TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) – Severe storm season is back in Oklahoma, and severe weather can strike at any time, even when you’re on the road.
During Wednesday’s severe storms, AAA Oklahoma had to help 690 stranded drivers. 383 of these cars had to be towed.
Rylie Mansuetti, director of public and government affairs for AAA Oklahoma, said severe weather is dangerous for all vehicles, regardless of size.
“Right now, we’re really in this season of temperature changes that lead to extreme weather like tornadoes and extreme hail and storms and rain,” Mansuetti said.
ZAG Autowerks owner Zach Rahman sees the consequences up close. NewsChannel 8 asked how well the average car is equipped to handle severe weather.
“They are not,” Rahman said. “They’re just meant to basically keep you out of the weather.”
Hail is a fairly obvious danger to vehicles.
“There’s not much you can do if you don’t have a garage or some kind of covered parking,” Rahman said.
“The most important thing you can do is try to seek shelter,” Mansuetti said. “But don’t seek shelter under a bridge or freeway overpass.”
Bridges and overpasses, he explained, can create wind tunnels that propel flying debris even faster.
But while hail can easily dump a car, it’s also weather that can’t be beat.
“The speed of the hail will do more damage the faster you go,” explained Mansuetti.
When it comes to driving in heavy rain, the danger doesn’t always come from the water.
“There are so many vehicles leaking oil, and it happens on the roads, on the roads, so for the first 20-30 minutes, it brings all that oil to the top and the oil and water doesn’t they mix,” Rahman said. . “So that’s usually where you start hydroplaning in the first 20 to 30 minutes.”
Hydroplaning is when a car’s tires ride on water and not on the road. Without a solid surface for the tires to grip, the car loses control. It can occur even in small accumulations of rain.
“If your brakes aren’t up to par or your tires are bald. That will make it a lot easier for you to float,” Rahman said. “In that kind of scenario, you let off the gas.”
Nothing is worse for a car than flooding, especially when water gets into the engine block.
“At that point, you either have to rebuild or replace the engine,” Rahman said.
But don’t think that a lifted pickup truck is better equipped to handle a flood than a family sedan.
“Driving through water is never advisable for any motorist, regardless of the height of their vehicle,” Mansuetti said. “As little as 12 inches of moving water can sweep most vehicles off the road, and that’s actually one of the leading causes of storm-related deaths.”
Above all, if you don’t want the weather to damage your car, just use common sense.
“Make sure all your windows are open!” pleaded Rahman. “Sometimes we’ve had customers come in where the window was cracked. And sometimes there are computers in the way of the water.”
If you’re stuck in a car during a tornado, trying to outrun it could put others at risk.
The National Weather Service says to duck under car windows and cover your head. Alternatively, you can abandon the car and seek shelter in a low ditch.
Meanwhile, Mansuetti said the best way to handle another dangerous weather is to simply not drive. If you’re worried the conditions are too much to handle, get closer, turn on your hazard lights and wait for it to go off.
