It’s a familiar springtime experience here in Minnesota - you’re driving along in your beloved car when you feel your tire CLUNK into a large, deep pothole. Most of the time, you recover yourself, drive on, and everything’s fine. But all too many of us know that potholes can cause major damage to our cars.

So why are there so many potholes anyway?

Potholes are caused in winter when water freezes and unfreezes, weakening road pavement and causing large cracks to form. When these cracks form and traffic passes over them, large chunks of pavement are uprooted, creating sometimes large crater-like potholes. In Minnesota, our harsh winter weather tends to result in numerous potholes across the state.

What kind of damage can potholes cause?

In a recent article, AAA Mid-Atlantic estimated pothole damage will cost Americans $6.4 billion in repairs this year alone. Hitting a pothole particularly hard or running into several over a period of time can cause series damage to your tires, wheels, shocks, and struts. Worse yet, going into a particularly deep pothole can cause your car to change direction suddenly, which could cause a collision, further damage, and even injury.

What can you do?

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) offers some great tips for dealing with potholes this season:

Avoid potholes - pay extra attention while driving this winter/spring season. Avoiding potholes is the only way to completely escape the risk of damage. Allow extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you so you can have better visibility on the road.

Make sure your tires are properly inflated - MDOT says, “over- or under-inflated tires fare worse when they tangle with a pothole. Tires showing excessive wear or bulges in the sidewalls won’t hold up as well to potholes, either.”

Have your mechanic do a pothole readiness check - Ask your mechanic to check your vehicle’s suspension and steering systems to make sure you’re in good shape to steer clear of potholes and cushion the blow when you do hit them.

Drive with caution - When you can’t avoid a pothole, it’s better if you’re driving slow when you hit it. Since hitting potholes at high speeds causes far more damage than a slow encounter, an abundance of caution tends to pay off.

Check your car after an incident - If you hit a pothole, check your car over for any obvious tire or wheel damage. Drivers often feel their car bouncing or vibrating after hitting a pothole. This may indicate a suspension problem. Whatever the damage you suspect, bring your vehicle in and have a mechanic check it out.

The good news…

The good news is that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is expecting a less severe pothole season this year due to our mild winter. Last year’s brutal winter cost the city of Minneapolis alone an additional $1 million in emergency funding for pothole repair.

Another positive note is that Minnesota Public Radio News is collaborating with SeeClickFix to track pothole locations and alert officials who can fix them. Visit their online map to see where the worst potholes are and report the ones you encounter.

Image by The Tire Zoo via Flickr  - Licensed Under CC BY 2.0