Rant: Took me 2 hours to get home because of one dumb pothole

I hit a pothole on I-95 near Philly last week and it blew out my tire. Sat there for an hour and a half waiting for a tow because three other people hit the same hole and we all needed help at once. Has anyone else had their whole day wrecked by one stupid road defect?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendyprice19d ago

Keep a portable air compressor and a plug kit in your trunk, they've saved me twice from roadside wait hell. Learned that trick after a pothole shredded my sidewall on 95 and I sat for three hours. Even if it's just enough to limp to a shop, beats sitting on the shoulder watching traffic fly by.

lee_reed19d ago

Do you really drive that much that a pothole is a major life event, @wendyprice? lmao. I've had a flat tire maybe once in ten years, and it was a slow leak that gave me plenty of time to get to a shop. I get that if you're on 95 in the middle of nowhere it might be a big deal, but for most of us, a quick call to roadside assistance or a friend is way less hassle than keeping a whole air compressor and plug kit in the trunk taking up space.

the_nathan18d ago

Haha "roadside wait hell" is right. I get what you're saying about most flats being slow leaks but man, I feel like it depends on where you live. Out here in the Chicago suburbs the potholes are like landmines after winter, and I've had two blowouts in four years that left me stranded for over an hour each time. I still don't keep a full compressor and plug kit though, just one of those little battery powered inflators and a can of Fix-a-Flat. Takes up hardly any space and at least gets me to a gas station without calling a tow.