What’s worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? POTHOLES. The bane of the driver’s existence and sometimes a totally unavoidable evil… especially in the winter. Water gets into preexisting cracks in the pavement, and when it freezes, it expands. This destabilizes the pavement and creates a weakness that quickly becomes a pothole. So, what do you do?

The first thing is to drive slowly and approach potholes that you can see with caution. If you can drive around them, do so! To avoid unseen potholes, avoid driving through puddles (especially localized puddles because they are probably in a pothole and you have no idea how deep that pothole is) of all sizes.

If you can’t avoid a pothole, slow down and drive over it slowly. That’s all there is to it! But if you miss the pothole and it’s too late to slow down, be careful that your vehicle was not damaged as you drove over it. If you think that your vehicle was damaged, then pull over when it’s safe to do so and do a quick exterior check. This is when it’s super useful to know what your car is supposed to look like, so you should try to get familiar with that!

If you can’t see exterior damage (i.e. to your tires, bumpers, etc.) then get back in and start off slowly. If your vehicle pulls to one side or another, your alignment is likely off. That’s something that you can’t fix on your own, so bring it into the shop.

Finally, report any potholes you see to the local DOT. The more information they have about potholes, the quicker they get filled and the quicker the roads are made safe again. Great job, you!