The old adage “concrete gets hard and cracks” is very true, but is there something that can be done in order to have it crack in a certain area?  The answer is “yes… kinda”.  A control cut is when concrete is cut to a depth of one-quarter the depth of the concrete creating a weak line to coerce the concrete to crack along that line only.  Very large slabs are often cut into sections and long, narrow slabs, as in sidewalks, commonly have control cuts, or V-grooves placed often along its length.  A V-groove is a type of control cut placed in the concrete at the time of the pour.  There, unfortunately, is no guarantee the concrete is going to think like the person designing the cuts and cracks may appear in other areas of the slab.