Year-round threat: potholes damage cars and wallets

1 in 10 drivers experience pothole damage

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – While typically a sign of spring, tire-devouring potholes are proving to be a year-round threat.

One AAA study found One in 10 drivers experience pothole damage to their cars last year.

AAA East Central Safety Advisor Lynda Lambert said, “In 2021, AAA Americans paid almost $26 billion to repair pothole damage.” She advises drivers to, “Be on the lookout, because this time of year, they really start to become a problem.”

Here locally, The Bowling Green Department of Public Works is repairing fewer potholes than in years past.

City of Bowling Green Operations Manager David Delp said, “It used to be that in the wintertime, we could keep a crew busy this time of year busy [repairing potholes], but these last couple of years have been pretty good to us.”

Still, with the potential of SOKY Springtime’s infamous wet, winter weather still in store, a keen eye is still a must.

“Down the road, be looking for [potholes],”advised Delp. “This is the time of the year that they can happen.”

AAA says the best ways you can avoid pothole damage are to tread carefully on wet roadways and beware of puddles that can camouflage deep holes.

Also, be sure to inflate your tires properly to provide a precautionary cushion.

Lambert says, “Potholes can damage your tires and the wheel rim.”

If you do see a pothole on your city or county roads, give the corresponding government a heads up so they can make our roads as safe as possible.