COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Memorial Day is just around the corner and many folks here in the Midlands will be hitting the highways for an extended weekend. But holiday travels also means holiday traffic.
According to Tiffany Wright, Director of Public Affairs for AAA, their technicians will assist more than 375,000 stranded drivers across the US this Memorial Day Weekend.
“Nothing can ruin a holiday road trip like being stranded. The top calls we get at AAA are for dead batteries, flat tires, and lockouts. So, there’s a few things you can do right now in your driveway or garage ahead of your trip. Just the pre-check stuff. We’re talking about making sure you’re checking your tire pressure, checking those windshield wiper blades, making sure they’re not cracked, replacing them if they are; checking your fluids,” she says.
If you have time, Wright recommends letting a professional check your vehicle’s tires, battery, and brakes.
“I think there’s gonna be unfortunately some of those that don’t do any kind of pre-check with their vehicle and they hop in their car and they’re ready to go and they haven’t driven their car in quite some time. Maybe they work from home so they don’t have to commute all the time, and then they’re faced with those unfortunate things like a flat tire, or a dead battery, or brakes. Any of those issues you would see if you drove your car more often. Unfortunately we’re gonna see a lot more of those, we’ll have a higher call volume. We’re prepared, we’re staffed as always. We’ve rescued thousands of motorists alone just in the Carolinas, so we’re gonna be really busy,” she say.
And if you do have an issue with your vehicle, she says pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so.
“But make sure that you’re packing that emergency kit so if in fact you are stranded you have the things — you have your nonperishable foods, you have water, you have extra medicine. If you’re taking the dog with you you have food, you have medicine for your pet. Just make sure you have all of those essentials in case you are stranded on the side of the road,” says Wright.
AAA also reports a higher number of single car collisions due to distracted and drowsy drivers. Wright says it’s a good idea to not only check your vehicle, but check yourself before driving.
“Make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of rest. That will not only help your reaction time and decision making ability, it’ll make you a calmer driver. As temperatures rise, unfortunately so do tempers. And a lot of times we take things personally. So I would say this memorial day holiday, be tolerant of others around you. Don’t take things personally. That person driving next to you might not be from the area, they simply might be lost, not just cutting you off. So I would stress tolerance,” Wright says.