OHIO — The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 112 million Americans will be traveling this holiday season. They also predicted they would have to rescue 900,000 people with their roadside assistance.
Due to the winter storms that swept through the country and Ohio over the last few days, AAA’s Jim Garrity said that number could increase.
“AAA contractors are out,” he said. “They’re working at the roadside, lot of dead battery calls, a lot of people who unfortunately need towed out of dangerous situations.”
He recommended that people take their time on the road if they choose to drive this weekend.
“The slower you’re going, the easier it’s going to be for you to maintain control of your vehicle,” he said.
Matt Bruning, with the Ohio Department of Transportation, gave an update on road conditions.
“The real issue is blowing and drifting snow,” said Bruning. “Continue to see those gusty winds and that’s blowing that powdery snow back across our roadways.”
Bruning said that the good news is pavement temperatures have risen, which means salt that snow plows put on the roads are able to work better. However, he insisted that people should still stay home for their safety and the safety of the snow plow drivers.
“Since this storm started on Thursday, we have had four of our plows struck across the state of Ohio. So please just stay home,” he said.
ODOT has snow plow drivers working 12-hour shifts throughout the rest of the weekend.
