Every UK driver knows the frustrating clang of striking a pothole all too well. But with one in five vehicles written off due to damage caused by shoddy roads, it’s clear that extra protection is needed.
According to data released by Allianz, 21% of insurance claims where a car hit a pothole leads to the vehicle being declared an insurance write-off.
With more than £4.6 million paid out across 1,266 pothole claims since the start of 2023, the cost of encountering a hole in the road can be exceptionally high for motorists and insurance providers alike.
To make matters worse, the RAC’s Pothole Index showed that we’re 39% more likely to break down as a result of a pothole compared to 2006, meaning that the threat of damaging your car because of UK roads is higher.
Fortunately, there are a number of simple measures that you can take to protect your car from the threat of becoming a write-off as the result of pothole damage. Let’s take a deeper look at seven essential ways to keep your car safe from hazardous roads:
1. Use Technology as a Guide
The great thing about driving in the 21st Century is that technology can help to keep us more vigilant than ever before to road hazards.
Apps like Waze offer real-time potholes and hazard alerts to users with the help of crowdsourced data. This means that you can access alerts to a reported pothole ahead with plenty of time to prepare to avoid it.
Because potholes often damage cars when drivers are unable to see the hole in time due to focusing elsewhere or being unable to see the road condition in poor light, using technology to be your eyes and ears can do your car the world of good.
2. Keep Your Tyres Inflated
While it’s always a good idea to maintain an appropriate tyre pressure on your wheels, it’s especially true when planning to keep your car protected against pothole damage.
This is because properly inflated tyres provide better cushioning if you strike a pothole, helping to reduce the risk of punctures or sidewall damage as a result.
If your tyres are underinflated, they’ll absorb less of the impact, meaning that your chassis and suspension could be more vulnerable to impacts.
3. Take Action on Cracked Glass
If your windscreen or windows are cracked or chipped, the impact from potholes could cause the issue to spread further, putting the glass at risk of becoming a hazard or even shattering in the case of a strong enough impact.
Taking action early on and using a professional windshield replacement service can help to keep your vehicle safe from turning an encounter with a pothole into a far more serious accident if worsening cracks obstruct your vision.
4. Get Your Vehicle Checked if Something’s Not Right
If you’ve hit a pothole and something seems to have changed with your vehicle, it’s important to get your car checked out by a professional.
Hearing new sounds or feeling a change in the handling or suspension of your vehicle could be a sign of severe damage that could put you at risk of an accident. So with your safety in mind, it’s always worth checking things out before they become a hazard while driving.
5. Hold Your Steering Wheel Properly
Some potholes are unavoidable. For instance, you could see a hole in the road too late or have nowhere safe to maneuver around the hazard. If this is the case, make sure you hold your steering wheel in the ‘10 and 2’ position to give yourself as much control over your vehicle as possible.
While remembering to hold your steering wheel properly won’t prevent pothole damage to your car, it can help to prevent a collision or even more damage being done to your vehicle if you don’t have enough control over its direction at the time of impact.
6. Report Potholes You Encounter
Very few people enjoy admin, but reporting potholes can make all the difference in preventing future damage to your car if you’re a regular user of a road affected by a hole.
Fortunately, reporting potholes is fairly straightforward. If you’re in England and Wales, you can report the hazard to your local council by entering your postcode on the government’s website.
If you see a pothole on a motorway or an A-road, contact Highways England on 0300 123 5000, or email info@highwaysengland.co.uk to report the hole.
7. Claim Compensation
If the worst happens and your car is damaged by a pothole, you can make a claim for compensation by getting in touch with the relevant authority.
To help your claim, it’s important to remember the time and location of your encounter with a pothole, and taking pictures can be useful in paving the way for a faster resolution.
Pothole damage can also be claimed for on your insurance if you have comprehensive cover, which means that you can limit the damage when encountering a shoddy road to an inconvenience, rather than a costly problem.
Keeping Safe From Potholes
Potholes may be a problem that never seems to get any better on UK roads, but there are plenty of measures you can take to keep your car as protected as possible from harm when encountering a hole in the road.
From measures as easy as inflated tyres to knowing where to go if your vehicle is damaged by a pothole, the right approach can ensure that your car, or at least your pocket, can be kept safe should you encounter a pothole.
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