5 ms·

In college, a roommate of mine was double-parked, or parked in a fire zone, or something, in our 8-house cul-de-sac. He ran upstairs to get something from his r

by rconti 4y ago

In college, a roommate of mine was double-parked, or parked in a fire zone, or something, in our 8-house cul-de-sac. He ran upstairs to get something from his room, and a tow truck appeared (this all happened in well under 5 minutes). When he came out, he argued with the tow truck guys a bunch, but they kept hooking up his car and arguing back and couldn't be reasoned with, etc etc. My friend sat on the hood to keep them from towing it. The tow truck operators threatened to call the cops, so my friend called the cops instead. Before the police showed up, an SUV showed up with some tow truck heavies with, no doubt, plenty of illegal weapons on them, just to spectate and make sure things went the way they wanted. Once the police showed up, the story changed a bit, and all of a sudden he could get his car unhooked for a "drop fee" that was 2x the minimum tow cost, I believe (memory hazy here). It was the law in Santa Clara County, but of course, the tow truck operators weren't going to volunteer this information. Lesson learned. If someone's about hooking up your car, get in your car and drive away, unless it's in the air already. Don't even talk to the thugs.

eduction 4y ago
Maybe a better lesson than “confront / physically endanger the tow truck driver who is doing his job” is “don’t block traffic in an 8 house cul de sac because you wanted to get something from your room but didn’t want to actually bother finding parking.” This all reads like entitled driver behavior to me. Or dumb college antics that are best left behind. -former car owner
- mjfl 4y ago
  > don’t block traffic in an 8 house cul de sac Isn't the whole point of a cul de sac that there isn't much traffic through it? Doesn't the cul de sac itself block traffic?
- notyourwork 4y ago
  The amount of mental gymnastics I hear from people who illegally park or obstruct society for their own selfish reasons is beyond me. There are places to park, there are places to not park, they don't have an overlap.
  - reustle 4y ago
    I don't agree with this. I'm from the US and have now lived in Japan for 6+ years. We have zero on street parking around the city, yet we joke that the hazard lights button is the "park anywhere" button, and you see it all the time. Because nobody strongly abuses this, it generally works fine and people go on with their lives around them. Even with the small neighborhood streets around Tokyo, you rarely see it being treated as an issue. At worst, if a truck is trying to pass, a quick honk will cause whoever is driving to rush out and move the car. I do get disillusioned sometimes though, living in a society where people have a general level of respect for each other.
    - rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
      > Because nobody strongly abuses this There’s your likely reason for why the rule is strictly enforced in the US. Really, it makes no sense to me that people demand and expect law enforcement to work equally for everyone while also wanting to make an exception of themselves.
    - notyourwork 4y ago
      > I do get disillusioned sometimes though, living in a society where people have a general level of respect for each other. This might have something to do with it.
    - technothrasher 4y ago
      > the hazard lights button is the "park anywhere" button I first saw this behavior when I went to school in Rochester, NY and wondered what the hell everybody was doing. Never encountered it growing up outside of Boston.
    - PebblesHD 4y ago
      Fascinating that you arrived at such a similar phrase for this. In my group we call them ‘park anywhere lights’ I spend 3+ months a year between Fukuoka and Tokyo, but outside my group of friends this concept has never really been discussed. I also agree on the baseline level of respect and order, going back to Sydney is sometimes jarring where some things don’t ‘just work’ as they do here.
- version_five 4y ago
  You had me until "former car owner"
  - lovemenot 4y ago
    Pointing out sanctimony or hypocrisy is not a valid argument against. It's is a kind of ad hominem. A person can be both right and sanctimonious
    - eduction 4y ago
      Weird to me it’s being read as sanctimony. My intent was just to convey “I was a driver for 22 years I am allowed to say we are entitled behind the wheel.” Maybe people feel guilty about owning cars so it rubbed them wrong? Some people have to, I’m lucky enough to not. I don’t think I’m better, just emotionally liberated. It’s an amazing feeling to have the privilege of not having to drive or park, get psychotically enraged at being towed, etc
      - lovemenot 4y ago
        Ad hominem, when used, is commonly done as a pure convenience for the person wielding it. I cannot say about this particular case.
      - blue039 4y ago
