After winter or large thunderstorms, we will often find numerous new potholes. And if you’ve hit one before, you know that dreaded feeling: the heavy thud, praying the flat-tire light doesn’t come on, listening for the telling grinding of some loose part in your car. Did you know that pothole damage accounts for nearly 500,000 insurance claims annually?

Here are a few tips to help avoid them:

• Leave more space between you and the driver ahead of you. This is just good general driving practice, but it also comes in handy for avoiding potholes. After all, the more space between you and the other guy, the more likely you are to notice a pothole and calmly dodge it.
• Slow down. Ratchet your speed back a little bit to improve your reaction time. Also, hitting a pothole at lower speeds typically doesn’t cause as much or as severe damage as hitting one at higher speeds.
• Watch out for water. After a rainstorm or snow, potholes can fill with water, making it harder to see and judge their depth. This makes them even more mysterious and dangerous! So when in doubt, avoid them.

That’s why it’s essential to stay alert, slow down, and keep an eye out to avoid costly damage and severe stress.