Traffic slowed to a crawl on many Southland streets Tuesday night as a rare bout of rain moved into the area, but while there was no immediate spike in the number of traffic accidents, officials warned that more collisions are likely.
California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball told City News Service no major traffic crashes had been reported by early evening, but, “It’s only been an hour or so.”
Kimball said today’s rain was likely to cause roads to be even more slippery than usual, since it’s the first significant precipitation to hit the area in some time, causing oil to rise to the surface.
He advised motorists to slow down, remain a safe distance from other vehicles and stay off the road if you have bald tires or bad windshield wipers.
National Weather Service forecasters warned earlier that the storm had the potential to cause some “ponding” of water on low-lying streets and highways, mainly due to clogged drains.
“Wet oil-slicked roads due to the first significant rainfall in a while will impact the … afternoon/evening commutes,” the NWS warned earlier today.
Los Angeles Police Officer Nuria Vanegas said the department does not keep statistics on the relationship between rain and crashes.
“Mostly it’s just sprinkling so far,” she said, adding that traffic is obviously worse than usual thanks to the rainfall.
Lt. Steve Prendergast of the Gardena Police Department said a motorist crashed a BMW into a tree, but the wreck occurred before any rain had fallen in the city.
Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department also said he couldn’t offer statistics, but “we’re busy with traffic collisions and a handful of storm-related incidents such as downed wires, but nothing life-threatening.”
He noted that one thing that is increasing is the number of “slips and falls” going on.
“People are anxious to get to their cars when they go home,” he noted. “On the other hand, the rain is expected to get worse tonight.”
— City News Service