Hello Pothole, Meet my Massachusetts Car Insurance

Hello Pothole, Meet my Massachusetts Car Insurance

Everyone with a license and a car (and a Mass Car Insurance policy in Massachusetts as well) that lives in New England has had the joy of experiencing hitting a pothole. And I’m using the word “joy” very loosely. Potholes, you can’t live with them, but you could definitely live without them, but let’s face it, potholes have become a fact of life almost as certain as death and taxes, no matter how good the road crews in your area are they are bound to happen.  If you see potholes in front of you while you’re driving AVOID IT! Unless, it is unsafe to does so because of on-coming traffic or pedestrians, various obstacles that might get in your way (sometimes swerving to avoid road obstacles at the last minute can be equally or even more dangerous – keep your eyes on the look out!). Potholes can cause major damage to your car, and contrary to the popular belief of a select few, your car is NOT A TANK, if you hit enough things with it, the car will break.

Potholes are caused mainly by water that has been draining through cracks in the road; this can cause major erosion to these cracks making them larger and far more dangerous. To help this process along, traffic driving over these cracks that have formed in the road tends to make them much larger until they turn into a gapping pothole. Some cities in the U.S. fix an estimated 30,000 potholes a year, and there are still hundreds that they don’t get a chance to fix. Road crews tend to fix potholes in high traffic areas first, so if you are looking for ways to drive to work the main roads might actually be your car’s safest bet – plus if you have a consistent route, you will get to know where the potholes are!

Here are a few warning signs and precautions you should take if you do hit a pothole:

• If your car becomes hard to control, sways, has trouble making normal turns, and feels very bumping on relatively smooth roads, you want to have your car inspected because it may have suffered some damage to the suspension or steering.
• If your car seems to want to pull to a certain direction instead of going straight the potholes may have knocked of your car’s alignment.
• Check your tires for holes, leaks or dents in the rim that may have been cause by the pothole

Call to see if your MA Auto Insurance policy covers pothole damage

Read More