4 Ways to Avoid Getting Your Vehicle Towed
Having your car get towed without your knowledge can be incredibly infuriating. Whether it was because of a mistake you made, like not seeing a sign that says: “No Vehicles After 7:00 PM” or because you intentionally parked illegally or without paying. By following these tips, you can make sure that you avoid getting your car towed.
1. Check the signs around where you park.
Make sure that wherever you park, you are able to legally do so. Some areas have certain restrictions on things like how long you can be parked there, or at what times you can be parked. It is also important to be wary about the types of curbs that you are parking next to. For instance, never park next to a red curb. Other less common curbs that you can’t park at include white curbs, which you can only stay at for five minutes to load and unload passengers. Green curbs indicate short term parking, which will mean 10 minutes or less, unless otherwise stated. Yellow means commercial loading/unloading only. Blue curbs are for people with disabilities.
2. Be sure to pay the meter if there is one.
This is so important, don’t try to ditch paying the meters, they are there for a reason: Stopping people from parking without paying. Remember that the fine you will pay for getting your car out of a tow yard or having a boot removed will be much more expensive than just filling up the meter, even if you are only parking for a few minutes. Nothing is worse than going back to your car to find that it is either gone, or can’t be driven away.
3. Set an alarm on your phone a few minutes before the meter time ends.
It is incredibly important to have some sort of alarm set so that when it gets close to the time that you have to either leave or refill the meter, you can be there. Set an alarm for ten minutes before, or even longer if you are a far walk away. That way, you will never accidentally forget that you have to be back at your car, and you won’t have to worry about getting your car towed or having a boot be placed on it.
4. If your car breaks down, call your tow company before someone else gets the chance.
When your car breaks down, be sure that you inform your roadside assistance company so that they can come and tow your car for free rather than having it be towed by someone else and having to pay to have it be released. Why pay for roadside assistance and towing if you never use it? A roadside assistance tow truck can also bring you and your car to an auto repair shop instead of simply to the tow yard where you might still be stuck.
While some of these tips may seem almost too simple, they are things that we forget often. Treat parking just like going through an intersection, being very alert and making sure that you are in the clear. Be sure to check, and possibly even double check to make sure that everything is legal before you leave your car.
We’d like you to know that Jan’s Towing offers fast & reliable towing service everywhere in the San Gabriel Valley, such as Azusa, Glendora, Covina, West Covina, Arcadia, Irwindale, Baldwin Park, Monrovia, El Monte, La Verne, and San Dimas. In Inland Empire, we service the cities of Fontana, Rialto, Bloomington, Rancho Cucamonga, and Ontario. We will respond immediately on a 24/7 basis, so give us a call right now at (626) 914-1841 if you are in need of a tow!