(no subject)
this morning i pulled out of the driveway with some apprehension. my car had some transmission issues surface over the weekend, and i was a little worried about its capability for getting me to work okay.
but when the SUV i pulled out in front of started flashing its brights at me, i was pretty sure its driver was just annoyed that i was accelerating so slowly, and wanted to pass me. i did not indulge them in this, because after about 10 seconds i was going the speed limit, and by the time i got to route 2 they were gone.
i had only climbed the first hill on route 2, though, when someone else started beeping at me. not in an angry, drawn-out way either; it was a succession of little beeps, like they were trying to draw my attention to something. other than the shuddering transmission the car had been driving more or less fine up to this point, but i was getting suspicious now. and then suddenly the radio was drowned out by an awful grinding noise, and a bad smell filled my nostrils. i wasn't even sure what was going on, but i knew it was bad, so i pulled over.
this is probably an overly dramatic way of saying that i drove over a nail and busted my right rear tire. i don't know where the nail came from, but i suspect, given the immediacy with which people were trying to point out my problem when i got on the road, that it may have even been in our driveway. that would be the only way to explain the person flashing me. if it was, though, i'm amazed that it took me five or six miles before the tire actually blew to the point that i could not drive it anymore.
this was the first flat i'd gotten in this car, and in california i would have just called USAA roadside assist immediately. i don't have USAA insurance anymore, though, and i've been procrastinating on becoming a AAA member, so i was out of luck there. i knew that my current insurance company and the mass highway department run a free highway assistance program, but i didn't know what number to call to get them, so i sat there semi-paralyzed for a couple of minutes, alternating between fumbling for my insurance policy to see if the number was on there and trying to find an opportune time to get out of my car and inspect the damage, taking into account that there was a large quantity of cars and trucks whizzing by about two feet from the driver's side door. fortunately, the person who had been beeping at me had also pulled over, about a hundred yards ahead of me.
i thought they were going to come help me, but instead a cop pulled up, and the mysterious person drove away. i later figured out that the kind and evasive stranger had called 911 for me and alerted the cop, who came to my passenger door and asked if i wanted him to call highway assistance to change the flat. until that point i had been sitting in my car, unaware that it was a flat tire and scared that i might have a more serious problem on my hands, so i felt a substantial amount of relief and gladness that my problem seemed to be solving itself. i said yes and got out of the car to retrieve my spare tire, and within literally two minutes a friendly guy in a fluorescent jacket showed up and put it on. and i only got to work 20 minutes later than normal! (it would have been 15, but i asked the guys at the gas station where i have to park to change my tire.)
i guess the moral of the story is, yay for partially-government-subsidized highway assistance! and next time, i will just do the obvious thing and call 911.
but when the SUV i pulled out in front of started flashing its brights at me, i was pretty sure its driver was just annoyed that i was accelerating so slowly, and wanted to pass me. i did not indulge them in this, because after about 10 seconds i was going the speed limit, and by the time i got to route 2 they were gone.
i had only climbed the first hill on route 2, though, when someone else started beeping at me. not in an angry, drawn-out way either; it was a succession of little beeps, like they were trying to draw my attention to something. other than the shuddering transmission the car had been driving more or less fine up to this point, but i was getting suspicious now. and then suddenly the radio was drowned out by an awful grinding noise, and a bad smell filled my nostrils. i wasn't even sure what was going on, but i knew it was bad, so i pulled over.
this is probably an overly dramatic way of saying that i drove over a nail and busted my right rear tire. i don't know where the nail came from, but i suspect, given the immediacy with which people were trying to point out my problem when i got on the road, that it may have even been in our driveway. that would be the only way to explain the person flashing me. if it was, though, i'm amazed that it took me five or six miles before the tire actually blew to the point that i could not drive it anymore.
this was the first flat i'd gotten in this car, and in california i would have just called USAA roadside assist immediately. i don't have USAA insurance anymore, though, and i've been procrastinating on becoming a AAA member, so i was out of luck there. i knew that my current insurance company and the mass highway department run a free highway assistance program, but i didn't know what number to call to get them, so i sat there semi-paralyzed for a couple of minutes, alternating between fumbling for my insurance policy to see if the number was on there and trying to find an opportune time to get out of my car and inspect the damage, taking into account that there was a large quantity of cars and trucks whizzing by about two feet from the driver's side door. fortunately, the person who had been beeping at me had also pulled over, about a hundred yards ahead of me.
i thought they were going to come help me, but instead a cop pulled up, and the mysterious person drove away. i later figured out that the kind and evasive stranger had called 911 for me and alerted the cop, who came to my passenger door and asked if i wanted him to call highway assistance to change the flat. until that point i had been sitting in my car, unaware that it was a flat tire and scared that i might have a more serious problem on my hands, so i felt a substantial amount of relief and gladness that my problem seemed to be solving itself. i said yes and got out of the car to retrieve my spare tire, and within literally two minutes a friendly guy in a fluorescent jacket showed up and put it on. and i only got to work 20 minutes later than normal! (it would have been 15, but i asked the guys at the gas station where i have to park to change my tire.)
i guess the moral of the story is, yay for partially-government-subsidized highway assistance! and next time, i will just do the obvious thing and call 911.