Its that time of year when the temperatures start going up in the day and dropping at night.  The snow melts.  The frost ever so slightly begins to come out of the ground; and the asphalt starts to heave. 

The water from the daily thaws start to seep through the cracks in the pavement.  At night, when the temperatures go down, the water that thawed during the day refreezes.  When water freezes it expands and as a result the asphalt heaves.  Then you add the weight and pressure of the daily traffic running over this uplifted asphalt.  Eventually, the raised spot begins to breakdown and apart, thus is the birth of a pothole.  As cars and trucks continually run over it, the pothole gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

These days there are plenty of potholes around; it is very important to know how to maneuver over and through them.

The most important thing to know, is never brake going through a pothole.  When the brake pedal is applied it causes the wheel to stop turning.  When the wheel cannot turn freely, it puts more strain on the suspension parts.  Some things that can happen under this kind of condition are suspension parts can bend or break, wheels can bend or break, damage to the tires can occur which can cause a "pull" while driving.  A "pull" is when you feel like you are constantly fighting the steering wheel to go straight down the road.

If you have the unfortunate opportunity to encounter a pothole, and you hit it hard, make sure that you get the vehicle checked out.  What you don't want to happen is have a damaged part become a broken part or have tire wear and poor handling.