Arizona Police Tow Cars that Block the Snow Plow – Do You Need Roadside Assistance?

In Flagstaff Arizona, you better be sure to obey all the parking laws or when you walk out of your house in the morning, you may find that your car isn’t where you left it. That’s what happened in December when snow plows were trying to make it through the streets but cars were just constantly in the way. At first, city snow plow drivers contacted police so they could maybe do something about the cars blocking the path. The police tried in vain to get in touch with the car’s owners but nobody answered the phone.

Ultimately, they had 34 cars towed and the police were doing nothing wrong. Flagstaff has a parking ordinance during the winter that bans street parking between midnight and 7am in most areas and downtown from 3am to 7am. This ban is in effect Nov 1 through April 1 so the city was within its right to have these cars towed. It is possible the owners would have woken up just as angry if they had found their cars banged up and covered by snow. While this isn’t the kind of roadside assistance that many people envision receiving, you never know when you might actually be calling a tow truck or need some other form of assistance, especially during the winter months.

What Is Roadside Assistance?

Roadside assistance is normally a service that offers various kinds of help to motorists depending on the level of their situation. These services typically includes things such as jump starting a car, towing a vehicle, changing a flat tire, bringing or providing a small amount of fuel in case you run out of gas, getting a car out of a ditch or helping someone who has locked their keys in the car. Many of the tasks you can usually call a friend to help you do but if you are in a new city or don’t have any friends, experiencing one of these setback can be quite unsettling and completely frustrating.

What Can I Use it?

With most emergency roadside services, it is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If it was only available at certain times, that would negate the term emergency. Whenever you sign up for it you are usually given a card with all kinds of information on it that includes a very important number. If you call that number, you will speak to an operator who will ask you a serious of questions to help determine which service is best for you as well as how soon you can expect to be up and running.

Why Do I Want it?

You don’t have to purchase roadside assistance. There are some people that are quite capable of changing their own tire or traipsing 3 miles to get a gallon of gas but if you are stuck in a ditch and don’t have any friends with large trucks, roadside assistance can be attractive. You can always call a regular tow truck company but they are likely to be very expensive whereas if you have a specific policy which you pay for in the first place you will pay reduced amount s for the actual services.  Roadside service definitely isn’t a necessity and if you are cutting costs, this might be an area to consider, but it can provide you peace of mind if you have no clue how to change your tire or where your spare is even located.

Where Can I Get It?

It used to be that only a handful of motor clubs specializing in roadside assistance were your only option when it came to where to go but today, there are all kinds of options to explore. The standard companies such as AAA, Better World Club, and AARP all have different plans and coverage amounts that you can look at but don’t forget that insurance companies, carmakers, oil companies, even credit card and cell phone companies now offer a form of roadside assistance. Don’t think that you have to go solely through your insurance provide either. They may be able to offer you the same thing but you may end up having to file a claim to use your roadside assistance depending on which service you utilize. You don’t your premiums going up because of that.

How Do I Choose?

Always shop around before making a final decision and consider what kind of plan your entire household needs. Often one policy can cover all the cars and then its best to go with a full service auto club like AAA but if you don’t’ have a family or multiple cars, it might just be best to go with what the dealership offered you initially. Look at your travel schedule and how far you work from home. Check and see how far plans extend and what they can cover. You should be able to find the right amount of coverage at the right price in such a competitive market.