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Tales from the tow side.

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  • Tales from the tow side.

    This little gem of a story happened a few years ago while I was still a tow truck driver. I had dropped off a vehicle at a repair shop close to home, and dispatch had no other calls for me, I decided to run over to my house and pick up my Crown Vic and tow it over to another shop because my starter had fragged on me. I was driving a thirty foot long flatbed truck, and had backed in as much as I could into the driveway, but about half of the truck was sitting in the street. As per custom, I turned on both my flashers and beacons, and got to work on tilting the bed and hooking up the chains. I got no further than pulling out the winch cable when I hear honking from the street. I look over and here is this douchebag in a Jeep motioning towards my truck.


    Me….me
    DB….Douchebag


    DB; “What the hell are you doing??”

    Me; Building a time machine out of a blender, what’s it look like? “I’m loading up this car.”

    DB; “You’re blocking the road!!!”

    Now this was not entirely true….the neighbors’ across the street had parked one of their vehicles on the street, so between the nose of my truck and that vehicle, the road was blocked. But the street layout was a basic grid pattern….so the guy could have turned left or right at the intersection and easily gone past where I was. And the road was flat so he could see the big yellow truck with the pretty lights four blocks away.

    Me; *points at beacons* “As long as I have those lights on, I can block a road for fifteen minutes.”

    DB; “I don’t care, move your damn truck!!”

    Do I even have to point out at this time that it would have taken ten times longer to pack up the bed and move the truck than it would have taken this guy to turn around? I start ignoring the idiot, and continue to load up my car. After about a minute of him sitting there idling he got the hint and started to back up.

    DB; “I’m calling the cops! They are going to come and arrest you!!!!!” He bravely proclaimed as he sped off.

    Well I finished loading the Crown Vic, and no police arrived. I doubt he called anyone, just probably went home and ranted to his house plant. What he did not know was that my wife had heard the moron yelling and was waiting by the front door with the 12-gauge loaded with sabot rounds in case he tried anything stupid.
    Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Stupidity isn't.

  • #2
    That's it, I'm leaving. There are now officially too many of us here...

    No, wait - I was here first - y'all have to go!!! (silly co-irkers!)

    Oh - and when I was driving - the time on blocking a roadway was 8 hours. As long as those beacons were flashing, the truck can be there for 8 hours. I don't know how they came up with that number. I like the new law though, too bad I'm not still driving -

    In this state now, tow trucks count as emergency vehicles and if drivers do not give us the right of way or room on the roadway - its a ticketable offense.
    Last edited by friendofjimmyk; 06-01-2008, 12:57 PM.
    "I'm still walking, so I'm sure that I can dance!" from Saint of Circumstance - Grateful Dead

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    • #3
      Quoth friendofjimmyk View Post
      :
      In this state now, tow trucks count as emergency vehicles and if drivers do not give us the right of way or room on the roadway - its a ticketable offense.
      That sounds like a very good law. I cannot begin to express the rage I feel when I am stuck in traffic caused by an accident/ The cars will need to be towed to get traffic going again, and a whole group of morons will pull onto the shoulder* to get a better view, totally blocking tow truck and emergency vehicle access,

      * When I say pull onto the shoulder I mean they use it like it is their own personal lane, and morons keep pullling in behind them until it is for all practical purposes, a whole new lane. I would not fault a tow person from mounting a reinforced plow blade to their truck in order to physically move these idjits. Hell, I would cheer in fact, probably build a shrine and convert others to believe in said tow truck driver's awesomeness.
      The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury. - Marcus Aurelius
      If you're slower than me, stupider than me, and you taste good...you're dinner - Anthony Bourdain

      Memento mori.

