Potholes
Spring seems to finally be arriving, and with the melting snow comes . . . potholes. Those pesky holes in the road that can cause damage to cars, and even injury to people.
The good news is, pothole damage is usually covered by insurance, provided you have collision coverage. Collision coverage, an optional portion of a standard auto insurance policy, covers damage to a car resulting from a collision with an object such as a guard rail, pothole, or another car. However, it does not cover wear and tear to a car or its tires due to bad road conditions.
If you can avoid driving over a pothole, do so. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to swerve or change lanes, and some of them seem to come out of nowhere. Here are a few tips to reduce the chance of damaging your vehicle from potholes.
- Keep your tires inflated per your manufacturer’s recommended tire air pressure. This protects your wheel rims from being damaged. It is important not to over- or under-inflate tires.
- Keep a safe following distance. That way, you’ll have time to react if another car swerves to avoid a pothole, and time to spot – and avoid – potholes yourself.
- Reduce your speed in inclement weather. Even in good weather, it is difficult to tell size or depth of potholes. Rain or fog reduces the likelihood you’ll see a pothole in time to avoid it. Keeping your speed down gives you additional time to react before damage occurs.
