Towing cars

[oneforone]

Abandoned Vehicles Need To Be Moved From OKC Roadways - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

It sounds like the city gave people plenty of notice before they towed.

Most people were stuck Thursday. This left them the rest of Thursday and all day Friday to make arrangements.

[OUSoonerfan3]

I work with a guy from Minnesota. He said up there, they tow abandoned cars that are stuck in snow...if the snowplows haven't buried them first. OKC apparently doesn't have a monopoly on this practice.

[betts]

How can you cry about roads un-plowed and then cry about cars left by the roadway which are as much an obstruction and hazard as un-plowed snow?

You missed the point. If they were towing cars because they were obstructing the roadway (although ours was not) then they should have made haste to plow the road once they'd towed the cars. My point was that the snow was as much, if not more, of an obstruction that the cars. We spent an entire afternoon trying to dig the car out, because it was stuck and then was drifted in, and were unsuccessful. Then, the next day, we had to work and so couldn't try to get it out until after work. The car was already towed. There was nothing on the news about cars being towed, we had tried to call AAA to help and got no answer, and the car was on the side of a road on a one-way street that deadended two blocks from there. It was a Saturday and there was virtually no traffic in our neighborhood. There are still cars on much bigger streets today (Britton Rd and 64rd St) obstructing an entire lane that have not been towed. So, I fail to understand why ours was towed. That's all.

Law, black and white. There is nothing worse than the privileged few who feel that someone else is obligated to do other than what it is their jobs to do, because it infringes on their lives. Let me correct myself, the thing that is worse is using someone elses plight to edify one's argument - "poor distraught soul at the impound lot who couldn't afford...." Pay for her and go on, or don't, just don't tell us either way.

I would have paid for the "distraught soul" if I'd had a check or credit card with me. I'd brought only enough money to get my car out of impound and so could not. I didn't use to to further my argument. I was simply pointing out that the cost of a tow might be a hardship for some of the people who had their cars towed. You don't feel sorry for someone who doesn't have $120 to get her car out of impound? What if it would take all the money she has for food to retrieve her car? What if she has to work tomorrow and has no idea how to get there without her car? $120 is a real hardship for some people, and the towing company obviously didn't discriminate. I don't think it's unreasonable to talk about it, as perhaps we should all think about the consequences of decisions like that by the city. You all get your time and a half for working on Christmas Day, I'm sure. Not to mention your nice salary and benefits. $120 is probably no big deal to you. But for some people, it might be all the extra money they have for the month, or it might be more than they have available. Especially at the end of the month. If she didn't get her car out yesterday, I suspect they'll add daily charges. I felt sorry for her. I felt sorry for myself because it was expensive and a pain in the neck to spend half the afternoon chasing around when we'd done nothing wrong, but for her, I felt really bad. Especially when the "law" was clearly enforced randomly.

Come on, what if your unattended car was to be plowed in by the street crews. "Oh, poor me, my car was in nobody's way and some city brute plowed snow into it causing thousands of dollars in damage." Your rant would continue to annoy, just on another thread.

If my car had been plowed in, I wouldn't have ranted. That I would have understood. It's happened to me many a time in other cities where they get real snow on a regular basis. It's a pain in the neck, but it's understandable. If I annoy you, put me on ignore. It's simple, or Doug will tell you how to do it if you can't figure it out.

[betts]

Abandoned Vehicles Need To Be Moved From OKC Roadways - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

It sounds like the city gave people plenty of notice before they towed.

Most people were stuck Thursday. This left them the rest of Thursday and all day Friday to make arrangements.

Although it's probably time to let this rest, the dateline on the above story is 7 hours after our car was towed. My husband got stuck coming home from work late Thursday night. He had to work on Christmas Day, and we spent the time after he got home from work trying to get the car out of the drift it was in. People were told not to get out on Christmas Day, and certainly not to drive, so there were probably a lot of people who didn't try to get their cars out on Christmas Day. My husband had to work on Saturday as well, and we'd planned to try and get it out when he got home from work Saturday, hoping the snow would have softened. By then, our car was gone. And, after working all day on Saturday, we had to chase around to get the car out of the impound. It took me at least an hour on the phone trying to figure out where it was, so there were multiple aggravating things that happened. On top of that, they didn't plow our street after they towed all the cars. If being aggravated by all of the above is out of line, I apologize.

[Spartan]

It is foolish to think that laws are developed just to hack you off, you are on third rock from the sun just like the rest of us, (unless your wifi is really, really good) and not the center of everybody's universe as your posts would have us think. Pipe down. Nobody cares about your beef with the cops.

You should write for Правда.

[grantgeneral78]

I think it is a joke they are doing the fines, I seen a car buried from a plow scraping, and there is no way to even get to the car. At least make the charges reasonable!

[Spartan]

City fines should never be reasonable. That would be like..I don't know, I'm at a loss for words about what a catastrophe it would be to have reasonable fines.

