Sep 22, 2020
Yes, hitting potholes can damage your vehicle - BIG TIME! The thing is, potholes are an everyday road hazard and often can be difficult to avoid, as they may not always be that obvious until you hit one. If you happen to hit a deep pothole, your steering system can be misaligned, your tyres can become punctured and bent rims can also follow. But no matter what the damage, the problem needs reversing sooner rather than later!
Here’s what you need to do if you hit a pothole in the UK:
Check for damage
Even if you have hit a pothole at a low speed you could still have some damage to your car, but at a high speed there could be a lot more damage. If you hit a pothole you need to pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so and inspect for any visible signs of damage to wheels and tyres. If there’s no sign of tyre damage, you want to get back in and look for any vibrations while you’re driving and whether your car starts to pull to one side. If this doesn’t seem right, you need to get everything looked at by a garage.
Take notes and pictures
The next step is to decide whether you will claim from the insurance provider or the council, for both cases you will need proof to back it up. You also need to report the pothole to make the road safer for other drivers. Return to the pothole and take notes or pictures if safe to do so. Include a familiar object in photos to give a sense of the scale, such as a shoe. Note down the exact location of the pothole including the road name and where it’s positioned in the road. If you can, take down contact details of anyone who saw what happened.
Report it!
You then want to report the pothole, do this as soon as possible to ensure no one else hits the pothole. Here are where you can report potholes in your area:
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