CLEVELAND — It’s enough to make you cringe.
You’re driving down the road and you hear that unsuspecting “clunk clunk!” The sound of a pothole is a symphony of popped tires, cracked rims, and expensive repair bills and Ohio is near the top of the list when it comes to the worst potholes in the country.
“I think that potholes are kind of like bad drivers,” said Nic VinZant, a senior research analyst with QuoteWizard. “Everybody in every location thinks that theirs are the worst.”
But when it comes to Ohio, they are some of the worst. A new study by QuoteWizard, a subsidiary of Lending Tree, found the Buckeye State ranked eighth when it comes to the worst potholes. QuoteWizard dug through the Google search data for pothole-related complaints and repairs for each state over the last year. Their data represents the queries of complaints in a given location.
“When we look at the states that are having the biggest problems with potholes, it really is those colder northern states where you get ice, you get snow, it melts, it freezes. Now you've got a pothole,” VinZant said.
Even a seemingly small pothole can produce a large amount of damage. According to AAA, U.S. drivers spend nearly $3 billion each year fixing damage caused by potholes.
“They can be anything from damaging your tire, popping your tire to damaging your alignment, messing up your engine, ruining your shots, shocks, and stress,” VinZant said. “What we found is that on average, it costs about $300 to repair your car after a pothole.”
Insurance plays an important role, too. Having the right kind of car insurance can keep you from having to hand over your hard-earned cash when it comes time to pay for repairs.
The collision coverage you pay for comes in handy when you hit something like a guard rail, lamp post, or even a pothole.
So, what should you do the next time you see a gigantic crater in the roadway?
“Try to hit it with your wheels as straight as possible that can minimize any damage and try to hit it as slowly as possible,” VinZant said.
QuoteWizard looked at the top 50 U.S. cities with pothole problems and Ohio had three that landed on the list: Columbus at No. 25, Youngstown at No. 33, and Cincinnati at No. 37.
To report a bad pothole in Ohio, click here.
