L.A. rain: 404 car crashes reported in 24 hours, CHP says

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Spectators attempt to stay dry as they watch a race at Irvine Park as a light rain falls. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of the USC band are reflected on a horn covered with rain droplets during a pep rally under stormy skies. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians get shelter under an umbrella as they walk across the USC campus. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Bicyclists are reflected in a puddle while riding down an alley between Market Street and Windward Avenue. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Snow at over 9,000 feet in the White Mountains near the ancient Bristlecones pine forest in Inyo National Forest above Bishop. (Al Seib / Los Angeles TImes)

By Joseph Serna

Oct. 10, 2013 12 PM PT

In what likely won’t help the stereotype about Los Angeles drivers in the rain, there were 404 crashes on the region’s rain-slicked freeways during the first storm of the season, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The total, accumulated between Wednesday and Thursday morning, was 55% more compared to the same period a week earlier.

There were 404 traffic accidents between 5 a.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday, while during the same 24-hour period between Oct. 2-3 there were 260 crashes, said CHP Officer Ming Hsu.

“People aren’t used to [the rain] so they don’t alter their driving patterns,” Hsu said.

The first rain of the season lifts all the oils up to the surface where unprepared drivers – particularly those with bald tires on their vehicles – may slide, lose control and crash.

And the first storm of the season was weak one.

According to the National Weather Service, it rained up to half an inch or more in some Los Angeles County valleys and mountains, while the areas around downtown and along the coast barely saw a tenth of an inch.

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Twitter: @josephserna