This year, the struggle between spring and winter started already in February. During the day there were often warm degrees, but at night the temperature again dropped to the minus side. This kind of weather puts asphalt roads to the test every year, which tend to break down more in such conditions and surprise drivers with deep potholes. TalTech road engineering lecturer and road engineer authorized by T-Konsult, Ain Kendra, explains why potholes cause damage to cars especially in spring.
Asphalt pavements are usually one to three layers, and the task of the upper layers is to protect the lower part from water, among other things. “I see the most potholes on two-layer roads, there are significantly fewer of them on three-layer roads. This is because the top layer wears thin and no longer holds water. In this way, the water reaches the lower layers and gets stuck in the pores of the asphalt. When it freezes, the water crushes the pores, the asphalt becomes an unbound material that can move under the influence of the wind or the tire, and that’s how the hole starts to develop,” explains the road engineer.
If the top or top layers of asphalt have worn so thin that they no longer hold water, something should be done immediately. On roads with little traffic, surfacing is helpful, on roads with more traffic, it is necessary to mill off the top layer and replace it or put a new layer on top of the old one. “Since there is a lack of money for road maintenance, they are allowed to drive on these roads for too long. It’s like cavities – the longer you let the problems develop, the worse the repair will be later,” says Kendra.
Errors can occur already during the construction work
How much and how quickly the water that gets into the lower layers can cause damage also depends on the quality of the road construction. “For example, if asphalting is done at the last minute, in late autumn before winter, lower temperatures can affect the quality of the road. If the asphalt mixture cools down before the road roller reaches it, it is no longer possible to roll the cooled area tightly, and in any case, water gets into the pores and breaks the asphalt quickly,” explains Kendra.
Unexpected rainfall during asphalting works can also significantly affect road quality. “The mixture that the paver installs is about 150 degrees. Rain starts to drop that temperature quickly, and if it drops below 120 degrees, it really can’t be properly sealed and the job would have to be redone,” says Kendra.
How to schedule repairs?
Potholes should be repaired as soon as they appear, as they can damage cars or worse, create dangerous traffic situations. “In winter, special mixtures are used to patch holes, but they only work until spring. Then they should be cleaned up and replaced with a summer mixture, but unfortunately there is not always enough money for that, the holes appear again and get deeper,” Kendra describes. This is how cars can get damaged when driving through unexpected potholes.
The extent of car damage depends on the size of the impact hole
Damage cases caused by driving through a pothole reach Swedbank’s comprehensive insurance. “Accidentally driving through the impact distance can damage the vehicle’s undercarriage and other parts located under the vehicle, the vehicle’s rims and tires, as well as body parts,” explains Aleksei Žemkov, head of comprehensive insurance at Swedbank.
In most cases, damage is less than 1000 euros, but in case of higher speed or other aggravating circumstances, more extensive damage is not excluded. “If you think about a very bad scenario, the vehicle can also lose controllability due to a pothole, and then a bigger accident and damage can happen,” says Aleksei Žemkov.
Who is responsible for pothole damage?
The owner of the road, which can be either the local government or the state, is responsible for the damage caused by the pothole. “In order to submit a claim for damages to the road owner, it is necessary to record the incident immediately. It is worth taking videos or photos of the scene, the impact distance and the damage to the car, because later it is more difficult to relate the damage to the impact distance,” explains Žemkov.
Damage to the car caused by the impact distance is not compensated by the mandatory traffic insurance, which is intended to compensate for damages caused to third parties by the insured car. However, comprehensive insurance can help in such a situation. “Since a claim can be submitted to the road owner on the basis of later expense documents, in the absence of comprehensive insurance, one must initially pay for the car repair themselves and then wait for the claim to be processed and satisfied in order to be compensated for the damages. Unlike motor insurance, comprehensive insurance also compensates for damages to the vehicle as a result of an external and unforeseen event, and if it exists, the person only has to pay the deductible part, and the vehicle’s furnaces are covered by comprehensive insurance,” says Aleksei Žemkov. Potholes often break car tires or cause other damage, as a result of which it is no longer possible to drive the car. “Swedbank comprehensive insurance also includes 24/7 car assistance, which is very helpful in such a situation,” says Žemkov.
2024-03-29 08:15:26
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