The wet weather means an increase in calls for local tow truck companies and auto body shops.
They say it’s one of the busiest times of the year. The rainy weather typically leads to car crashes and other troubles along the road.
Mike Filice with JohnBoy’s Towing responds to calls any time of day or night. Each call is different but the common thread is the wet road conditions.
“The person who was driving, it was supposedly caught up in some weather and either a landslide or they lost control and did damage,” Filice explained at the scene of a tow on Tuesday.
The bottom of the car is damaged, the front rim is cracked and the two passenger side tires are flattened.
“So that’s why we’re towing it to a body shop,” Filice said.
“A lot of rear-enders, a lot of people that go off the road going a little too fast so they hydroplane off from the water that’s on the road,” said Joey Orozco of City Motors in Santa Maria.
The past couple of days have been busy. Filice towed an SUV that went off the rain-slicked road on Monday.
Being out on the road himself, he sees a lot.
“People not slowing down in the weather, staying a good distance, even using your wipers. We see an increase in accidents. We see an increase of spinouts,” Filice explained.
“We probably get 50 percent more calls on a rainy day,” said Christy Winters, dispatcher for Johnboy’s Towing. “Lot of people slide off the road and get stuck in the mud so they’re stuck on the shoulders.”
“When you get the oils on the road and you get the combination of water on top of it, now you really get a slippery surface so the speed is going to make a difference, you hit a car, can’t stop fast enough or making a turn,” Orozco added.
It’s always recommended that you slow down and give yourself plenty of time when you’re driving on wet roads.