        For many of us, including myself, such a "luxury" is not practical: 1. I like the outdoors and they don't put bus lines 200 miles from the nearest gas station. 2. Work is often further than walking or biking distance. 3. I need to haul more than a few days worth of groceries. Or a larger item. I think what people are getting upset at is you are conflating not driving with some higher form of intellect when in reality it's a privilege really only afforded to people who live in often high cost of living areas. This implies a socioeconomic status to yourself whether you like it or not and so people feel you are talking down to them. I interpreted it as you were talking down to me too. It's not about me being "done" with road rage, or whatever, it's about the fact that my town, my life, and the country in general won't let me be "done" with it. Nor will my hobbies. For many of us a car is not a privilege it's an absolutely basal level necessity. No amount of cheerleading for the anti-car crowd will change that. I suspect it won't change in my lifetime either.
- GlacierFox 4y ago
  former car owner Couldn't help but get that in there could you.
- rl3 4y ago
  >This all reads like entitled driver behavior to me. You sure? GP: >Before the police showed up, an SUV showed up with some tow truck heavies with, no doubt, plenty of illegal weapons on them, just to spectate and make sure things went the way they wanted. Sounds more like thugs engaging in predatory behavior to me.
  - rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
    If the tow truck operators did not have thugs, the commenter’s friend still would have committed a violation.
  - kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y ago
    I think in this case, both parties were wrong. Sometimes that happens - nobody is right.
dreamcompiler 4y ago
In many places where illegal parking is common, tow truck drivers stage close by or hire spotters so they can hook up cars quickly. They can make a lot of money hauling away cars from drivers who only plan to stop for 2 minutes. https://nyti.ms/3xW9OQX https://nyti.ms/3xW9OQX
- ilyt 4y ago
  This seems like stuff that should never be privatized or under non-police control. Police hires company to tow stuff away sure, but not "some random bumblefuck have right to do the police's job of "law enforcement"
  - dreamcompiler 4y ago
    It's legalized car theft IMO.
  - kjghkjghkjgh 4y ago
    With police already understaffed as they are, how would they enforce a bunch of students parking illegally next to campus and blocking traffic?
    - thatguy0900 4y ago
      Assuming police are charging to get your car back then it would probably be quite the profit center for them to enforce in that situation. I would be more concerned about them over enforcing parking infractions as a matter of dept policy, than I would be of parking infractions being ignored.
    - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
      > With police already understaffed So lets delegate law-enforcement to a random person who will abuse it for personal profit? This has corruption written all over
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      In what way are the police understaffed? If anything, they have too many employees.
jaredhallen 4y ago
Interesting to see so many different perspectives on this one. Seems like I'm in the minority, but my perspective is you are absolutely not towing my car while I am present. I'll get in and drive away while it's hooked to the truck. Or whatever I have to do. You are not towing it. Period.
- warent 4y ago
  I'm not sure what country you live in, IANAL, in the US you're going to be liable for all damages and risk a license suspension for doing that. It's dangerous to the tow driver and there's no world where you can reasonably argue endangering them
- Johnny555 4y ago
  I'll get in and drive away while it's hooked to the truck Not likely, at least not without seriously damaging your car and/or the tow truck and you’ll have to pay for both. That tow truck hook is designed to pull your car down the road at highway speeds, you’re not going to just drive your car off it. https://youtu.be/Wq3e0XwyDMM https://youtu.be/Wq3e0XwyDMM
  - akira2501 4y ago
    > That tow truck hook is designed to pull your car down the road at highway speeds It depends. Wheel lifts are designed to have ratchet straps run through anchors on the side and over the tires to keep the vehicle strapped down. Your vehicle has it's own suspension and it can "pop" off the lift easily. In "high risk" towing or repossession, you might see an agent lift a vehicle then drive off with it; almost certainly, they're going about a mile or so away to where they can safely stop and then strap the vehicle down properly. Even then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTKSj-iN6KE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTKSj-iN6KE
    - Johnny555 4y ago
      Your vehicle has it's own suspension and it can "pop" off the lift easily. I think that’s what the guy in the 4wd truck in the video I linked to thought, he did‘t get it off with causing some serious body damage to his truck, maybe some suspension damage and probably some damage to the tow truck, he lifted the tow truck off its front wheels several times.
holler 4y ago
This reminds me of my own college experience where I had accidentally parked in a beach lot late one night without seeing the no parking sign, and 15-20 mins after checking out the surf we got a phone call from our friend who had been passed out in the back of the car. She was hysterical after waking up and discovering the car was on the bed of a tow truck barreling down the highway. I can't recall exactly how the tow truck driver was alerted of the girl in the back seat, but they brought it back and released it. So yeah, humans in/on vehicle getting towed prevents them from towing.

