Many cities and towns around the country have an issue with what is known as road defects. Road defects include potholes, as well as other issues like buckling asphalt and broken guardrails. 

You Could Lose Control

One of the reasons that a pothole can be dangerous to your safety and the safety of your passengers is that you can lose control. If you don’t see a pothole early enough and you hit it, the alteration in the surface of the road could lead to a temporary loss of control. 

Losing control when you’re driving, even just for a few seconds, can have significant consequences. 

Just a minor pothole can put you at risk. 

If you hit a pothole, your vehicle can jerk, and that can cause your head to whip around. The head movement is uncontrollable, and you could slam your skull into your car’s frame or into your steering wheel. Even if you don’t necessarily lose control when hitting a pothole, it can cause you to sustain impact injuries. 

When you hit a pothole, it can also cause whiplash. Whiplash injuries occur when your neck muscles and tendons are strained. 

If you hit a pothole hard, it can cause you to come off your seat and slam back down, which can then lead to tailbone injuries. 

Another major risk to your physical safety is if you have a wheel that falls into a hole and is then damaged or punctured. That can lead to a tire blowout, which can lead to a loss of control or cause a collision. 

Wheel and Tire Damage

When you hit a pothole, it can cause major damage to your vehicle, even if you aren’t hurt. 

Your tires are going to get a lot of force hitting them at once, which, as mentioned above, can cause the sidewall to experience a blowout. 

Even if your tire is still holding air after you hit a pothole, you need to look for bulges protruding from the size. That can be a sign of internal tire damage, meaning you may need to replace it. 

When a car hits a pothole, usually the damage is to the sidewall rather than the tread, and there isn’t a way to plug or patch this part of the tire. 

Because potholes have hard angles, they can damage your wheels. If you feel like you hit a pothole hard, check for cracks or bends in the side of your wheel at the place where your rim meets your tire. 

If your wheel gets bent, it won’t roll as smoothly as it should. You could also have a compromised seal between the tire and the wheel. If you can see visible damage, your wheel might need to be replaced. 

Suspension and Steering

If you hit a pothole and you then notice your car is pulling to one side or the other, your suspension could be bent, or your steering components could be misaligned. 

That will cause handling problems with your vehicle, and if you have a misaligned suspension, it can cause your tires to wear unevenly. 

Other signs of suspension damage include a general inability to hold your car steady. If you’re navigating corners, trying to stick to the center of a lane, or accelerating and you’re having sliding or bouncing movements, you need to have your suspension checked out. 

If you feel like your front or rear are sitting low, it could indicate a suspension problem, as can a diving front end of your vehicle when you’re braking. 

Minimizing Pothole Damage

The best thing you can do on the roads is, of course, try to minimize your interactions with potholes as much as you can. 

You should make sure your tires are always in good condition and properly inflated. Be especially cautious and mindful of what’s going on around you when you’re on unfamiliar roads, and avoid distractions at all times when driving. 

If you can’t avoid a pothole for some reason, slow down and firmly hold your steering wheel as you go over one.