Potholes and Puddles – Yorkshire-Specific Tips for Handling Road Hazards

Yorkshire is a beautiful country, offering some of the most incredible driving roads in the UK – but knowing how to get around them safely is key to a successful trip. In this article, we’ll cover some of the main hazards you might come across while travelling through Yorkshire, and what to do to handle them like an experienced driver. 

Tight turns 

The roads that wend their way through the Yorkshire countryside offer some fantastic views, but also a few twists and turns that are challenging to say the least. In order to safely navigate a tight turn in your car, caution should be exercised at every stage. 

Firstly, you need to maintain a sensible speed at all times to ensure that tight turns don’t creep up on you. Once you’ve identified that you’re approaching a tight turn, you should check your mirrors, as you should when you see any hazard. Slow down as you approach, shifting through to a low gear; you should always enter a turn at a slow speed. As you make the turn, ensure you have control of the car before confidently accelerating out of it. 

If you find yourself on a single track road, exercise further caution, as cars may be approaching from the other direction. 

Narrow roads 

Talking of single track roads, you’ll find a fair few of them in Yorkshire. When travelling on one, keep your speed low and sensible, taking turns with caution and identifying passing places, keeping to the left as much as possible. When you see another car approaching, pull over if it’s safe to do so, though it may make more sense for them to move over if the passing place is on their side. 

Where possible, give way to cars coming up hills. 

Potholes

Harsh winters can play havoc with the road surface, leading to those dreaded potholes. There’s barely a route through Yorkshire that doesn’t see you come up against at least one pesky pothole, so knowing what to do when you see one is essential to preserve the health of your car, and the safety of you and those around you. 

Staying vigilant for potholes is key, and beware on rainy days; potholes can fill with water and hide in plain sight. Maintain a sensible speed, as well as a safe distance from the car in front, so that you can see the road surface as it approaches, and avoid any accidents if either of you hit a pothole. When you see a pothole, check your mirrors so you know what vehicles are behind you or beside you. 

Avoid swerving abruptly to avoid a pothole, instead using as much road on your side as is safely possible to avoid it once you’ve determined that it’s safe to do so via your mirrors. If there is no other option but to go over it, because moving would be dangerous, then do so at a slow speed having anticipated the pothole and slowed down safely.  

Puddles 

We see our fair share of rain in Yorkshire, which means surface water on the roads. Avoid going through deep surface water if you can, particularly at speed, as this can lead to aquaplaning (when all four of your wheels begin travelling on the water as opposed to the tarmac). If you must drive through surface water, do so at a slow speed and in a low gear, keeping revs high and maintaining momentum to create a bow wave that will help you avoid bogging the car down. 

Don’t forget, splashing pedestrians with a puddle is an offence, so exercise common sense and caution when you travel through surface water next to pedestrians. 

Black ice

Those harsh winters we mentioned earlier can see us dealing with several winter driving hazards, including black ice on the roads. This means that ice has formed on the road’s surface that is completely see through, giving us little idea that we’re about to drive over it. Black ice provides nothing for our tyres to grip, so it’s very dangerous indeed. 

While there’s not often any warning that you’re coming up to black ice, you’ll likely know if you’re on it; the road noise will drop, and the steering will feel light. In this situation, lift your foot off the accelerator and keep your steering wheel in the position it was in until your car has passed over the black ice patch. 

Do your research 

If you’re new to the area, or you’ve got a new car that you’re not familiar with yet, there’s no shame in doing your research and talking to reputable locals who know the area like the backs of their hands. Carlingo, who specialise in used cars for sale in North Yorkshire, are often helping customers out with their unrivalled knowledge of some of their local roads – perfect for those who have just picked up a new-to-them car and are about the hit the roads of Yorkshire.