Kids calling for help - no response

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

02/03/2007 10:21:50 PM · #1

My daughters went to their father's house today, about an hour away. My oldest (17 ys old) drove and her 14 year old sister rode along.

On their way home, on a major interstate highway and after dark, they had a tire blowout (thankfully they stopped the car safely on the roadside). My daughter called and asked me what to do, she wanted to just get out and change the tire, but I was worried about 2 young girls on the side of the highway at night. So I told her to call the State Patrol and ask if someone could come and assist - if nothing else, sit there while she changed the tire - and until then keep the doors locked and lights off. Savanah called the State Patrol office and said the dispatcher told her someone was on their way and they would also call for a wrecker.

The kids sat in the car and waited for an hour and a half - no State Trooper ever came, no wrecker, nothing. Savanah finally got out and changed the tire herself. I'm very glad she knows how and is able, but I can't believe 2 young girls called for help and nobody came.

They just got home, safe, thankfully. I'm a very protective mother, I know that, and I'm probably over-reacting, but I'm pretty pissed.

Think I'll send an email to the State Patrol headquarters and just ask politely if that was a normal or expected response to a request for assistance.

fotomann_forever

02/03/2007 10:25:11 PM · #2

Would have been nice if they would have just said, we ain't gonna do a thing. So then, you could act accordingly. Glad to hear the girls are home safe Cin.

magroves

02/03/2007 10:25:46 PM · #3

No GM roadside assistance? Maybe consider AAA insurance, they have roadside assistance available as well. Are they anywhere near all the storm damage, sounds like a lot of emergency resources are working it... Glad to hear they made it!

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

02/03/2007 10:26:33 PM · #4

I would be pissed too Cindi..........

Glad they are safe.

If you don't have it you may want to add that service to your Auto insurance. When we got Progressive we addedit and when my wife got a flat they sent someone out to change it. Even though she knows how to change a flat I feel safer with someone else doing that.

loseme

Canon EOS-50D

02/03/2007 10:27:03 PM · #5

That is terrible, it would not have been that hard for the police to come out and help or check on the girls. I would have been freaking out. I think it is great that she knows how to change a tire (that is so important). I would definitely be calling and writing a letter, I would even send a letter to the local papers.

Hipychik

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

02/03/2007 10:27:10 PM · #6

Seems like when you don't want them, they're always around! I bought AAA roadside service for my 3 daughters. It's came in handy a few times.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/03/2007 10:27:47 PM · #7

Cindi that's horrible to hear. I don't know who you have your cell phones with, but I'm with T-Mobile and for $3 a month I have roadside assistance. They will come change your tire, get your car open if you lock the keys in, give you a tow or bring you gas for no extra charge. Maybe you should look into something like that for your daughter. I know it gives me peace of mind for my teenage driving daughter.

fotomann_forever

02/03/2007 10:32:48 PM · #8

Cingular (AT&T) also offers road-side assistance.

02/03/2007 10:32:53 PM · #9

I'll definitely be adding roadside assistance to our insurance plan. Atleast that's something you can count on.

Shame was, the tire that blew (tred seperated) was a brand new one we got just a few weeks ago to replace one that was looking worn. I try to keep her car in excellent condition to avoid days like today. So tomorrow we will take that new tire back and thank them very much for their quality product.

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

02/03/2007 10:33:31 PM · #10

should have bought Toyo Tires

;)

Message edited by author 2007-02-03 22:33:41.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/03/2007 10:58:16 PM · #11

I guess I'll have to buy them a tank if I really want to feel safe when they're outside the house! lol

EBJones

Nikon D200

02/03/2007 11:05:12 PM · #12

Originally posted by loseme:

I agree. If this is the kind of response that you're going to get from a public service (I'm military, and I still think of myself as a public servant!) that your tax dollars go to fund, you should be sure to let everybody know about this. I especially like your idea of 'politely' asking about their response. :) The 'I'm really disappointed in this response.' will probably work out better than the 'You Bastards!' letter, especially if it goes to the local paper.

Good to hear that the kids are safe and that they have parents smart enough to teach them how to change a tire. :)

Elvis_L

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

02/03/2007 11:05:41 PM · #13

Originally posted by idnic:

I guess I'll have to buy them a tank if I really want to feel safe when they're outside the house! lol

but then you have to watch out for those damn land mines:)

I would suggest getting the roadside through your cell phones assuming they have them(if not you are a mean mom:P) I can't say for sure the others but with Alltel ours travels with the phone, so if she is riding with a friend that doesn't have roadside they can still get help. it is usually 3 bucks a month for most companies and most don't charge anything for the actual work.

