TripLeader
Explorer
Part 11 [A Flat-Bed Tow-Truck? In These Parts?]
I was driving solo from Ubehebe Crater to the Racetrack Valley. My traveling companion had fallen ill and was convalescing at a local discount motel.
Things were beautiful. The weather was fair. Life was good.
A tow-truck was coming down the road in the opposite direction. He must've been in a hurry because he did not want to stop for other traffic. The road was not wide enough for the both of us. I pulled to the side, but did so quickly because the tow-truck was not stopping or moving over. I was not happy about my position, but the tow-truck was a-comin'.
This was the result. The tow truck was going to make contact. I couldn't move because I had been in 2WD. I needed to rock the truck some to get unstuck, but that wasn't an option with the proximity of the tow-truck. (For anyone unaware, the Tacoma has to be moving to engage 4WD.) The tow-truck was committed to it's path. It had partially climbed the rock bank on it's side of the road, but not enough.
We were literally 2-3 inches from each other. The tow-truck was going to make contact as it passed. It did.
Not good. This was my friend's truck. This was not going to make him feel better.
We exchanged information, or rather I provided information. Rudy the tow-truck driver didn't have the company's insurance with him. I wrote down his information otherwise. I figured a business allowed to work in a national park would be a reputable operation. There wasn't the option of making a phone call way out in the middle of nowhere.
So then Rudy the tow-truck driver went his way and I went mine.
I called the company numerous times over the next few days. Lo and behold, Rudy the tow-truck driver was not the honest working man he had made himself out to be. He told his boss I had failed to yield to him and passed him at speed. The boss refused to provide me with the insurance information.
A call to law enforcement was in order. The California Highway Patrol worked traffic crashes in those parts. Luckily the photos and a GPS track was able to persuade CHP that I was not some scam artist who drove thousands of miles to make a claim against a small business I had never heard of before in another state. It still took a week's worth of phone calls to get to that point. Thanks Rudy!
Back to the drive... I felt terrible about the damage (still do) and it was a major blight on the trip. It caused a slight bend in the sheet metal, plenty of scratches to the paint, and scratches to the plastic fender flare. At least it was still drivable.
I was driving solo from Ubehebe Crater to the Racetrack Valley. My traveling companion had fallen ill and was convalescing at a local discount motel.
Things were beautiful. The weather was fair. Life was good.
A tow-truck was coming down the road in the opposite direction. He must've been in a hurry because he did not want to stop for other traffic. The road was not wide enough for the both of us. I pulled to the side, but did so quickly because the tow-truck was not stopping or moving over. I was not happy about my position, but the tow-truck was a-comin'.
This was the result. The tow truck was going to make contact. I couldn't move because I had been in 2WD. I needed to rock the truck some to get unstuck, but that wasn't an option with the proximity of the tow-truck. (For anyone unaware, the Tacoma has to be moving to engage 4WD.) The tow-truck was committed to it's path. It had partially climbed the rock bank on it's side of the road, but not enough.
We were literally 2-3 inches from each other. The tow-truck was going to make contact as it passed. It did.
Not good. This was my friend's truck. This was not going to make him feel better.
We exchanged information, or rather I provided information. Rudy the tow-truck driver didn't have the company's insurance with him. I wrote down his information otherwise. I figured a business allowed to work in a national park would be a reputable operation. There wasn't the option of making a phone call way out in the middle of nowhere.
So then Rudy the tow-truck driver went his way and I went mine.
I called the company numerous times over the next few days. Lo and behold, Rudy the tow-truck driver was not the honest working man he had made himself out to be. He told his boss I had failed to yield to him and passed him at speed. The boss refused to provide me with the insurance information.
A call to law enforcement was in order. The California Highway Patrol worked traffic crashes in those parts. Luckily the photos and a GPS track was able to persuade CHP that I was not some scam artist who drove thousands of miles to make a claim against a small business I had never heard of before in another state. It still took a week's worth of phone calls to get to that point. Thanks Rudy!
Back to the drive... I felt terrible about the damage (still do) and it was a major blight on the trip. It caused a slight bend in the sheet metal, plenty of scratches to the paint, and scratches to the plastic fender flare. At least it was still drivable.
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