Having a Car Towed? 6 Things You Need to Do

Every day, thousands of people find themselves stranded on the side of the road because of a variety of problems they had with their car or truck. The vehicle may have run out of gas, broken down or been in a motor vehicle accident with another vehicle or an animal. None of this is any fun and no one wants to be in the position of having a car towed. When and if this happens to you, there are a few things you can do to have a better experience. Car towing does not have to be a terrible experience. Here are five tips to help you weather the storm:

1. Be like a Boy Scout and be prepared. If you are taking a longer trip than to the grocery store, you should do some work before you hit the road. When you are planning the route of your trip, make it a point to look for licensed and certified tow companies in the same way you will map out places to eat and sights to see. Make a list of all of their contact information so you do not have to rely on your cell service along the way, you never know when you are going to hit a dead zone. If you really want to be thorough, you can call ahead to see who you would feel the most comfortable with your car or truck.
2. Get out of the road. It does not matter if you hit a deer, suffered a break down of your vehicle or if you were in an accident, you need to get off the road. You may be in the process of having a car towed and want to stay near your car or truck but while you are waiting for roadside assistance, you need to make sure you and your passengers are safe and out of the way of traffic. If you can get your car or truck away from the road, you should do that as well.
3. Make that call to the full service towing company. Once you have gotten everyone safely out and away from the car or truck, make that call to the towing services people. When you are talking to the car towing company, they will need you to give them either your exact location or information about what road you are on, where you were coming from and where you are going.
4. Make sure you understand the cost. When you are talking about having a car towed, it is critically important that you know what the charge for the service will be and what the policy is for payment. They probably will not be able to give you this until they arrive on the scene and can assess the situation. The last thing you need is to find out once your car or truck has been moved that the price tag is much more than you expected.
5. Think about where your car or truck needs to be taken. If you are in a place that you know or are near your home, you may have a repair shop that you know and trust and you will want the car towing company to take your car or truck. You will spend less money on your vehicle if this is the case. If it not the case, the car towing service will most likely take it to their lot and you will be able to get it moved to a repair shop later on.
6. Get all of your valuables out of the car. Many people have things in their car that they may have forgotten about. These items include cell phones, tablets, laptops, and chargers for all it. Before the truck hauls away your vehicle make sure you get everything out.

No one ever expects to hit a deer or an elk or to be in a motor vehicle accident. Every year, the United States sees about six million car accidents. The good news is that there are things you can do to be prepared for such an instance. Having a car towed does not have to ruin your day.