http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/2965911 As of January 1, if you are disabled on the freeway, you no longer have the right to call your own tow truck. The cities freeways have been chopped up into zones that have been awarded to specific wrecker companies (some I am intimately familiar with, and they WILL try to screw you as much as possible and a 90% chance they will mess up your car). If you have AWD, make sure that they use dollies and DONT let them charge you for it. If you are worried about body damage, demand they request a roll back (flat bed) or wheel lift. A sling truck will damage ANY ferrari and most other newer cars. I just got finished composing an email to an acquaintance of mine and a friend of my uncle who is a city council member with some questions and concerns. When he replies, I will share my findings with you all. If you are on the SW side and you are stranded, you can always call me. I am familiar with many of the drivers on this side of town and if I know the particular driver, I can generally make sure he takes care of you. Below is a link to the map which shows which areas are 'serviced' by which companies. Be especially leery of North Houston, Unified, T&T, Cannino, Fiesta, National, Fast Tow, A-1, Allied, West Side...er, all of them. http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/04/12/27/b-towmap.jpg Click that if the image below is too hard to read. (Thanks Omar) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well this is both bad and good.....I am tired of some beater cr@pping out because it hasn't been tuned since the Eisenhower administration and clogging the main lanes...... Any exotic car owner is ill advised not to have the phone number of a good outfit right in their wallet.....I've used F.E.S for years as they move construction equipment for a former employer........they take proper care ....never had a problem, and I use them A LOT! LOL! I say..."Snatch 'em baby......and get some English lessons!"
Small problem with there. With the law as it is written now, they are not legally allowed to tow you (your preferred provider that is). You HAVE to use the contracted provider. The way around this is to just sit in the car, he cant tow it with you inside. Wait for the police to come (and have your service provider en route in the mean time) and explain to the officer that the wreckers truck will cause severe damage to your vehicle and that is why you could not allow him to tow you. You could always request the driver that shows up call for a flat bed. He will try to charge you extra for it, but dont let him. It is a city tow, 75$, no more. Even if the use dollies, no extra fee. And Ive suggested to a few of my pals already to not put on the brakes if they are near an exit. Just coast off the exit ramp and then call your provider.
Im sure at my normal freeway speeds I could coat a mile or so. I wonder if there is a general calculation for distance that one can coast based on speed, weight, drag coefficient, grade, etc. Id like to know what speed I would have to get to to cost 1mile.
Yes officer, I was doing 120 because the next exit on beltway 8 is a good 2 miles away and if I break down I need to coast off the highway...oh..OW....oh...please stop beating me with your lovely flashlight sir... Well, it sounds like a good excuse on paper...
Nov 1970 Road & Track has an article on how to calculate horsepower at the wheels. Part of this is to calculate drag. I wonder if with some rearrangement and substitution, we might be able to make the drag (Fd) equations do what you want. Article at http://home.earthlink.net/~fchat/Horsepower%20Calculation.htm