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      • #4
        As bad as this may sound, I took great pleasure in blocking entire lanes of traffic in order to get the job done. Not that I would do it if not necessary...but being able to smile and wave at people who were getting pissed because I was trying to clear an accident and they were being entitlement whores just absolutely made my day!
        "I'm still walking, so I'm sure that I can dance!" from Saint of Circumstance - Grateful Dead

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        • #5
          God Bless your wife! Almost too bad he didn't try anyhting stupid
          Broadcasting to you live from the nerve center of my brain..... szzzt *we are currently experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by*

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          • #6
            I like your wife.
            Ridiculous 2009 Predictions: Evil Queen will beat Martha Stewart to death with a muffin pan. All hail Evil Queen! (Some things don't need elaboration.....) -- Jester

            Ridiculous 2010 Predictions: Evil Queen, after escaping prison for last years prediction, goes out and waffle irons Rachel Ray to death. -- SG15Z

            Ridiculous 2011 Prediction: Evil Queen will beat Gordon Ramsay over the head with a cast-iron skillet. -- FireHeart

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            • #7
              OT: I grew up in tow trucks. by the time i was 10 i knew how to hook up a a car (and was actually doing it)

              I was in melbourne for the australian f1 grand prix and went and checked out the show cars (Real F1 cars, No engine however). when the event was over the towie came to get a BMW F1 car, hooked it up and started winching it up.

              I yelled that he needed sleepers or planks to lessen the angle, towie didn't believe me.


              End result - one 10,000 Pound front wing broken and alot of pissed off BMW mechanics
              The mere fact that we have the flamethrower means that someone, somewhere once said "You know, I'd really like to set those customers over there on fire, but don't possess the means to do it"

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              • #8
                Whoa, wait. Your wife grabbed a 12-gauge... standing by the front door.... to shoot a guy that couldn't get his head out of his ass?

                Best. Wife. Ever.

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                • #9
                  Ladies and Gents of CS, I say we build a monument to Grimlock's wifey.

                  All in favour?
                  Now a member of that alien race called Management.

                  Yeah, you see that right. Pink. Harness.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth RetailWorkhorse View Post
                    All in favour?
                    Aye.

                    *Salutes Grimlock's wife*
                    "...WHY DO YOU TEMPT WHAT LITTLE FAITH IN HUMANITY I HAVE!?!" ~ Kalga

                    "DO NOT ENRAGE THE MIGHTY SKY DRAGON." ~ Gravekeeper

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                    • #11
                      *stands in line for the salute to Grim's wife*

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Grimlock194 View Post
                        Well I finished loading the Crown Vic, and no police arrived. I doubt he called anyone, just probably went home and ranted to his house plant. What he did not know was that my wife had heard the moron yelling and was waiting by the front door with the 12-gauge loaded with sabot rounds in case he tried anything stupid.
                        Sabot rounds? What, was she afraid he was really a Decepticon or something? Seems like a bit of overkill for an ordinary sucktard...
                        Check out my webcomic!

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                        • #13
                          *salutes Grim's wife* Wow.... we need more women with shotguns in stores... makes for a lot less SCs, me thinks.

                          Slightly OT- Ouch, my eyes... bright red against white background hurtses me so...
                          Carpe Jugulum : Go for the throat.

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                          • #14
                            Quoth Polenicus View Post
                            Sabot rounds? What, was she afraid he was really a Decepticon or something? Seems like a bit of overkill for an ordinary sucktard...
                            The 12 gauge is strickly for home defense. When we got it my wife specificaly asked for something that, if she was forced to use it, would knock down even someone high on drugs, so it's been loaded with sabot rounds from day one.
                            Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Stupidity isn't.

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                            • #15
                              A while ago their was accident at a large rotary with several (more than 5 roads entering it), at rush hour. The joy that was. The accident must have just happened, despite seeing a semi with a car stuck under it, which blocked a major portion of the rotary people still drove towards the blocked portion, causing further congestion. A minute later the first police cars shows up. The officer is able to get most of the idiots to clear the scene to allow FD and EMS to get in. Well no sooner then they back out do more idiots file in, just as FD arrives. Well the idiots are where the fire trucks should park, (next to the accident) so to deal whit the victims the quickest the driver of one truck parks behind them, blocking them between the accident scene and the truck. Since the first truck cant park where they want the 2nd truck must block even more of the rotary.

                              I was able to take "shortcut" to avoid the rotary but from what i heard it took 20-25 minutes to get the victims out. Thankfully their were no sever injuries, but the best part was the fact that the idiots who drove up the the scene knowing they couldn't get around it were stuck for at least half hour by a fire truck.

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