8 Things to Do Before Your Vehicle Gets Towed

If your car ever breaks down or if you meet an accident and your vehicle is no longer working, then it is highly probable that you will call a towing company to get help moving your car. However, before you jump to a conclusion and call a towing company, you should know about a few essential things. The tips we are about to discuss will help you determine how you should deal with your situation before calling and a tow truck and what you should do after the truck arrives.

Tips for practicing before getting your car towed by two-trucks:

• Call your insurance agent before calling the tow truck company: there is no doubt that we all panic whenever our car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. All we want to do is to call the towing company and get out of the situation. However, a smart thing to do before calling the towing company is to call your insurance agent even if it is way past calling hours. Your agent will advise you on what to do and which towing company to call (for safety and affordability reasons). Sometimes your agent will also send the company’s repair services to help you out. For more information about the towing service, click here.
• Rely on roadside assistance rather than autonomous service: If you don’t own insurance or don’t want to call insurance, ensure that you always have the contact info of the tow-truck services on your phone. Always keep the number of those companies which are trustworthy and fraud-free. The roadside assistance can reach you more quickly than other autonomous services. However, if you’ve met an accident, then you should mention it when you contact them because some companies don’t include towing services after accidents as it becomes a police case.

  

• Prepare the car to get towed: the first preparation happens before leaving home. Ensure that you are putting tow rope and a flashlight in the car before going for any journey. But, once you leave and face an accident or a breakdown of the vehicle. You should take pictures of the car (if met an accident) and take all the value before the truck arrives out of the car.
• Ensure that you deal with the truck that you called: sometimes when you contact towing service, and they say that they will reach there in 20 minutes, but after five minutes of waiting, towing-truck approaches the car. There is a 99% percent chance it is not the service you contacted, but it is just some random roadside truck who saw the opportunity and came to claim it. If you have second thoughts about the truck, then ask for all the documents before handing them your car. But, if you think that the truck and its driver are shady, proceed with care like locking yourself in the car.

  

• Tell towing service exactly where you have to go: you have two options; either go home or to a mechanic’s car repairing garage. Because it is your car that is being towed, so decide where you want to go. A driver who is trustworthy and honest would not insist you drop off the vehicle to a particular place, but if the driver does ask, call the cops as soon as possible:
• Ensure to properly go through the documents before paying and signing it: before allowing your car to be towed, you should read the document and the prepared receipt, made especially for your situation. The contract will include all the information like the time of towing, model and number of your car, name of the driver, drop-off location, and the amount of towing. If you find that any of these things are not right, then don’t sign on the contract, don’t pay in advance and don’t let him tow your vehicle. Never agree or sign on anything which is vaguely written or doesn’t specify all the things clearly.

  

• Ensure that the mentioned price is acceptable: when you contact your insurance company for assistance, ethically, they should suggest affordable tow services to you. The real cost will be determined according to the location of where you are stuck and where you want to go/dropped off. But, on your part, you need to have a screenshot or list of towing rates with you. So, if any towing service charges you more, you will know about that, and should not hire that company –call some other company. You are also not obliged to make cash payments to towing companies; because drivers have to agree on any mode of payment by law. If they are not willing to accept other modes, then there can be something fishy going on there. Also, beware when a driver argues that all the towing costs will be covered by the insurance company; needless to say, this statement might be right, but he doesn’t know your insurance and can’t be sure that they cover towing expenses.
• Safely keep the towing documents: if the tow truck damages your car while towing or you have to claim expenses from your insurance company, you can use those documents. Those documents are going to work as proof for you whenever you need it. You can use them whenever you deem them useful or whenever the need for towing documents arises.

  

These tips may vary in situations, and they can help you in many cases. Getting a car towed is a serious business, and everything regarding it should be done with complete caution. Towing rules are similar in every state and jurisdiction, but some regulations may vary from place to place. Although reading about towing rules can seem like a tedious job but, familiarizing yourself with those rules before you leave home (especially for longer journeys on a car) will deem useful. Ensure that you always have a list of tow truck service’s contact numbers like 24 hours towing on your emergency contacts or in-car, so whenever you face car problems, you always have help nearby.