on a pit strewn with pits.
Contents
How do the potholes appear on the road?
Potholes appear when the water seeps into the soil, on the asphalt level. Since they arrived there, the water particles can freeze at low temperatures and cause a dilation, due to the increase in water volume.
Further, the problem initially caused by the water is worsened by the continuous movement of the cars on the affected surfaces, which leads to a movement of the asphalt surface towards the inside of the breeze created by the freezing of the water and its volume increase. Thus a pit is formed in the asphalt.
How can you avoid potholes?
Although there are cases when certain potholes are easy to notice both due to their size and traffic conditions, at other times they are only noticed at the last moment. It is advisable for spring to avoid the puddles on the road because they can easily hide pits.
Even if normally the roads you drive do not have water accumulations of this nature, to prevent any traffic problem it is advisable to avoid them. To do this, drive carefully and adapt the driving speed to atmospheric and traffic conditions.
Pay attention to the car in front of you. If the driver hits such a pothole, keeping a regular distance will allow you to avoid any danger.
Myths related to road potholes
There is a car myth that if you speed over a pothole, its impact will not be so dramatic. Nothing wrong. You can end up with problems with the rims, tires, or even major technical failures.
How do you break on a road with potholes?
If you notice the appearance of a pothole, it is advisable to reduce the speed when approaching the pothole but only under certain conditions.
If you are too close or if you break at the last moment, it is possible not to have a good approach to this situation and the impact on your car will be a major one, with big consequences.
It is advisable to take the foot off the brake just before reaching the pit, to allow the entire vehicle to absorb the shock and not just the wheels and tires.
What can you do to prevent the impact of the pothole?
- 1) Obviously, be careful! Pits can appear very quickly, especially after rainfall. If you drive at legal speed and keep the proper distance from the front car, you will be OK.
- 2) Check the tire pressure. If the tires have the proper pressure, they will absorb some of the impacts of the pothole. Also, the right pressure can have a positive effect on traction.
- 3) If the impact with the pothole is inevitable, do not brake! After you brake, you will transfer the entire weight of the car to the front axle and then inevitably into the pit, which aggravates the damage caused by the impact.
How do you know if you have damaged your car because of the potholes?
- 1) The steering wheel will pull right or left – so, your steering will be affected
- 2) If you feel the vehicle pulls from left to right, especially in turns, or if it has a slight hopping, the suspension of your car has been compromised.
- 3) Visually inspect the tires! If there are slivers or cuts on the rubber, it should be replaced immediately. The damage may seem superficial, but such small imperfections can cause the tire to explode at high speeds.
Damage assessments caused by potholes
- If you happen to hit a pothole, it is good to check for possible damage as soon as possible.
- Even if you do not realize it, it is possible to cause damage to the rim or the tire. So, correctly evaluates the condition of your car to not worsen the damage caused.
- It is also advisable to pay attention to the car steering – sometimes, after passing through a pit, we can notice that the car is pulling in a certain direction, a sign that a problem with the suspension has appeared.
