CLEVELAND — Ohio roads during the winter can be a tricky place to drive because of snow, ice and potholes. Brian Blatt, who works for the auto repair shop Rad Air, said that in Northeast Ohio potholes are something people have to deal with. Blatt explained the damage that can be done to your car after running over a pothole.

“You can do tire damage so you can actually the sidewall of the tire here, damage the rim both on the outside or on the inside. You can crack the rim, bend the rim, dent it. All that can happen from a pothole,” he said.

The winter weather impacts the roads by creating these potholes. Potholes are formed when water seeps into the ground, then expands when it freezes, before contracting after it melts. Blatt pointed out other damage that can be done to your car after it encounters a pothole.

“You can do damage to your strut here, this is what your vehicle rides on. So you can bend this, damage it. Tie rods, you can bend your tie rods or worse, make it snap,” he said.

Cities across Ohio have been tasked with fixing the potholes on the roads. In Cleveland, that person is Frank Williams, Cleveland’s Director of Public Works.

“We’ll have approximately nine to 10 crews, pothole crews, out everyday as weather allows,” he said.

Although, the work will not be permanent. Williams explained that the city can only patch the potholes for now.

“During the season, the winter season, while the asphalt plants are closed, we’re using cold mix and also we are recycling asphalt at our plants. This causes more labor to be in the yards, so that’s why we only put nine or 10 crews out daily,” he said.

Blatt said that until the potholes can be filled, you should avoid going over them as much as possible.

“If you see something that looks big that you might go ‘oh that doesn’t look so good’ if you can go around it, go around it. If you can avoid it, avoid it. If you have to go through it, there’s no other choice, just slowing down, going through it nice and slow,” he said.