ELYRIA, Ohio — As Ohioans begin returning to work, AAA expects an increase in the need for roadside assistance across the state.
- Some tow truck companies say they're already getting calls to charge car batteries
- AAA recommends performing a spring tune-up to prevent breakdowns
- In many areas, AAA will honor healthcare workers and first responders by providing free 24/7 emergency road service
“Today we’ve been extremely busy. Call volume is not totally in yet today, but we are probably up at least 25 percent over last Monday” said Rocky Kelley, owner, Mug’s Elyria Towing.
As Ohio begins to reopen to work during the next couple weeks, tow truck drivers expect to be busy again. They say it's not that a lot of cars are breaking down, but they are getting more service calls to charge up car batteries.
“We’ve had a lot of battery calls because stuff has been sitting. People haven’t worked in a month and they were getting called back, now let’s go check out our car before Monday morning, so we got slammed with battery calls yesterday,” said Kelley.
To help prevent breakdowns, AAA recommends drivers perform a spring tune-up.
“Many people are going out to find their car won't even start, so now is the time before you have to head back to work, to go out, check your tire pressure, make sure you car starts, drive it around the block, take a look at the dashboard to see if any warning lights are visible and if you have any warning lights, take a look in the owner's manual and take it into the repair shop and get those addressed," said Kimberly Schwind, senior manager public affairs, AAA Ohio Auto Club.
Tow truck drivers say as the weather warms more and more people will be on the road.
“Just the weather broke and everybody got out. We saw campers, we saw boats, we saw motorcycles and everybody’s toys, from GTOs to Vettes, they were out there,” said Kelley.
In many areas, AAA will honor healthcare workers and first responders by providing free 24/7 emergency road service.