Surprised I haven't seen a thread on this yet unless I missed it. What do you guys think about all this? Jan. 2, 2005, 12:49PM Towing policy's 1st day bumpy Some anger and confusion mark beginning of new program By ANNE MARIE KILDAY Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle At 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the honeymoon between some drivers and Mayor Bill White came to an end under the flashing yellow lights of Houston tow trucks. Houston's mandatory highway towing system is a cornerstone of Mayor Bill White's traffic-management plan. "I think this mayor is like John Gotti. This is a rip-off," said Ahmed El-Helbawi, of Kingwood, who had just paid $81.50 to have his son's 1987 Volvo station wagon towed off the Eastex Freeway. Saturday was the first day of the citywide Safe Clear program, which requires all wrecked, disabled or abandoned vehicles to be towed off Houston's extensive and clogged freeway system. At the owner's expense. Motorists who belong to auto clubs offering roadside assistance can seek reimbursement from their clubs. Edith Napoleon was on her way home from a New Year's Eve party when the battery on her car died. In an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle, she said she left the vehicle to walk to a nearby pay phone to call her parents for help. When she returned, her car was missing. Several frantic phone calls later, Napoleon wrote, she learned she would be starting the new year with less money than she planned. "These tow-truck people are abusing motorists under the Safe Clear program," she wrote. Under the program, approved by the City Council in May as a way to ease traffic congestion, motorists no longer will be allowed to change flat tires on the freeway shoulder, leave vehicles to get fuel or call their own help. Tows must be authorized by police at Houston TranStar and can be performed only by companies that contract with the city. More than 92 drivers were towed off Houston freeways in the first 15 hours of the program, said officer Glen Treat at Houston TranStar. Treat said only about 10 percent of the drivers could be categorized as "very angry" about their vehicles being towed. Other drivers — those who needed an official explanation from police — fell into a category Treat called "confused motorists." "And, there's been a lot of people glad to see us," he added. "I'd say it's going both ways." Some drivers were unaware of the new ordinance, requiring tow-truck drivers to explain it. Others adamantly refused the mandatory tows, and police were called to come out and make it clear that the program is, in fact, city law. Motorists apparently were not the only ones who were confused. Wrecker drivers and TranStar operators were unsure whether vehicles had to have authorization numbers before they could be hooked up to tow trucks, much less moved off the freeways. Just getting ahold of TranStar dispatchers proved difficult Saturday, with lengthy waits followed by more lengthy waits to get the authorization numbers. Pat Trahan, White's press secretary, said some of the confusion and anger from drivers who were towed was expected. "But the thing we have to keep in mind is, it is Houstonians who have asked that we take action to fix a major quality-of-life issue that related to the amount of time they spend in traffic on Houston streets," Trahan said. The fact that the program began on a holiday gave all involved some time to adjust. "It's a typical Saturday afternoon, which is always a little slow," said David Standford, a veteran driver employed by Fast Tow, one of 11 companies authorized to participate in the program. That gave Standford time to explain the Safe Clear program in hopes that El-Helbawi would think getting his son's vehicle to the side of the freeway was a good deal. El-Helbawi said he had discussed the new program with his son, Sherif, Friday night. Then, he said, he endorsed the idea of the new program. Twenty-four hours and $81.50 later, father and son were in agreement about the new program. "I was talking about this law with my son just yesterday," El- Helbawi said. "I said, 'This is where we live, we live in a free country.' Now? I think they are taking our freedoms away from us, day by day." Sherif El-Helbawi, 17, was angrier than his father. He said his car just needed "a little time to cool off" and he would have been on the road again. "It's communist," he said. "You can't even make your own decisions." Standford, 45, said he thought the Safe Clear program was going smoothly, despite first-day glitches. After El-Helbawi refused the tow, Standford checked with a Fast Tow dispatcher about getting TranStar authorization. She radioed that he had to call TranStar for authorization — and he did, waiting 13 minutes for the call to be answered. By then, El-Helbawi had reconsidered and agreed to the tow. Standford hooked up the Volvo and was on his way. Ten minutes into the ride, TranStar finally delivered the authorization. "This part of the system is really kind of stupid," Standford said. "It's absolutely ludicrous. They're going to have to work this out." Link
As an unintended consequence, I like the fact that this new law is bringing a new focus on automotive maintenance. I'll be really pissed when some bald tire, no shocks, smoking escapee from the Thunder Dome kills me when I'm stopped at a red light.