[LakeEffect]

City fines should never be reasonable. That would be like..I don't know, I'm at a loss for words about what a catastrophe it would be to have reasonable fines.

So you think current fines are unreasonable? What makes them unreasonable?

I'm not arguing with you - my wife recently was ticketed $172 for not fully stopping at a 4-way. No ticket in the past three years, really nice officer, not a hint of warning her... However, I'm curious why you'd think it unreasonable.

[Steve]

Here's one for you: the same stupid people who were out driving Christmas Eve (ok, there were some who had to) were out TONIGHT, in the dark, trying to dig their cars out on a busy street, almost causing oncoming cars to crash... I really wonder about some folks these days.
Oh well... now where's that Idiocracy DVD I've been meaning to watching again?

[Spartan]

So you think current fines are unreasonable? What makes them unreasonable?

I'm not arguing with you - my wife recently was ticketed $172 for not fully stopping at a 4-way. No ticket in the past three years, really nice officer, not a hint of warning her... However, I'm curious why you'd think it unreasonable.

If you look at what a speeding ticket used to cost 5-6 years ago, and what it costs now, it is unreasonable. A $50 ticket for 5 mph over is now at least $120 it seems. Contrary to what people on this forum think, I actually don't get tickets all that often, I just get annoyed at the petty concept of tracking everyone's speed and following people to make sure they follow motor vehicle laws to a T. It's just a pet peeve of mine, but I'm actually pretty good at flying under the radar believe it or not. I just don't like the idea of what they're doing when they could be fighting crime in areas like where my grandparents live, around 44th and Walker.

[LakeEffect]

Speeding up to 10 over is now $161...

I think a good discussion about what divisions are responsible for what, and how many people are assigned to each task, would be good. For instance, how many traffic units are there compared to gang officers, or traffic units vs. radio call units?

[Spartan]

That would be a good discussion. I think my problem is just that I am not a gang and I don't live in a part of town with much gang activity, and I don't result in very many radio calls, so almost ALL of my exposure to the OKCPD is traffic cops. We have a cop neighbor, but beside that, I obviously don't get much exposure to anything but the incessant speed traps you always see in far SW OKC. It's almost to the point where I know where they are every time, and more often than not, he's sitting right there in the same spot every day in certain parking lots..

I'm sure these guys are single-handedly keeping Krispy Kreme on 240 from closing. Too bad they don't like Starbucks, because I lost my Starbucks while I was gone..

[Steve]

My exposure to police is much different. They were the guys who ran into a crumbling building one day, and said damn it all and continued their search for people desperately needing a savior... even as disaster threatened them as well. That day was April 19, 1995, but such heroics go on every day. Yes, there good guys and there are a few bad apples, and sometimes the politics get stupid. But don't just dismiss police as donut addicts... that's not fair Spartan.

[betts]

Here's one for you: the same stupid people who were out driving Christmas Eve (ok, there were some who had to) were out TONIGHT, in the dark, trying to dig their cars out on a busy street, almost causing oncoming cars to crash... I really wonder about some folks these days.
Oh well... now where's that Idiocracy DVD I've been meaning to watching again?

Now, my question is: why hadn't their car been towed? It's over 24 hours since mine was and it wasn't on a busy street.

[Steve]

I don't know...

[gmwise]

Now, my question is: why hadn't their car been towed? It's over 24 hours since mine was and it wasn't on a busy street.

you were pro MAPS3...or just the luck of the draw..

[betts]

you were pro MAPS3...or just the luck of the draw..

Haha! Now that you mention it, there was a Yes for MAPS bumper sticker on the rear car window. That just might be the answer.......

[Spartan]

No way Betts. Our police wouldn't do that, because they wouldn't be bitter about city politics. There's no way they would ever consider taking out their frustrations against us, the people beneath them. Don't forget that these are the people who are doing a job that we are too spineless and immature to handle. We're not on their level of bravery and heroism, and you should be ashamed of yourself for having a pro-MAPS bumper sticker, and your husband getting stuck in a blizzard on top of it. How can you even sleep at night knowing what you did to OKC's Finest?

________
Steve: I don't doubt quite a few police were involved in the Murrah bombing, but typically non-hostage rescue missions are a fire department function, not a function of policing. Hence the name "Oklahoma City Fire Rescue," as the official name of the department, I believe. The police officers who participated in rescue efforts are heroes. The firefighters, who were more involved in rescuing people out from the smoldering wreckage, are even bigger heroes. The people from the community who aren't professional public safety who helped with the rescue are also heroes. The churches who helped families in the aftermath, and the list goes on and on.. That was a special circumstance and OKC was at its best on that day to overcome the horrible thing that happened.

