Now as far as I know, there is no Tow Truck Appreciation Day or Week, as far as I could find a company (on the internet) celebrates their employees in September from the States, but in my opinion it should be an official national appreciation day in Canada.
I had gone to see my Mom for Mother's Day and was returning to Carlyle that Sunday when once again my vehicle quit. This car has left me stranded once before on my way to University after going home for a long weekend. This time, however, my phone was at least fully charged and didn't die as I was talking to CAA.
I have been stranded on the side of the road having to call CAA for assistance at least three times now. And have had multiple flat tires that I've changed, friends have changed for me, my Dad has come to change, or that my friend's Dad has changed. Not being quite strong enough to always get the nuts off, especially when they have been stripped. Flats, however, can be dealt with on one's own without calling CAA. They do make you a little irritated, but you know it's nothing more serious than switching out the tire.
The two times I was stuck on the side of the road having to call CAA before May 13 with a dead vehicle were both in basically the middle of nowhere. On a highway between towns with absolutely nothing around, I have sat waiting for tow trucks to save me. With my four-way-flashers on each time as I tried to decipher what might be wrong, besides if it was a flat tire or something small my Dad might have taught me how to fix it, but no one ever stopped. Both times I had to call CAA for help. Now I hadn't flagged anyone down attempting to get them to stop because I guess I didn't really need them I was just calling a tow truck, but out of the goodness of their hearts nobody ever stopped.
Now this probably happens all of the time. I know if someone is sitting there as I drive by, I always feel like I should stop... but the truth is I wouldn't be much help, so I don't. As I pass them I then realize that what if their phone has died or what if they don't have a cell phone? What if they're stuck there and now have to walk to a farm nearby because nobody has checked on them. Although I've never actually turned around to go back and ask them, always thinking someone else will stop, I always feel like I should have.
Now two times out of three for me this is true, someone won't always stop. If you flag them down, then possibly, as I've said I've never actually tried it. Next time I might have to if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with a dying cell phone. I was extremely lucky the second time I was stranded as it died just after I told CAA where I was. This being the reason why I feel guilty driving by someone stopped on the highway. The only other difference between my experiences is that the two times nobody stopped I was in Alberta, while this last time I was in Saskatchewan.
At the intersection of highways 33 and 47 in Stoughton, my car decided to quit. While sitting there on the side of the road, flashers going, there were at least three cars that stopped to make sure I was going to be ok. They made sure that someone was going to be coming for me. One couple even helped me to push my car off to the side of the road. The car had quit as I was waiting at the stop sign, so their help was appreciated greatly.
CAA had contacted Schubert's Salvage and Towing to come save me in the meantime. Kim Schubert had to travel quite a ways to come get me, being based in Fillmore a good 45 minutes away. He would have dropped everything he was doing to rescue me. Schubert then towed me all the way to Carlyle as we chatted about various things. He was very pleasant and happy to be helping, which is what you always want in a tow truck driver.
Tow truck drivers are always being called out, at any hour of the day or night to pick up vehicles. It's a tough job that has some of the worst hours, in my opinion, as you're on call all night after you work a regular day in the shop while being called out. So I couldn't thank Schubert enough.
I think that tow truck drivers are greatly underappreciated. For the most part they get frantic people who are extremely upset about being stuck on the side of the road. So I made sure to greet Schubert with a smile on my face, which I think he was glad to see, and thank him for coming.
There are an unlimited number of versions of the stranded driver. Whether they are angry, crying, stressed, or even if they have come to terms with the situation, it just doesn't matter. The tow truck driver will get there as soon as they possibly can, but depending on how the stranded driver is feeling tow truck drivers could get yelled at or even have to comfort an upset driver. That and as tow truck drivers hook on to vehicles, very few people actually slow down to the mandatory 60 km/h making their job extremely dangerous if they're on a highway.
People tend to only recognize these things once they are stranded and witness someone going 120 km/h in the lane right next to them. So if you're stuck and need to call a tow truck to save you, just remember that they have just left a family supper or possibly had spent the entire night on calls rescuing other people. So my suggestion is to thank them, not get mad when it takes them "too long." Appreciate the fact that they have just travelled however far to get you safely off the road.
