During the year-end holiday travel period, which runs Dec. 20 through Jan. 1, AAA says over 10 million Southern Californians will be traveling, and most of them will be doing so on the roadways.
"We are encouraging them to leave early, as soon as they can— before 12 p.m.— because tomorrow, Saturday, is going to be the busiest day for travel, as well as the 26th," said Anlleyn Venegas, the Senior Public Affairs Specialist for AAA.
One thing you may see on your drive over the next week or so is some rain.
"It's been a weird year because it's been so warm the whole month of December— 75 degrees— and it's been a little unusual. Now, with the rains coming, and you know, the holiday travel, you start to see it's really picked up a lot," Venegas said.
AAA says tire and windshield wiper maintenance is important for driving safely in stormy conditions.
"Speed is always a factor we see when it comes to crashes this time of year. It's important to reduce your speed, and leave plenty of room to stop, especially if its raining or snowing," Venegas said.
"Especially in the winter time when the rain is coming in, you got to have tread on the tires, you got to have air pressure up," said Joe Beckwith, the owner of The Tire Store in San Luis Obispo.
If you are driving somewhere with snow, Beckwith says it's important to plan ahead.
"We see a lot of customers now being so close to the mountains, we get a lot of people going to the snow. They do make tires that are kind of more of a hybrid, where they can be considered snow tires, but still left on for the duration, so we get a lot of those," he said.
