In 16th century England, potters would dig into roads to get at the clay deposits underneath leaving gaping holes on the surface. These ‘potterholes or potholes as they came to be called, were a menace to carts and stagecoaches, especially on dark country roads.
Today, potholes on the roads are not caused by potters but by water seepage and heavy traffic. When water seeps into the soil that supports the asphalt or cement surface, the soil starts loosening and liquefying at some spots and then it can no longer cushion the constant pressure put on those spots by the wheels of fast moving cars, trucks, buses and other heavy vehicles. The road starts cracking. The pattern made by the cracks resembles scales on a crocodile’s back and is called ‘crocodile cracking
Crocodile cracking is a sign that the road at that spot is in distress. If repairs are not done in time to eliminate the cracks, the tyres of speeding vehicles widen the cracks and break up the road, eventually creating a pothole.
Picture Credit : Google
