Omaha, Nebraska (WOWT) - You're from the Midwest. You have good tires and know to warm up the car before heading out. But this is no ordinary subway weather.
"It's really, really cold."
For 12 years as an owner of 3B's Towing in Omaha, Roger Kreikemeier has been answering calls to get your car towed to safety and towed your car safely. He hasn't seen anything like three days of dangerously windy cold this week.
"I turned down a ton of calls, probably more than I could handle," he said before towing an SUV that didn't leave the Maple Avenue grocery store parking lot. "People were probably a little underprepared and didn't expect it to be this brutal. It's a job in itself to keep the truck running."
Modern vehicles with bells and whistles sometimes have their own problems. Kaizen general manager Ricky Tran points out that extreme cold temperatures can cause sensors to shut down or go into emergency mode. Regardless of make, model or year, air pressure, top up fluids and a full tank of gas are all important. and warm it up as much as possible.
"Your car works harder mechanically[in extreme cold]," Tran said. "The joints are very much like a car, just like the human body, a little painful and difficult to move."
And even if you feel comfortable driving, it doesn't mean that the men in the lanes around you are comfortable and can even see you through foggy windows.
"Keep calm," Tran said. "With the little bit of snow we've seen, many cars want to hit the road, go home, go somewhere warm. They forget that visibility is important."
And if you want to escape this winter's blast unscathed, both Tran and Kreikemeier advise against sleeping on it.
"Winterize your car. It's almost an outdated term now," Tran advises. "Check your tires, make sure the fluid is where you need it, check the wiper blades. In this frigid cold, the wiper blades are frozen to the windshield. They damage the rubber on the blades."
Tran said get the hose out as soon as possible to flush all the salt water, salt and sludge from the bottom of the car before it becomes a big problem. We also recommend paying.
"It corrodes your undercoating and hurts your car, not necessarily just from a cosmetic standpoint," Tran said. It will damage the suspension and components."
Roger's 3B's Towing is a family business and helping people is central to his efforts. So a day like Friday when you can't answer all your calls can be bittersweet.
"Perhaps the most disappointing thing is when you listen to the person on the other end of the (phone) and say, 'Sorry, I can't reach you,' or 'Doc, I can't reach you.' Today. It's probably the most disheartening feeling a man can have, but on the contrary, there are people out there who are so happy to see us and help us, and it's a good feeling.
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