Don't Give Potholes A Chance

Cold, ice and snow as well as the alternation of frost and thaw affect the road surface. The result is often deep potholes in which water also collects when it rains. Not only does it look ugly, it is also dangerous. Across Europe, potholes and other road damage contribute to more than a third of all accidents every year. In 2011 alone, 20 million potholes were reported in Europe. The resulting damage costs money: Depending on the country, European car insurance companies recorded average pothole damage to vehicles in 2015/2016 of EUR 508.

Virtual pothole cards for all drivers

According to the car manufacturer Ford, drivers could largely avoid damage from potholes and other road damage in the future: The Ford Research and Innovation Center in Aachen is experimenting with a combination of on-board cameras and modems that collectively collect detailed information about potholes while driving. From this, virtual pothole maps are created that are automatically uploaded to a data cloud. According to Ford, they can be called up there in real time by other vehicles. If necessary, the system even suggests alternative alternative routes. This technology is expected to undergo initial practical tests later this year.

“A virtual pothole map could show potholes on the way and alert the driver to dangers. Some of our series already have sensors that detect potholes, now we are going one step further,”says Uwe Hoffmann, Research Engineer, Advanced Chassis Control Technologies, Ford of Europe. The data from the sensors are currently being used to adapt the suspension if necessary. (jv)