EBJones

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/03/2007 11:07:16 PM · #14

Originally posted by idnic:

I guess I'll have to buy them a tank if I really want to feel safe when they're outside the house! lol

Talk to

NikonJeb. It seems his neighbor has one that he might let you borrow. :)

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/03/2007 11:12:53 PM · #15

I am a nice mommy and they both have cell phones (youngest just got hers for Christmas, but older daughter has had hers for a few years). I hadn't thought of getting roadside from them through the cell plan, but it makes sense since we're all on the same plan, etc. Definitely would be better than calling for a public servant..... oh sorry, EB. I totally get your point though about my tax dollars, that point hadn't escaped me.

Message edited by author 2007-02-03 23:13:28.

kawana

Sony Alpha a7R

Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC

02/03/2007 11:15:03 PM · #16

Well its understandable that you are upset, but my dads a cop and he says that they go by which call is most important, something could have come up and they had to go to a more important call. Things might be different there, here we dont have a HUGE police force so if something big goes down they need everyone, also it depends where they are, if theres a high-speed chase, or B&E near where them (the cop coming to help your daughters) they are required to go to it as they are closest. If thats not the case there then thats not right, even if they did get called somewhere the wrecker should have come still. Hope this makes sense, my head hurts :S

EBJones

Nikon D200

02/03/2007 11:21:49 PM · #17

Originally posted by idnic:

oh sorry, EB. I totally get your point though about my tax dollars, that point hadn't escaped me.

No need to apologize. Here to serve. :)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/03/2007 11:22:39 PM · #18

Originally posted by kawana:

Made perfect sense. I too thought of the possibility that there was something more urgent that the trooper had to respond to. But.... the girls were near downtown Jacksonville, a fairly large city, where there are Jacksonville Police, Duvall County Sherrifs and Florida State Troopers all in the area all the time. The police force around Jacksonville is pretty large. And yeah, you would think the wrecker would atleast show up.

Edit to say, the reason I suggested they call the State Patrol is because they were on the interstate highway, had they been on a smaller highway I would have suggested the Sherrif's department.

Message edited by author 2007-02-03 23:24:21.

FireBird

02/04/2007 12:33:11 AM · #19

I second the AAA suggestion. The nice thing is the coverage would follow your daughter in whatever car she rides in. Doesn't have to be her or your car. Don't know how being a minor would affect that. I'm sure they'd be happy to discuss it with you. I've been a member since 1985 and a happy camper.

suemack

Canon EOS-20D

02/04/2007 12:48:11 AM · #20

So glad they're safe Cindi!

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/04/2007 01:55:39 AM · #21

Thank God the girls are safe, Cindi! Definitely get roadside assistance amd even if the cops had something more important to do, the dispatcher could hve called the girls back. God forbid if anything happened to them I would be psychotic. And no, I don't think you overreacted at all. The local news media might be a good idea - they should inform people not to expect help. See what the cops explanation is first though.

sher

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

02/04/2007 02:05:29 AM · #22

so glad they made it home safe and sound! like

Elvis_L suggested, i have roadside assistance through Cingular...something like $2.98 extra a month. well worth the price for peace of mind.

xantangummi

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

02/04/2007 03:44:42 AM · #23

Originally posted by idnic:

I guess I'll have to buy them a tank if I really want to feel safe when they're outside the house! lol

It can take a three man team a couple of hours to set the tracks straigth if they jump out of place and it's pretty heavy work.

Seriously over here in Sweden I would have been suprised if they showed up, it's not really unusual to have to wait for a couple of hours if you have been robbed or assaulted.

Blackbox

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+

Canon TC-DC58B 1.5x Tele Converter

02/04/2007 04:30:56 AM · #24

Originally posted by xantangummi:

Seriously over here in Sweden I would have been suprised if they showed up, it's not really unusual to have to wait for a couple of hours if you have been robbed or assaulted.

On a similar comparison - Sometimes people call 911 for an Ambulance. We show up and they are not having a true emergency - life or death. Yes, they may need medical attention (many times it's a chronic problem and not something acute) and maybe it's an emergency in their mind. I've had people tell me straight out - 'I'm going to the Hospital in the Ambulance because they will see me as soon as I get there'. It's not my place to tell them how fast they will be seen or tell them it's not an emergency - I care for them the best I can and take them to the hospital as they wished.

Sometimes the Hospital's are very busy and backed-up. The nurse tells me the patient can wait in the lobby. The patient gets ticked at ME and then they may end up waiting upwards of many, many hours before they are seen. All I can tell them is that the hospital see's people on a 'worst come, first serve basis'.

To make it worse, the person that insisted they were having an emergency and insisted I take them to the hospital has now taken an emergency vehicle out of service and possibly the unit that might have been needed for a true emergency.

Don't get me wrong, I feel your pain as I have a son and worry anytime he's not at home. It's not a perfect world and Police/Fire/Medical Personel all over the country and world are doing their best to help you when it's needed.