10,000+ vehicles broke down in Alberta this week due to weather: AMA
How much trouble did the extreme cold give drivers across Alberta this week? A lot, according to statistics from the Alberta Motor Association (AMA).
Over three days this week — from Tuesday morning to Thursday night — the automotive company received more than 10,000 requests for roadside assistance across the province.
That number is set to grow as the frigid temperatures will be with us for at least another day.
“In parts of Alberta, call volume has been as high as nine times the norm for this time of year,” AMA said in a statement.
Most people, the company said, were calling about dead batteries.
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As of 9:30 am, Calgary was at nine times the normal level for boosts and six times the norm for tows and winches.
In Edmonton, at the same time, it was nearly 10 times the normal for tows, and almost 11 times the norm for boosts.
“We prepare for extreme conditions every year, as they’re a part of living in Alberta. Our teams are always ready for anything,” Misty Harris, a spokesperson for AMA, told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“As bad as things seem right now, we’ve actually seen much worse.”
In February 2019, AMA received 17,500 calls in 24 hours.
The next highest was in January 2020, when there were 16,000 calls in 24 hours.
January 2020 saw 87,813 requests overall, with a daily average intake of 6,755.
“Our longest stretch of extreme weather, which was actually three consecutive deep freezes, took place between January 1 and March 11, 2014,” Harris said.
“The most important thing drivers can do is plug in their vehicles. It can be the difference between an engine that starts and one that doesn’t.”
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