Safety First

Who said Cavan had the monopoly on potholes – not any more. I’m sure Cork is in the running for the guiness book of records when it comes to craterous potholes.

You’ll be throwing your money away on a solicitor if you take the council to court though …. they say they cant keep the roads safe because they’ve run out of funds? … With 1 ton of tarmac a day to fill pot holes….and not a gram more…….!

So run out of money hey – what were you spending all my tax on then???????????

Enough is enough I’m off to buy myself a pot of iluminous paint as I certainly refuse to be a prisoner in my own house at night – afraid to drive anywhere.

Two tires in two weeks – it’s getting expensive, and getting beyond a joke. Its not just tires and rims
Potholes damage.

They cause premature damage to suspension and steering. Shocks and struts take the biggest brunt of the damage to start with. They compress and expand using hydraulic oil to alleviate the effects of driving on uneven surfaces. The bump is transferred to the vehicle; the extent of the bump travels from the tire and wheel directly to the shock absorber. Large potholes can cause the shock or strut to bottom out within itself. The shock is then transferred to the coil or leaf spring of the vehicle.

In addition to these suspension components, control arms, ball joints,tie rods, idler arms, pitman arms, sway bar and sway bar links, centre and drag links, wheel bearings and axle shafts are all
susceptible to pothole damage. Because the steering and suspension components are compromised under duress, potholes are a leading contributor to a vehicle needing an alignment. Under- or
over-inflated tires can be more easily damaged than one with proper inflation. Rims can dent or crack from severe pothole strikes. Long-term effects of damaged suspension or steering components can lead to premature tire wear and poor handling of the vehicle. In severe cases of pothole damage, even lower engine damage and undercarriage components such as the exhaust system can be compromised.

How Potholes Form

• Potholes form when moisture seeps below the surface of the roads (and we’ve had a hell of a lot of that recently.) The moisture freezes and expands or heats up and contracts, applying stress to the tarmac. As the weight of vehicles continuously drive over these areas, small pieces of the tarmac start to chip away from the road. The more traffic travelling on the road, including the types of vehicles, the more tarmac that chips away and then the larger the pothole becomes. Road crews battle potholes in areas that experience severe winter
  months by patching the holes with cold patch. This fills the hole temporarily until weather permits road crews to repair the damage to the roads.

Avoiding Potholes

• Leave enough distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
• This allows you to see the oncoming pothole before striking it.
• Be aware of other traffic or pedestrians on the roads before swerving to avoid a pothole. Lower your speed on pothole filled roads.
• More damage can be incurred to a vehicle striking potholes at higher speeds, including compromised handling of the vehicle.
• Water-filled potholes do not allow you to see how large they are until you strike them. Don’t apply the brakes when driving over a pothole.
• This tilts the vehicle forward and places the amount of stress on the front suspension, which is the first part of the vehicle to strike the pothole.
• From next week on look for the iluminous paint while out at night.