Pulling Vehicles out of a Ditch in the Snow

[Industrial Toys]

Sometimes my BIGGEST concern is whether I feel like torturing a dead cold diesel powered machine . I have done that too many times for other people. Some just look like a Deer in the headlights when you tell them, I'd love to help but non of my stuff is plugged in.

 

[4570Man]

Meh....Sometimes a nice car (or house, clothes, etc...) represents the money they HAD, not the money they HAVE.
In farm country, looks can be very deceiving.

More like the size of the loan they still have.

 

[Industrial Toys]

For decades, you knew it was the weekend around here, because the price of the average vehicle you saw in town jumped by a large margin. Now the with push to get out of the cities, you see a lot of Beemers, Caddies, Mercedes, Lexus and so forth.

 

[paulfun9]

"In farm country, looks can be very deceiving."

Oh yes!

Back a ways when I was a sales rep for fork lift trucks in walked a real farmer.
Boots, bib coveralls, the works!
Everybody shunned him.

I, always the curious one, asked him if I could be of assistance.
He was a tobacco farmer and I knew what their preferred fork lift was so steered him to our demo.
He calmly said. YEP, that's what I want.

Opened up his brief case and he had enough cash to close the deal.

The bummer was we had assigned territories on commission and I did not get one cent.
(some reps would split but lucky me that rep did not)

With everyone else shunning me as you describe, had a salesman told me he won稚 get a commission for the sale and one who shunned me would. I would have driven you a couple hundred miles to your area just to piss off those who shunned me and reward you for your good work!

 

[goddom]

Reminds me of many years ago being sent to CA for school for some systems at my job. Was sick on the plane from Chicago to L.A. Get to L.A. at 2:00am and go to car rental. Sorry, we messed up your rental and don't have anymore mid-sized cars. Grrrrr..... Would you take a convertible instead for the same price? Sure!

Little white Pontiac Sunfire. I was still sick. I had all Sunday to kill. So be sick in my hotel or be sick in a convertible? What the heck. So I drove out to the Sequias for the day. Riding around the giant trees with the top down. What great fun.

Week later I turned in my expense report. I had 9 receipts for saltine crackers and Sprite from gas stations from the first 2 days I was there. :laughing:

LOL! Well at least you go to see the Sequoias! They are so cool to see in person.

 

[dodge man]

I remember several years ago we had some very bad straight winds and these two young guys were stuck in a farm field. The power poles had laid over where the poles and lines were blocking the road, the wires about 5 feet off the ground. Of course we had several inches of rain so they were knee deep in mud. I knew the guy that lived up the road worked for the power company, I asked him if the wires were still hot, he said maybe.

So when I returned I stayed on the pavements and the one idiot kept getting close to the low wires even though I yelled at him three times the wires might be hot. I hooked up to them and told them to ease it out. I looked back as I started to pull and there were these huge rooster tails of mud and water shooting up in the air, he had the thing floored. I got them out, unhooked and got the heck out of there, what a couple of idiots.

 

[mred2]

Reminds me of a wreck on the road at my house a few years back. Van hit a power pole and broke it off. Lines about 6 to 8 feet off the ground. Cars were driving around and under the hot power lines. Police got there before anyone got killed. And no way was I going to try and pull them out.

 

[John_Mc]

I've done my share of 'good guy'!
Always have a HD braided tow rope (as used for sling loads) and long jumper cables in my AWD Kia.
Generally I have the 'client' do the hook up at his end.
Also I do a waiver sort of speech B4 pulling.

So far this winter I have only 'extracted' 4 vehicles but sure there's more to come as the city plow tends to plow over the ditches and many are deep.

My Kia AWD with track lock is simply awesome plus I'm shod with studded winters.
I just like to help.

Where I to get sued? well I'd use my waiver defense, plus non commercial and his doing actual hook up.
Nope, don't lose any sleep and will continue being a nice guy.

Must say that 'sling' braided rope is just great.
With good traction it stretches a bit like a big elastic and almost plucks a decent sized SUV that was well off at about a 45 deg angle.
Helped a bit that I was slightly downhill from him.

Have done this for probably 10-12 years and never a comeback.
Lucky? perhaps.

The problem is, the person you are helping may have agreed not to sue if you damage their vehicle (or if they are injured when something breaks, sending the end of the tow cable through their windshield and into them), however, they do not have the right to waive their insurance company's right to sue you to recover the company's costs (whether medical or equipment damage). It's known as "subrogation": their insurance company will get them and their vehicle fixed up, and then go after you to recover their costs.

I'm not saying don't do it. I help people all the time (though it' been several years since I've pulled someone out of a ditch). I just want you to be aware that your little waiver speech is unlikely to help you if something does go wrong.

Laws differ from state to state and country to country, so your mileage may vary.

 

[JethroB]

Maybe video capture the waiver agreement on your cell phone. Couldn't hurt.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Such a speech could prove that you knew that you were about to undertake something that might cause harm or damage.