As the temperatures soar to dangerous extremes, so do the number of stranded drivers in need of help.<\/p>\n
When the feels-like temperature was expected to reach 120 degrees in some parts of the metroplex on Wednesday, Tarrant County Sheriff\u2019s Office Courtesy Patrol headed into rush hour prepared for a busy shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of flats today. We\u2019ve been having a lot. I had six yesterday. Some gas calls,\u201d said Curtis Rodgers. <\/p>\n
Rodgers and Moise Day say just about anything that can go wrong happens more frequently in this triple-digit heat. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe see a lot of overheating. We saw that a lot. Sometimes after that, the transmission went out, we see that lot. And all the mechanical issues, we see that a lot too,\u201d said Day. <\/p>\n
During an afternoon ride-along, NBC 5 witnessed at least two alternator issues. There were also multiple blown tires, including one just a few minutes into the ride. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe tire just blew out because of the heat or maybe the road. It\u2019s a brand-new tire,\u201d said a driver working on his work trailer along Highway 183.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Patrol\u2019s goal is always to get drivers off the side of the highway as quickly as possible. <\/p>\n
Day and Rodgers say right now, it\u2019s even more of a race. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn this kind of heat, gas calls we kind of make it a priority, especially women and kids. We don\u2019t want them sitting in a hot car,\u201d said Rodgers.<\/p>\n
During extreme conditions, courtesy patrol will also provide transport for the truly stranded and carry water for those they come across. Still, they encourage drivers to leave home prepared, knowing the heat can take a toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust carry water with you. Depending on where you break down at, you may be there a while,\u201d Rodgers said.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Patrol teams regularly roam major Highways in Tarrant County searching for stranded drivers, abandoned vehicles or debris in the road. <\/p>\n
They can be called using the non-emergency number 817-884-1213. In emergencies, drivers are urged to call 911. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the temperatures soar to dangerous extremes, so do the number of stranded drivers in need of help.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117,122],"class_list":["post-383365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-tarrant-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}