I think it's crap. It costs $75 for them to tow your car away, and then if you can't pay it they impound your car? All it's going to take is a couple of guys getting in a fight on the freeway because the wrecker is trying to tow his car....then I'm sure they'll re-evaluate this.
I'm pretty sure they would accept cards....most people don't carry that much cash with them these days.
A couple of months ago mom's card was towed off the side of the road after only and hour. It took them a few days to find it. It cost over 200 bucks to get it out and you had to have exact change, so if it was 244.32 and you had 245, they wouldnt give you change. Evil people. All for a dead battery.
For the new towing program, If you read the thread that I copied into this one, they are accepting debit and credit cards--check me if I'm wrong, but I thought that is what I read..... I need to practice my NASCAR speed tire changing process, I will be damned if they charge me 80 bucks to change a flipping tire.
I saw a tow truck sitting on the freeway shoulder on 610 at Fannin yesterday at rush hour, I suppose waiting for a car to break down. How can those jerks be allowed to sit on the shoulder (the very problem that they are trying to eliminate)? And why can cops sit on the shoulder trying to catch people speeding while also "congesting" the lanes. I think that the hypocritical nature of this law should be reexamined.
LOL, ironic isn't it? Or should I say moronic. Do cars on the shoulders of freeways really cause traffic? I can understand if you're in a accident, get that car off the freeway ASAP but I really don't think a stalled car on the shoulder is really going to cause any extra traffic. Also, I don't think I'd be too comfortable with my Mother or girlfriend getting into a tow truck with some scummy strange driver late at night. The city says they've done "background checks" on all the drivers but that doesn't mean jack squat to me.
Hey Houston, you're sooooo world class. You got a trolley that crashes into cars and a crime lab that is incompetent, so what do you do? You make it illegal to change a flat tire. F'ing brilliant! From http://www.bloghouston.net/item/528#more $AFEclear: Mayor White's idea of customer-oriented government Today's Chronicle has a perfect example of what is wrong with the $AFEclear program: Bess said her car was towed after she had a blowout on Interstate 45 on her way to a doctor's appointment about noon Tuesday. Her friend, who was driving, pulled the car to the shoulder and was just preparing to change the tire, but a tow-truck driver arrived and told them he had to remove the car. When Bess refused to have it towed, the wrecker driver called police. Two uniformed officers came and explained the new towing law to Bess. One drove her to her doctor's appointment in his squad car. Now, her car is in storage and she can't afford to get it back. She and her mother, Norma Bess, 73, live together on a fixed income. Under the Safe Clear program, which became effective Saturday, towing costs $75 for the first five miles and $1.50 for each additional mile. Storage, if applicable, is $48 for the first day, $15 for each additional day. About 500 tows were authorized by 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to Houston TranStar. By Wednesday, Bess owed about $139. She doesn't know how she'll get enough money to get the car back and fears she and her mother will be forced to take the bus to the grocery store and their doctor's appointments. "This is ridiculous, what they did," Norma Bess said. Yes it is. Mayor White was on Chris Baker's show yesterday and if I had to hear him say, "It's better than it was before" or "It costs less than it did before," I was going to scream. Mayor White, BEFORE $AFEclear someone didn't get towed and impounded for a FLAT TIRE. Someone didn't get towed as they got a gallon of gas. Mayor White said that before $AFEclear, when he was stuck in traffic backups, he became really annoyed as he realized it was because of some car sitting off to the side. Well, gee Mr. Mayor. So sorry someone's misfortune inconvenienced you. Those of us who drive cars need to expect to be inconvenienced by others who breakdown from time to time. We don't live in a perfect world, and if you want a perfect commute, Mr. Mayor, then live downtown and use light rail. Then pray light rail doesn't crash into something, or someone. And I find it very implausible that all Houston freeway congestion is caused by cars on the side of the road. I think it's more likely caused by numerous cars on the roads. What I think we learned from the mayor's interview with Chris Baker is that it truly is all about