Chilly temperatures creating problems for Saskatchewan drivers

It’s a moment many people dread every morning during bitterly cold temperatures: finding out whether their car will start.

Tow truck drivers around Regina said they’ve been busier than ever with this early start to winter, boosting and towing vehicles in bone-chilling temperatures.

“If it doesn’t start by the second time, odds are it’s still not going to start the third or fourth time,” Chris Wright, a tow truck driver, said.

Wright said continuing to turn the key in the ignition will kill the battery even more and it’s best to deal with the problem as quickly as possible.

“Find somebody to boost it right away,” he said.

“If you wait 12 hours the battery could drain more, especially with all this cold. If you keep trying as well you’ll drain the battery really fast. You could also damage your starter,” he said.

“One of the common things people will do is they’ll rev the engine the moment the car starts, and that’s a bad idea,” he said. “It’s hard on your car and whatever is boosting your car whether it’s a booster pack or another vehicle. Wait until you disconnect the clamps at least.”

Faruk Atasoy plugged in his car, but it wasn’t enough to keep the engine going in this wintry weather, making him late for work.

“It’s absolutely incredible that it affected life so badly,” he said.

Wright said another common call during frigid temperatures is from panicked parents with children locked in the car.

“Kids will lock the cars,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize when they put their kid in the car and close it, sometimes they’ll press the buttons.”

Wright responds to a fair number of accidents and said all seasons tires don’t work well enough in Saskatchewan. “Minus 10, you’re sliding everywhere. They’re like soap on concrete,” he said.

He also said chilly temperatures create hazardous conditions where you might not expect them.

“With the sun like this, glaring off the road, a lot of people are trying hard to focus on what’s in front of them,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t notice signs, and we get police calls to clean up the call. It’s the yield signs that actually get missed the most.”

Most of the time, Wright is called for a boost and his customers are usually grateful for a car that once again starts, he said.

“It’s joyful, it’s something like a dream come true,” his customer Atasoy said.