Yesterday evening just after the rain heading south on 2nd Avenue in the mid 40s I hit a pothole so deep I’m still shaking now.

Of course, normally I do everything I can to avoid hitting them, and have gotten pretty respectable at the patented NYC pothole swerve (TM), but yesterday this bad boy just came at me out of nowhere.

Hitting it at about 40mph, I at least had the presence of mind to steer straight, grip tight and lift myself out of the seat to brace for impact. My bike hit the hole with a sickening crunching sound that pushed the front fork  to its limits. My sunglasses flew out of the front pocket just behind the leg shield (a small price to pay) and for the next couple of seconds the bike wobbled like hell just before I could drop back into the seat.

By applying a little gas I was able to bring the bike upright as I fell back into the seat, but standing up on the running board to hit the hole meant that I was top-heavy going into the hole and unstable. I’m convinced, however, that if I’d been seated the jolt would have been severe enough that I’d have been sent flying.

Lesson learned? Well this time I had to take it on the chin, and thank God I didn’t have to take it on any other part of my body. My mistake was two-fold:

First, driving too close behind the vehicle in front of me meant that I didn’t have a clear view of the road ahead of me. Having a couple of car lengths between myself and the car in front would have given me enough time to swerve. Of course, this is easier said than done in rush hour traffic, but it’s a classic mistake, and not to be underestimated.

Second, I underestimated the hole. Frankly at the viewing angle of approach sitting atop a scooter, while I obviously saw the hole, what I couldn’t judge was how deep it was. Next time, I’ll be treating every hole as an express elevator shaft to China, and swerving like hell.

The New York City Department of Transportation categorizes these puppies as street defects. A category that includes a whole cast of characters – potholes, cave-ins, hummocks, ponding conditions (where water sits and stagnates), manhole covers, street hardware, failed street cuts, old utility cuts or the dreaded “open street cut”. Frankly when you hit a defect at 40mph the last thing you’re wondering is was that a pothole or a cave-in I just hit?

Thankfully, there is something you can do about these blights on the Big Apple landscape: The DOT has a page detailing street defects, with guidance as to what to do to report one. Generally a call to 311 is suffice, but depending on the condition, completing a street construction complaint form may be necessary. The DOT also has an online pothole report you can use to report the offender and have it short-listed for pothole death-row. The feared fill-in.

If your scooter is damaged by a street defect, you can file a claim with the city of New York by visiting the NYC Comptroller’s web site, or calling 212-669-3500. According to a New York Times article, if you yourself are damaged by the accident the city may be responsible but under the 1979 Prior Written Notice Law only if it can be demonstrated that the city was aware of the defect (as reported by a previous complaint) but has failed to address it.

But you’re not going to let that happen to you, are you? Ride safe and master the swerve.

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