It would be nice if we were still as unified as a city as we were on that day, and in the aftermath of the bombing. But we aren't. We need to get there, but we don't get there with union politics and corrupt police officers relishing in the moment of the Murrah bombing for righteousness. Especially if that sense of righteousness gives them leverage over the citizens of OKC who pay their wages, because there were a fair share of citizens that should have the same claim to righteousness from the events on that day, but do they get "special status" over other citizens to do whatever they want because of it? No, they don't..because laws and the constitution still apply to people and limit what people can do, whereas cops are given unchecked power over the people. We've created a monster because we want them to be super-enabled in the unlikely event that they should ever have to keep us safe. And let's face it, another Murrah bombing or me getting held hostage or whatever is an unlikely event..unless I manage to succeed someday at really ticking off somebody from this forum. LOL

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Although it's probably time to let this rest, the dateline on the above story is 7 hours after our car was towed. My husband got stuck coming home from work late Thursday night. He had to work on Christmas Day, and we spent the time after he got home from work trying to get the car out of the drift it was in. People were told not to get out on Christmas Day, and certainly not to drive, so there were probably a lot of people who didn't try to get their cars out on Christmas Day. My husband had to work on Saturday as well, and we'd planned to try and get it out when he got home from work Saturday, hoping the snow would have softened. By then, our car was gone. And, after working all day on Saturday, we had to chase around to get the car out of the impound. It took me at least an hour on the phone trying to figure out where it was, so there were multiple aggravating things that happened. On top of that, they didn't plow our street after they towed all the cars. If being aggravated by all of the above is out of line, I apologize.

It's not out of line in my book. I'd be livid. There are still cars sitting on entrance/exit ramps...And when that ramp is still covered in snow/ice and the highway is clear, getting up to speed (or braking early enough) is already a pretty good driving challenge.

Well...They were still there on Sunday evening anyway. The one that comes to mind was a car sitting in the white hashes by the Hefner exit (or Britton, I'm not sure) off the Hefner Speedway of DOOM. There wasn't much room between that car and the plowed pile of snow on the right. Wouldn't take much of an error to have that go horribly wrong.

How far away are you from the towing yard? They're probably just soaking up the easy tows/fines first instead of taking care of the 14 cars I counted on I-40 between Peebly and Douglas Saturday (still there Sunday morning).

If you're looking for a silver lining...Well...Hey, you didn't have to dig your car out

[MGE1977]

Betts

We don't get time and a half for any holidays worked.

If your question is to why there were still cars snowed in on roads unplowed and that those cars were unticketed, I can't answer. Really why is it that anything happens to just anybody and not everybody? Its still a whiny topic, and you are obviously disgruntled at the treatment you'd received at the hands of some villainous cop.

As Spartan said, cops are craven, cowardly, spineless city employees who were tasked with a job by the city and its citizens who pay their salaries but are disgusted when called upon to pay their tickets. "Protect me, Protect me, but don't protect others from me..." - laughable.

As you've said, the dateline for the story probably precludes any more argument from me, but I can assure you that the "important" parts of the city were well taken care of - truckloads of snow leaving the Bricktown area without stop while the rest of us had to fend for ourselves. Now, you could just as easily have remarked on such, but obviously you don't consider yourself as important as the Spaghetti Warehouse.

[rcjunkie]

Betts

We don't get time and a half for any holidays worked.

If your question is to why there were still cars snowed in on roads unplowed and that those cars were unticketed, I can't answer. Really why is it that anything happens to just anybody and not everybody? Its still a whiny topic, and you are obviously disgruntled at the treatment you'd received at the hands of some villainous cop.

As Spartan said, cops are craven, cowardly, spineless city employees who were tasked with a job by the city and its citizens who pay their salaries but are disgusted when called upon to pay their tickets. "Protect me, Protect me, but don't protect others from me..." - laughable.

As you've said, the dateline for the story probably precludes any more argument from me, but I can assure you that the "important" parts of the city were well taken care of - truckloads of snow leaving the Bricktown area without stop while the rest of us had to fend for ourselves. Now, you could just as easily have remarked on such, but obviously you don't consider yourself as important as the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Glad to hear Bricktown has been cleared, I need to go to Bass Pro to pickup a handgun and I trhink I'll stop by Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch.

Thanks for the information, have a Great Day and God Bless!!

[Martin]

sounds like you're a jackass.

there's no substance to this post other than a personal attack... if you disagree with somebody, refute their point... don't just call names.

-M

[Karried]

betts, I'm sorry your car got towed. It is a terrible thing to have happened.

I'm also sorry for the heartless comments people felt inclined to post. It's really ridiculous how people treat others when they can anonymously say what they want to say without consequences.

[gmwise]

Betts got off lucky.
If it was up to me I would have plowed the "junk and abandoned cars" to the side and let the insurance companies or the goobers deal with it.

[oneforone]

Betts got off lucky.
If it was up to me I would have plowed the "junk and abandoned cars" to the side and let the insurance companies or the goobers deal with it.

I would not be suprised if that has actually happened to some of the cars already. I have seen a number cars on the Interstates burried in snow drifts created by the plow trucks.

Just yesterday a plow driver found a dead driver who was missing from Minco in a 6 foot snow bank.