Monday, January 10, 2005
Things to Remember When Driving in Houston
The link below is for some Q&A regarding the city's new Safe Clear Program. This program allows towing companies with contract with the city to tow vehicles broken down on the highway. There is a so-called 6 minute rule, where the wrecker should appear 6 mintues after being dispatched by police.
http://www.click2houston.com/automotive/4058468/detail.html
Other parts of Texas (and I think that this is part of the state law) allows the driver 4 hours to remove their vehicle from the side of the highway. That's plenty of time to do so. However, 6 minutes isn't much time. Imagine you run out of gas and the nearest gas station is 1/2 mile away. It could take you about 7-8 minutes to get to the gas station, a minute or so to get a couple of gallons in the tank, and another 7-8 minutes before you get back to your car...just to find it missing.
There are also other issues with this. Some vehicle manufacturers will void the warranty on the vehicle if it is not towed on a flatbed. I don't think that this was ever brought up. Can you request a flatbed if you know your warranty will be voided? Will the wrecker drive there call the police on you because you're not cooperative...I wonder.
Some don't like it, some do. I'm not really for it. Hopefully my car won't die on the freeway. If it does, I'll do my best to push it onto the feeder road.
http://www.click2houston.com/automotive/4058468/detail.html
Other parts of Texas (and I think that this is part of the state law) allows the driver 4 hours to remove their vehicle from the side of the highway. That's plenty of time to do so. However, 6 minutes isn't much time. Imagine you run out of gas and the nearest gas station is 1/2 mile away. It could take you about 7-8 minutes to get to the gas station, a minute or so to get a couple of gallons in the tank, and another 7-8 minutes before you get back to your car...just to find it missing.
There are also other issues with this. Some vehicle manufacturers will void the warranty on the vehicle if it is not towed on a flatbed. I don't think that this was ever brought up. Can you request a flatbed if you know your warranty will be voided? Will the wrecker drive there call the police on you because you're not cooperative...I wonder.
Some don't like it, some do. I'm not really for it. Hopefully my car won't die on the freeway. If it does, I'll do my best to push it onto the feeder road.
# posted by CU @ 9:47 PM 
