It may not seem like it at the moment, but spring is just around the corner.
Barrhead residents have spent months under a blanket of snow, and everyone has just about had it with the bleak, dismal days of overcast weather. Everyone is pining for milder temperatures, for with that comes the melting of the snow.
However, at the same time, it also means vehicles will be the unwilling victims to the scourge known as the pothole. When the snow melts, it opens up potholes and puts our vehicles, on which many people spend plenty of hard-earned money, at serious risk.
Potholes are no one’s fault, really. Patching efforts are made to rid the roadways of them, but it’s usually just a Band-aid solution and they eventually make their way back into our lives. Barrhead residents have no doubt already experience the bone-jarring bumps of hitting a pothole, and until they are filled in, drivers need to pay attention in order to prevent costly repairs.
Following is a list of safety and driving tips to help guide drivers through the potholes and get them to their destination in a relatively unscathed manner (from Ford Canada):
• Pay special attention to your tire pressure. Keeping tire pressure consistently at the manufacturer’s recommendation will help protect your vehicle’s wheels and tires from being damaged from pothole impacts
•If safe, don’t swerve to avoid potholes. Swerving can create a situation where the front wheel and tire on the car can impact the edge of the pothole at an obtuse angle, which might do more damage than hitting it squarely
• If safe, don’t brake just because you see a pothole: heavy braking compresses the front suspension of the car and will have a tendency to force the tire and wheel down into the pothole, instead of gliding over.
• No matter how carefully you drive, there’s always the possibility that you may eventually have a flat tire while driving. Drive slowly to the closest safe area out of traffic. This may further damage the flat tire, but your safety is more important.
• If you feel a sudden vibration or ride disturbance while driving, or you suspect your tire or vehicle has been damaged, immediately reduce your speed. Drive with caution until you can safely pull off the road. Stop and inspect the tires for damage. If a tire is under-inflated or damaged, deflate it, remove wheel and replace it with your spare tire and wheel. If you cannot detect a cause, have the vehicle towed to the nearest repair facility or tire dealer to have the vehicle inspected.
