Potholes on the UK’s roads are up there in the top annoyances to drivers and it does seem that our roads are suffering more than ever with damage.
With stretched resources, local councils are struggling to fix holes quickly so chances are, when you’re out and about on the roads, you’ll need to vigilant in avoiding them.
Some potholes are deep and If you do hit a deep one – even at a relatively slow speed – you could damage your tyres, wheels and steering alignment.
Hitting one at a higher speed can cause a lot more damage to your vehicle. You could also lose control and end up crashing.
Avoidance is definitely the best policy so:
1 - Drive with awareness of the state of the roads. Be vigilant about what’s up ahead
2 - Drive at a sensible speed, within the limit or below to avoid damage
3 - Avoid potholes if you can BUT don’t swerve unnecessarily. If the only way to avoid a pothole is to go around it, stop and wait until the road is clear to ‘overtake’ in a safe manner.
If you are unlucky enough to hit a pothole here’s our advice:
1 - Pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so and check for any obvious damage to your wheels and tyres.
2 - Some damage might not be obvious straight away, so keep an eye out for any vibrations, your steering wheel not being centered properly or the car pulling to one side.
3 - If any of these happen get your van checked by a garage or tyre specialist as soon as possible. If you are driving a leased vehicle and are concerned, contact your finance company for instructions of how to get your van checked.
4 - It’s worth taking some notes about the incident - note down the time and exact location and what exactly happened and if it is safe to do so take some photographs of the pothole, getting a sense of scale if you can.
5 - Report the pothole to your local council so they can arrange a repair.
Did you know you can make a claim for any damage sustained to your van due to a pothole?
1 - If you go down this route keep all of the paperwork for any repairs (including quotes you have sourced and receipts for work), as this will be required for a claim.
2 - Write to the council responsible for the road with the ‘evidence’ you’ve collected, including copies of your quotes, invoices and receipts. It is not guaranteed that your claim will be successful, of course. Particularly because the relevant authority cannot be held responsible for a pothole they are not aware of, either because it hadn’t been reported to them, or because it wasn’t picked up by them during their regular checks.
3 - That’s another reason why reporting a pothole, even if your vehicle is not damaged, is important - it could help someone else to avoid damage, of course, and could help with a future claim.
But...to lighten the mood, we love that these fed up residents have decided to make a feature of their potholes….mad dogs and Englishmen indeed.
Have a read of this article by clicking here