When driving on UK roads, we’re sure you’ll have come across a pothole in the surface. While every effort is made to uphold excellent road maintenance, there are still many problem areas that need to be addressed, like potholes.
In this blog, we show you what causes potholes, why they’re such a problem for road users, and what can be done to fix them.
What are potholes?
Potholes are areas of the road surface that have broken away to leave a hole in the surface. If these little holes remain unfixed, they grow bigger and become large depressions in the road that can be very dangerous to drive over.
What causes potholes?
Potholes start with a little crack in the surface of the road. These cracks can be caused by a wide range of issues, including shrinkage under the surface, heavy traffic use, or poor repair of existing damage.
Once these little cracks have started to appear, through continual road use, they can and will get bigger and bigger. Water then enters the surface and saturates the base layers underneath, causing more slippage and allowing the hole to open wider.
In cold months, when the water freezes and thaws again, this cracks more of the asphalt around the pothole, widening it further.
Meanwhile, traffic is continuing to use the road and pound the weakening surface. Small bits of the asphalt are jostled out of the pothole each time it is driven over, continuing to expand it.
As it grows bigger and bigger, more water can enter the hole. When the weather has been especially bad, it can even settle as a pool in the pothole. This rapidly increases the damage done to the substructures, and the pothole gets even bigger.
Why are potholes dangerous?
Though they might look small, potholes can cause big issues for your vehicle. Hitting one can burst or damage your tyres, bend wheel rims, knock wheels out of alignment, and dent your exhaust. Driving over potholes can also cause big issues for your suspension and shock absorbers.
So, it’s no surprise that many road users try to avoid hitting potholes at all costs. However, this in itself can be dangerous, as you’re having to move unpredictably on the road. Potholes are the cause behind hundreds of accidents on UK roads every year.
Reporting potholes
If you spot a troublesome pothole, you can report it. Use the government’s online report tool to let them know about the dangerous hole in the surface of the road.
https://www.gov.uk/report-pothole
You can also report them to your local council. They are often responsible for the maintenance of the roads in their area.