good it is working
The science of potholes
By: Tom Ripley for Driving Today
Date: Friday, 12. May 2006
Spring has sprung. Across the country flowers are beginning to peek their way out of nascent bushes. Robins are returning from their winter vacations, and another harbinger of the vernal season has started to emerge from the snow and slush--potholes.
Winter weather doesn't just take its toll on us human beings; it also plays havoc with our roads. Repeated freezing and thawing can chew up a road surface, filling it with holes, some so deep they can easily swallow up a wheel and tire. Often filled with water that disguises their true size and depth, potholes can cause serious damage to your vehicle.
How should you deal with this menace? We asked the engineers at Ford Motor Company whose Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles are subject to stringent testing that can reduce the chance of damage caused by chuckholes. To validate its vehicle designs, Ford has designed its proving grounds to offer a wide variety of road conditions, including pavement filled with potholes, and what it describes as "torture devices" to test and improve the durability of the entire vehicle.
Damage prevention
Ford Motor Company has several tips for drivers to help prevent damage to their vehicles from the chuckhole danger:
Pay attention to tire pressure. Keeping tire pressure at the manufacturer's recommendation will help protect your vehicle's wheels and tires from being damaged by potholes. Tire pressure varies from vehicle to vehicle and from season to season, so pay close attention by checking your tire pressure with a tire gauge at least once a month.
If you see a pothole at the last minute, resist the urge to swerve to avoid it. Swerving can create a situation where the front wheel and tire on the car can hit the edge of the pothole at an obtuse angle, which might do more damage than hitting it squarely. It might also put you unsafely into another lane of traffic.
If you approach a chuckhole at speed, don't brake heavily as you near it. Heavy braking compresses the front suspension of the car and will have a tendency to force the tire and wheel down fully into the pothole, potentially causing greater damage than your car might experience if it "skimmed" over it.
Reduce speed if you feel a sudden vibration or ride disturbance. If you can't avoid a pothole and suspect your tire or vehicle has been damaged from it, immediately slow down but, of course, don't come to a dead stop on the roadway. Instead drive with caution until you can safely pull off the road to check for damage.
No matter how carefully you drive, there's always the possibility that you may experience a flat tire on the freeway, Interstate or other highly traveled route. If that occurs, drive slowly to the closest safe area out of the way of traffic. While this may further damage the tire, that expense is not as important as your safety. Unfortunately, each year scores of tire-changers are struck and killed by passing cars.
While potholes can damage your vehicle, the good news is that vehicle engineers, like those at Ford, design chassis and suspension components to handle potholes and other imperfections in the road effectively, balancing them for numerous customer driving conditions. To give drivers a fighting chance with monster spring potholes, engineers tune shock rebound rates to keep the wheel and tire suspended for a fraction of a second, helping the driver get through a pothole with minimal or no damage at all.. Good shock absorbers can prevent a tire from fully dropping into the break of the pavement and impacting the edge of the tire and wheel.
With a keen eye for danger and the help of modern suspension technology, you can make certain a chuckhole doesn't swallow you up this spring.
---Based in Villeperce, France, Driving Today Contributing Editor Tom Ripley covers the auto industry and the human condition, both of which are filled with potholes.
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All Comments (9)
Showing 1 - 9 comments
umair,
Rich,
Chicago does have the worst potholes, but not due to large trucks (well, in part). Chicago gets the worst of all weather changes - we get the 100 range, literally!
It'll be 98º with heat index in the summer, and it can be 0º with wind chill in the winter. That amount of temperature variance can really stress concrete.
Zach,
It depends on where you drive. I live in Michigan, and most of the roadways are just horrible. But if you go just south of the border into Ohio, the roadways are beautiful. It all depends on how well the road commissions are on the up-keep of their roadways.
jean,
carte reseau ic+ fc
leyla,
In spite of paying high tax on everything,we see lots of pathole in our city.this sucks.
these patholes just make the money for mechanics.
GH - Detroit,
What people don't realize is the the suspension systems of cars are designed to take the shock of potholes and other obstacles. Hit it head on and there is very little wear on your shocks. Hit it at an angle (by swerving for example) and you are likely to do more damage, not to mention the risk of causing a crash.
Same applies to curbs. Glancing off them while parking is a lot worse than hitting one head on.It throws out your alignment and increases wear and tear substantially.
Lily Jiang,
I met potholes sometimes in highway 401. In fact, I never tried to swerve to avoid it. I was afraid that it would put me unsafely to another line of trafic.
KEV,
IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE BIG TRUCKS YOU WOULD NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO BUY AT THE STORE. IF YOU BUY IT IN A STORE A TRUCK BROUGHT IT.
Jonesy,
Chicago has the worst potholes, anywhere! I think it is all the giant trucks, but in any case, if you don't want car damage, don't drive here in the spring.
