Santa Maria Police Department: Drivers urged to slow down during wet weather

SANTA MARIA, Calif., - If you hit the streets around the crack of dawn in Santa Maria you know it
was a wet morning.

You also know some drivers were going way too fast as rain continued to
fall.

"Yes and people are driving really fast and that creates a lot of accidents
… not the right thing to do," said driver Luis Vargas of Santa Maria.

Even after the rain stopped drivers still drove too fast causing a crash near College Drive and Main Street on Thursday afternoon.

"Our roadways are slippery after the rain this is our first rain in a long
time," said officer Jonathan Uhl of the Santa Maria Police Department.

As the city gets ready for more rain next week, officers are reminding
drivers to slow down before, during and even after the rain.

"Same as before give yourself extra time and extra stopping distance go down
take your time be mindful of everybody around you," said Uhl.

"My hope for drivers is that they take real for cautions as to what could
happen during slippery roads … do you know during slippery conditions the
rains can be very drastic drive and they really need to pay attention to
what they’re doing," said Vargas.

Most of the rain stopped around 10:00 a.m. in Santa Maria.

But the streets remained wet for several hours.

"Give yourself extra time to react and just make sure you arrive wherever
you want to go safely," said Uhl.

More rain is expected in the forecast throughout the Central Coast next week.