AAA-Oklahoma Compares 2024 Winter Weather To Past Events

If you have been out on the roads the past few days you know that the winter weather is affecting how we drive. Rylie Fletcher with AAA Oklahoma joined News On 6 to talk about how you can keep safe on the roads.

Cooper: All right. So with a cold, there's obviously an effect on cars. We were in a story earlier in this newscast about that, one of the most common calls for assistance that AAA has been getting.

Fletcher: So, we see a lot of calls for toes related to batteries and tire issues. So, batteries are taking up about a quarter of the calls that we've seen from January 1 to now. And tires are close behind. So those are the two main things in your vehicle that might lead you to be on the roadside.

Related Story: How Cold Snaps Affect Car Batteries; How To Prepare Your Car Ahead Of Time

Cooper: The past couple of years, we've had some pretty bad winter weather, not so much last year, but how does this year compare to last year so far?

Fletcher: Right now we're about 2,000 more calls than we had this time last year. And with battery specifically, we've seen about 1,000 more calls than we did this time last year. So more people are ending up on the roadside because of the winter weather.

Cooper: All right, let's talk about gas prices. They're down right now compared to this time last year. Is there a chance that the cold weather could raise gas prices yet again?

Fletcher: There is a possibility because refineries right now we are seeing that some refineries are having issues, especially in the southern part of the United States. Whether or not that will impact Oklahoma gas prices we have yet to see but there could be a slight increase, but likely not more than a few cents.