"Our call volume in this area nearly doubled this week."

It has been a busy week to say the least for Jim Garrity, director of Public Affairs for AAA East Central.

The organization reports nearly 46% of all bad weather crashes occur during the winter. The heavy snow and bad road conditions play a factor in nearly half a million crashes and more than 2,000 road deaths each year.

"The biggest thing you can do to keep yourself safe in the winter time is stay off the road," Garrity said. "Obviously, that's going to be the easiest way to avoid a potential crash."

Garrity explains two kinds of calls that AAA receives during the snowy months.

"Last winter alone, we serviced more than 250,000 batteries at AAA central in the winter months," Garrity said. "People who need winched out, maybe they've gone off the side of the road. They need pulled out, situations tows, things like that."

Before driving a vehicle in the winter weather, Garrity says to make sure all the snow is off the vehicle, car batteries are tested and make sure you have enough windshield wiper fluid.

According to Pennsylvania state laws, Drivers are to make "reasonable efforts to remove accumulated ice or snow from the motor vehicle." It is also illegal to leave a running vehicle unattended on a public street, even if you're trying to warm up your car.

"I personally know somebody who was impacted by this when a giant shard of ice came through her front window and nearly killed her," Garrity said. "These are things that you need to keep in mind heading out the door, not just because they're the law, but because you could potentially be putting people in harm's way."