ROANOKE, Va. – Americans spend billions of dollars every year to repair damages caused by potholes.
“We are really seeing them early this year than we have in some years out there because of the weather that we’ve been through, very cold through the end of December and January, then we saw some milder temperatures out there, but I’ve also seen some precipitation we’ve seen some rain we’ve seen some snow, some sleet. All those different types of things,” Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic Spokesperson said.
The most obvious way to not damage your car is to avoid the pothole altogether, but if you have to, AAA says to slow down as a pothole could really damage your car.
“It can cause all kinds of problems, we’ve seen bent rims, we’ve seen damage to suspension, we’ve seen problems where shock absorbers come loose. If you notice any form of vibration in your vehicle or it’s just not steering as it used to, or you’re hearing strange noises, different noises than you’re used to you really need to get that checked out, it could be an indication that there could be some real damage there under the vehicle,” Dean said.
If you see one, get to a safe location and report it to VDOT or your specific locality’s public works.
AAA offers the following tips for avoiding potholes/minimizing damage:
- Beware of puddles,
- Scan the road ahead for potholes,
- Increase following distance,
- Limit distractions,
- Slow down,
- Inspect tires,
- Take care of your spare,
- Don’t ignore noises/vibrations.