by rconti 4y ago

eduction 4y ago

Maybe a better lesson than “confront / physically endanger the tow truck driver who is doing his job” is “don’t block traffic in an 8 house cul de sac because you wanted to get something from your room but didn’t want to actually bother finding parking.” This all reads like entitled driver behavior to me. Or dumb college antics that are best left behind. -former car owner

mjfl 4y ago
> don’t block traffic in an 8 house cul de sac Isn't the whole point of a cul de sac that there isn't much traffic through it? Doesn't the cul de sac itself block traffic?
notyourwork 4y ago
The amount of mental gymnastics I hear from people who illegally park or obstruct society for their own selfish reasons is beyond me. There are places to park, there are places to not park, they don't have an overlap.
- reustle 4y ago
  I don't agree with this. I'm from the US and have now lived in Japan for 6+ years. We have zero on street parking around the city, yet we joke that the hazard lights button is the "park anywhere" button, and you see it all the time. Because nobody strongly abuses this, it generally works fine and people go on with their lives around them. Even with the small neighborhood streets around Tokyo, you rarely see it being treated as an issue. At worst, if a truck is trying to pass, a quick honk will cause whoever is driving to rush out and move the car. I do get disillusioned sometimes though, living in a society where people have a general level of respect for each other.
  - rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
    > Because nobody strongly abuses this There’s your likely reason for why the rule is strictly enforced in the US. Really, it makes no sense to me that people demand and expect law enforcement to work equally for everyone while also wanting to make an exception of themselves.
  - notyourwork 4y ago
    > I do get disillusioned sometimes though, living in a society where people have a general level of respect for each other. This might have something to do with it.
  - technothrasher 4y ago
    > the hazard lights button is the "park anywhere" button I first saw this behavior when I went to school in Rochester, NY and wondered what the hell everybody was doing. Never encountered it growing up outside of Boston.
  - PebblesHD 4y ago
    Fascinating that you arrived at such a similar phrase for this. In my group we call them ‘park anywhere lights’ I spend 3+ months a year between Fukuoka and Tokyo, but outside my group of friends this concept has never really been discussed. I also agree on the baseline level of respect and order, going back to Sydney is sometimes jarring where some things don’t ‘just work’ as they do here.
version_five 4y ago
You had me until "former car owner"
- lovemenot 4y ago
  Pointing out sanctimony or hypocrisy is not a valid argument against. It's is a kind of ad hominem. A person can be both right and sanctimonious
  - eduction 4y ago
    Weird to me it’s being read as sanctimony. My intent was just to convey “I was a driver for 22 years I am allowed to say we are entitled behind the wheel.” Maybe people feel guilty about owning cars so it rubbed them wrong? Some people have to, I’m lucky enough to not. I don’t think I’m better, just emotionally liberated. It’s an amazing feeling to have the privilege of not having to drive or park, get psychotically enraged at being towed, etc
    - lovemenot 4y ago
      Ad hominem, when used, is commonly done as a pure convenience for the person wielding it. I cannot say about this particular case.
    - blue039 4y ago
      For many of us, including myself, such a "luxury" is not practical: 1. I like the outdoors and they don't put bus lines 200 miles from the nearest gas station. 2. Work is often further than walking or biking distance. 3. I need to haul more than a few days worth of groceries. Or a larger item. I think what people are getting upset at is you are conflating not driving with some higher form of intellect when in reality it's a privilege really only afforded to people who live in often high cost of living areas. This implies a socioeconomic status to yourself whether you like it or not and so people feel you are talking down to them. I interpreted it as you were talking down to me too. It's not about me being "done" with road rage, or whatever, it's about the fact that my town, my life, and the country in general won't let me be "done" with it. Nor will my hobbies. For many of us a car is not a privilege it's an absolutely basal level necessity. No amount of cheerleading for the anti-car crowd will change that. I suspect it won't change in my lifetime either.
GlacierFox 4y ago
former car owner Couldn't help but get that in there could you.
rl3 4y ago
>This all reads like entitled driver behavior to me. You sure? GP: >Before the police showed up, an SUV showed up with some tow truck heavies with, no doubt, plenty of illegal weapons on them, just to spectate and make sure things went the way they wanted. Sounds more like thugs engaging in predatory behavior to me.
- rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
  If the tow truck operators did not have thugs, the commenter’s friend still would have committed a violation.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y ago
  I think in this case, both parties were wrong. Sometimes that happens - nobody is right.