the money for the city (Did you like that nice stall he did when Baker asked him how much money the city was getting off each tow? The mayor mumbled about looking for the facts in a stack of papers. Please. He knows EXACTLY what the city is getting.), and also about making the commute faster for some important folks who were inconvenienced by people with "funky" cars, or dummies who ran out of gas (that was what Dan Patrick said yesterday.). There is an uproar over this program for a reason: It's wrong. First, as Kevin has pointed out, if it's such a pressing safety issue, then the MAP program should be expanded. How many cars could be helped without these confrontations and huge financial burdens? Probably most. Second, $AFEclear disproportionately affects the poor. And that's not helping Houston citizens. Will the mayor start some new bus routes for those whose cars get impounded, so they can get to work? Metro has been cutting bus routes right and left, you know. Third, if it's a flat tire, or a gallon of gas or something else that would take a small amount of time to get a car moving again, it seems unbelievably punitive to force a minimum $75 tow on people in those situations. Fourth, if this truly is the ONLY solution Mayor White can come up with, why in the world is it running 24/7? Why not just during the two peak rush hours? How does this help Houston to be doing this to people passing through, or spending leisure time in Houston? "Guess we'll write off Houston. Not a very friendly city to motorists." Here is a quote from Mayor White in the Chronicle story: "I want to provide a dynamic, customer-oriented government," White said. I think it is safe to say this program fails. Miserably. And here's a quote from Councilwoman Galloway: "I still think it is unfair for us to have done this," she said. "This is one of the most devastating ordinances we have passed. I just hope we revisit it." If a car is sitting on the shoulder for more than a couple hours, then by all means, tow it. But give folks a fighting chance to fix their cars themselves, without $AFEclear hanging over them.
I think I would completely lose it if a tow truck came up and tried to take my car while I was changing a flat ~ maybe I could change one before they got their approval codes, but still... Didn't we just have some big issue with the small tow truck companies in Houston losing all their business to large towing corporations who were getting contracts for certain 'districts' on the freeway system? The mayor is obviously in cahoots with the towing industry…
hey, just a question on the policy, as I haven't been living in Houston for a few years now... As I understand, the ordinance is designed to alleviate congestion. What rationale has the mayor given for enforcing it during times of no congestion?
I dont think it is to alleviate congestion, i think its to alleviate secondary crashed. Im not saying that is correct, just the justification that was stated on the news. Apparently the there is a high rate of car wrecks associated with the change in freeway speeds resulting from rubber-necking. I have not seen such data and rarely see two wrecks in the same area at the same time.
Bill White's solution to ease congestion: 1) Impose a draconian towing policy that doesn't allow Houston motorists to change their own tires 2) Throw his support behind spending a huge chunk of the transportation budget on a toy train that serves 1% of the population. Bill White's grade: F
The funny thing about this is that theoretically much of the alleged safety benefits of this policy could be offset by changes in driver behavior. For instance, if I know that I'm going to have to pay exorbitant towing fees for stopping on the freeway, I may opt to drive a bit further on a punctured tire or with an overheated engine instead of moving to the side of the road. By doing so, I'm probably going to increase the chance of an accident by more than what would happen if I moved onto the shoulder. This is a perfect case study for safety offset behavior. This policy is just plain dumb. Maybe I should get in the Houston towing business, I hear the mayor is "pro-business"...
At first, I supported this. I figured if it helped ease traffic wrecks, stalled cars, etc. it would be worth it. Well, just ONE WEEK into this, it has become an unmitigated disaster. It has done NOTHING to ease traffic. (I was stuck in traffic this mng because there was a stalled car on the road. It still took 1/2 hour to get it towed.) Also, due to police reports, Accident's CAN'T be moved until police are done investigating. This needs to be repealed immediately. It is doing nothing it said it would.
