Houston drivers BEWARE!!!

[Paul]

They overhauled the towing ordinance. Got this from http://www.click2houston.com/automotive/4075451/detail.html

Twelve days into the controversial Safe Clear towing ordinance, Houston Mayor Bill White announced major changes to the program Wednesday in an effort to make the mandatory system more affordable.

• Any motorist who stalls, breaks down or has a flat tire and is not in a moving lane of traffic will receive a free tow for up to one mile of the freeway.
• If a motorist runs out of gas, he or she will receive a free tow to the nearest gas station.
• A motorist who has a flat and a spare tire in good condition will receive a free tire change from the wrecker driver.

Basically if you can make it to the shoulder you get a free tow of up to one mile from the exit ramp to the nearest parking lot or gas station. I also heard on the news that in addition to towing you to the nearest gas station they will purchase you 2 gallons of gas. Money to pay for this will come from tax dollars.

 

[loNfastNSX]

Now that I can live with. Much more citizen friendly. Im guessing that the city councel and the mayor has caught alot of flack about the whole thing. The new revisions gear the policy towards helping distressed motorist rather than pushing them around.

 

[Juice]

1 - I am dead serious.....you should know me better by now. Granted, the six minutes is a bit tight, but the concept of towing disabled vehicles from the freeways is a good one.

2 - I don't think that I am an "over the top" type of person, but if my opinion of endorsing the towaway policy infuriates you, well, you are entitled to your emotions.

3 - From Houston.

Andy, not to be a jerk off, but I hope your NSX gets towed by its rear axel. If you can't smell political scandal, it's because you have your head buried in darker regions of your own anatomy.

I'm just glad that I don't live in Houston. Is this mayor a liberal by chance? The desire to use tax dollars in this way reeks of left wing influence. I find this law very suprising for Texas of all places. Seems they are more interested in cleaning out the coffers than cleaning the streets. What a waste of dollars and manpower.

 

[Zishan]

I couldn't change a tire in less than 6 minutes!

You need to practice your pit stop skills my friend! j/k


Actually, I think in certain situations, it would be good. But I think in others, "some" tow truck drivers will start towing cars that are not parked unsafely on the road. I had a bad experience during the flood a few years ago. I helped the tow truck guy out and in turn, he freaking raped me on the bill. It was like that all across Houston and the tow truck companies had to refund people they reamed. Some of those guys are jerks. Although, some are not.

Just my lousy 2 cents.
- Z

 

[Zishan]

They overhauled the towing ordinance. Got this from http://www.click2houston.com/automotive/4075451/detail.html

Twelve days into the controversial Safe Clear towing ordinance, Houston Mayor Bill White announced major changes to the program Wednesday in an effort to make the mandatory system more affordable.

• Any motorist who stalls, breaks down or has a flat tire and is not in a moving lane of traffic will receive a free tow for up to one mile of the freeway.
• If a motorist runs out of gas, he or she will receive a free tow to the nearest gas station.
• A motorist who has a flat and a spare tire in good condition will receive a free tire change from the wrecker driver.

Basically if you can make it to the shoulder you get a free tow of up to one mile from the exit ramp to the nearest parking lot or gas station. I also heard on the news that in addition to towing you to the nearest gas station they will purchase you 2 gallons of gas. Money to pay for this will come from tax dollars.

Sounds good!

 

[Yellow Rose]

Won't Happen To Me

Andy, not to be a jerk off, but I hope your NSX gets towed by its rear axel. If you can't smell political scandal, it's because you have your head buried in darker regions of your own anatomy.

Hey There - three things.

1 - despite you saying that you are not being one, I think you are coming across as a JO. But that's cool, because I am often one as well. :smile:

2 - my NSX does not have a rear axle (not axel) it has rear half-shafts. :tongue:

3 - just as I though that you were clowning around, you have to bring my anus into the picture. Hey, that's off limits.

 

[Meeyatch1]

Re: Blocked lane usually NOT the cause of traffic jams

...I absolutely don’t think it’s fair for the guy who just got a flat. However, I don’t think it’s fair for tens of thousands of motorists to be stuck in traffic because nitwit thinks the side of the road is the ideal spot to spend an afternoon repairing his car...

I think most peoples beef is with the things like what was mentioned earlier where a lady had her flat tire changed, while a cop was there, and since she had been there more than 6 minutes they towed the car WITH THE SPARE ON IT!! That is just stupid, and is a reason why people snap.

 

[sjs]

They overhauled the towing ordinance. Got this from http://www.click2houston.com/automotive/4075451/detail.html

Twelve days into the controversial Safe Clear towing ordinance, Houston Mayor Bill White announced major changes to the program Wednesday in an effort to make the mandatory system more affordable...

They get zero credit for it now. Their true colors have already been shown and I hope the voters remember well what a bunch of buffoons they really are.

And forget all the smoke about safety, here's a direct quote from the Mayor that tells you his real motivation. "They will be required to get off the freeway. We're not going to let people turn the (freeway) shoulders into body shops," White said."

Perhaps if he were a more effective Mayor in ways that count, there wouldn't be so many people driving rolling wrecks. I say impeach the bastard!

 

[Juice]

Re: Won't Happen To Me

2 - my NSX does not have a rear axle (not axel) it has rear half-shafts. :tongue:

Oh, crap! What was I smoking? My mind must be stuck on Unix!

 

[sjs]

Re: Won't Happen To Me

Oh, crap! What was I smoking? My mind must be stuck on Unix!

Cool, that could be handy. Too bad I hate working with UNIX from the command line. Give me Xwindows! (but then, I may be a bit biased. <a href=http://www.msu.edu/~huntharo/xwin/docs/xwindows/XWINSYS.pdf >X</a> )

 

[Casper91]

You need to practice your pit stop skills my friend! j/k

And you wonder why no race team will hire you as a pit crew member.

WOW, bagging on me.:redface: Okay so I'm a lame-ass. I'm not ashamed.
I don't know how to change my timing belt either.
Last time I had a flat in my wife's minivan it was...
Find a safe place to pull over,
Unload all the crap in the back of the van.
Find the lowering screw for the spare.
keep the kids away from the highway.
Jack up the car.
Change out flat.
Put tools away
Put all the crap back in the van
Ready to go...
go back for the kids - just kidding on that last part. :biggrin:
It was more than 6 mins.

 

[apapada]

• If a motorist runs out of gas, he or she will receive a free tow to the nearest gas station.
Basically if you can make it to the shoulder you get a free tow of up to one mile from the exit ramp to the nearest parking lot or gas station. I also heard on the news that in addition to towing you to the nearest gas station they will purchase you 2 gallons of gas. Money to pay for this will come from tax dollars.

Wow !!!
in other parts of the world (think some countries in Europe), if you run out of gas, the police will give you a fine for being an irresponsible driver. Now in Germany for instance, in some regions on the Autobahn, you may not be able to find a gas station for 50 kms or more... But in Houston, they'll BUY YOU gas ?!?! Wow