dreamcompiler 4y ago

In many places where illegal parking is common, tow truck drivers stage close by or hire spotters so they can hook up cars quickly. They can make a lot of money hauling away cars from drivers who only plan to stop for 2 minutes. https://nyti.ms/3xW9OQX https://nyti.ms/3xW9OQX

ilyt 4y ago
This seems like stuff that should never be privatized or under non-police control. Police hires company to tow stuff away sure, but not "some random bumblefuck have right to do the police's job of "law enforcement"
- dreamcompiler 4y ago
  It's legalized car theft IMO.
- kjghkjghkjgh 4y ago
  With police already understaffed as they are, how would they enforce a bunch of students parking illegally next to campus and blocking traffic?
  - thatguy0900 4y ago
    Assuming police are charging to get your car back then it would probably be quite the profit center for them to enforce in that situation. I would be more concerned about them over enforcing parking infractions as a matter of dept policy, than I would be of parking infractions being ignored.
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    > With police already understaffed So lets delegate law-enforcement to a random person who will abuse it for personal profit? This has corruption written all over
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    In what way are the police understaffed? If anything, they have too many employees.

jaredhallen 4y ago

Interesting to see so many different perspectives on this one. Seems like I'm in the minority, but my perspective is you are absolutely not towing my car while I am present. I'll get in and drive away while it's hooked to the truck. Or whatever I have to do. You are not towing it. Period.

warent 4y ago
I'm not sure what country you live in, IANAL, in the US you're going to be liable for all damages and risk a license suspension for doing that. It's dangerous to the tow driver and there's no world where you can reasonably argue endangering them
Johnny555 4y ago
I'll get in and drive away while it's hooked to the truck Not likely, at least not without seriously damaging your car and/or the tow truck and you’ll have to pay for both. That tow truck hook is designed to pull your car down the road at highway speeds, you’re not going to just drive your car off it. https://youtu.be/Wq3e0XwyDMM https://youtu.be/Wq3e0XwyDMM
- akira2501 4y ago
  > That tow truck hook is designed to pull your car down the road at highway speeds It depends. Wheel lifts are designed to have ratchet straps run through anchors on the side and over the tires to keep the vehicle strapped down. Your vehicle has it's own suspension and it can "pop" off the lift easily. In "high risk" towing or repossession, you might see an agent lift a vehicle then drive off with it; almost certainly, they're going about a mile or so away to where they can safely stop and then strap the vehicle down properly. Even then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTKSj-iN6KE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTKSj-iN6KE
  - Johnny555 4y ago
    Your vehicle has it's own suspension and it can "pop" off the lift easily. I think that’s what the guy in the 4wd truck in the video I linked to thought, he did‘t get it off with causing some serious body damage to his truck, maybe some suspension damage and probably some damage to the tow truck, he lifted the tow truck off its front wheels several times.

holler 4y ago

This reminds me of my own college experience where I had accidentally parked in a beach lot late one night without seeing the no parking sign, and 15-20 mins after checking out the surf we got a phone call from our friend who had been passed out in the back of the car. She was hysterical after waking up and discovering the car was on the bed of a tow truck barreling down the highway. I can't recall exactly how the tow truck driver was alerted of the girl in the back seat, but they brought it back and released it. So yeah, humans in/on vehicle getting towed prevents them from towing.