Stuck by the side of the road again? Dead batteries, flat tires, and skidding into ditches are common this time of year. However, that does not mean you should sit there until someone rescues you. Instead, invest in a roadside assistance addenda or purchase roadside assistance through a motor club membership. This provides you with a certain number of emergency calls for help. Included in these roadside services are all of the following, regardless of how cold, how snowy, how stormy, or how dangerous the weather and road conditions are.
Battery Jumps
It is very unusual to have your car stop on the side of the road and need a jump, but there it is. You can also use a service call to get the battery jumped when you are stuck in your driveway, in the parking ramp or parking lot, etc. If you can, stay inside your vehicle until the tow truck arrives to help. Pop your hood so that if a police officer passes by, he/she knows that your vehicle has a problem and he/she will not call for a tow truck.
Tire Changes
It does not matter if you have a full-sized spare or a "donut" in your trunk, the roadside assistance helper will change your flat to whatever type of spare tire you have. Then you can at least limp along home, or to work, and deal with the tire issue later. Most roadside assistance programs are very particular about making sure that the towing companies that partner with them have drivers that can and will change flat tires in all weather conditions. So, even if it is blizzarding and thirty below outside, the tow truck driver that is sent to help you will change the flat, no matter what.
Pulling You out of a Ditch
Skidding into a ditch is a terrifying experience. You never know just how the car will land, and attempting to drive up out of that ditch and back onto the road is not going to happen. Even pickup trucks rarely make it out of the ditch under these circumstances. The towing company sent to your aid via the roadside assistance company has a power winch that will pull your vehicle from the ditch and put you back on the road. It is a far better plan than spinning your tires in the ditch and getting more and more stuck by the minute.
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