Problematic potholes already popping up across Delmarva

The freezing and thawing, and unpredictable weather is the perfect recipe for potholes.  The water seeps down into the cracks on the road, and then when it freezes it expands the crack.  When a car runs over the crack, it can chip the concrete, thus creating one of those pesky potholes.

Jim Westhoff, spokesperson for DelDOT, says that when potholes do start being reported, they must act quickly before the problem gets worse.  And the problem does have a quick fix, but weather conditions must be right for the asphalt mix to be poured.  The longer the pothole sits, the bigger it gets.  And a bigger pothole means more damage to your car. 

State Farm agent Greg Reddell says repairs could cost around an average of a few hundred dollars, but a study done by State Farm says that it can cost anywhere from $200 to $700.  That may come out of pocket, since damage to a tire would be paid under collision, which for some people requires a substantial deductible.

Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t avoid them, so when a pothole does sneak up on you, the best thing to do is not necessarily what you may think.  Hitting the brakes could cause more damage to the car.

Reddell says that you don’t want to impact the pothole with your tire locked, because it will create a more direct impact with the edge of the pothole, causing more damage to the suspension and all the way through the car, so you want to roll over the pothole.

Both Westhoff and Reddell agree to play it safe and leave enough room between you and the car in front of you to ensure being able to safely conquer the road.