Everybody hates potholes. Potholes are a major nuisance for parking lots of all shapes and sizes. So, how to prevent potholes? Many business owners disregard parking lot damage like potholes as insignificant because they’re usually smaller in size and the speed of traffic going over them isn’t very fast. But, despite appearances, parking lot potholes can be dangerous when it comes to damaging vehicles and causing injuries.
In case you weren’t aware of just how detrimental potholes can be and what kind of damage they can cause, let’s take a closer look at them and how you can take steps to prevent potholes from ever occurring in your parking lot.
How are Parking Lot Potholes Dangerous?
Aside from being annoying to run over, parking lot potholes are dangerous in a variety of ways. The most obvious is the way they can damage the wheels and undercarriage of your vehicle when you run over them.
Potholes can have jagged edges, especially if they’re in an asphalt parking lot, which can cause a flat tire. If the pothole is deep enough, it can even cause damage to the wheel axle, suspension, and the wheel itself. This can lead to a claim for total wheel replacement, which is no small expense.
As a business owner, if you don’t know how to prevent potholes, you could be held liable for damage caused by them, for people as well as vehicles. For instance, if someone steps in a pothole and breaks their ankle or suffers another debilitating injury, it’s more than likely that you’ll be liable for their medical bills and more.
Another overlooked, a negative consequence of potholes is that they can cause drivers to reroute around them, leading to bottlenecks or worse, swerve to avoid them and cause an accident. This funnels all the weight and pressure of your parking lot traffic over smaller areas and leads to faster degradation of the lot, in addition to causing many more fender benders and small accidents.
Not repairing potholes is a big turnoff to consumers and could eventually hurt your bottom line once you develop a reputation for having a dangerous, broken-down parking lot.
Why Asphalt Develops Potholes
The reason why you see potholes develop much more frequently in asphalt is that it’s especially susceptible to water damage. Water gets in through cracks in the surface of the pavement, expanding and contracting to weaken the asphalt over time.
Eventually, combined with the pressure and weight of vehicle traffic, the weakened asphalt begins to crumble and break, leading to divots and ruts in the surface of the pavement. As these are continually driven over, the ruts and divots develop into full-blown potholes.
The Best Way to Prevent Potholes Forever
Asphalt and potholes go together like peanut butter and jelly, which is why you need an alternative paving material if you want to prevent them. The number one choice when it comes to durable, long-lasting, and stylish pavement to prevent potholes is permeable plastic pavers like the commercial-grade PRO PLUS system made by TRUEGRID.
TRUEGRID permeable pavers are the best choice for preventing potholes since they are made from 100% recycled plastic, and filled with small stones (gravel) that are locked into place on the surface. The pavers are easily snapped into place over a parking lot with a rock base of 8 to 12 inches in depth.
At the bottom, a filter fabric is laid to prevent the gravel from migrating, and the empty pit is filled in with gravel which is then compacted and leveled by a vehicle or heavy roller. Once the empty pavers are snapped together over the surface of the filled gravel pit, more gravel is poured over the top and pressed into the empty cells with a vehicle or heavy roller.
This process weighs the pavers down and prevents them from shifting or moving under the weight of traffic. Since these pavers are 100% permeable, they allow water and liquids to drain directly through them and into the soil below.
This not only eliminates the need for the drainage systems that commonly accompany asphalt, it makes the development of potholes impossible.
Pothole Prevention is Just One Benefit of TRUEGRID Permeable Pavers
The fact that potholes cannot develop in a TRUEGRID permeable paver lot is just a by-product of their innovative design. The extraordinarily durable plastic grids keep aggregate locked into place, providing a permanent level, solid surface for vehicles to turn, brake, and accelerate on without causing damage. Water has no negative effect on these pavers either, meaning they can last up to 50 years with only minimal maintenance.
They’re also one of the most eco-friendly industrial-strength paving solutions on the planet. Installation can be completed in as little as one day, and the overall cost of the pavers throughout their lifetime is much lower than that of asphalt or concrete.
Potholes are a dangerous nuisance that can cost you money and cause injuries and damage. If you want the best solution for how to prevent potholes in your parking lot for good, contact TRUEGRID today for a quote.
