Some people shouldn't drive

My car died on an off ramp earlier today, and in such a manner that I could not safely maneuver it off of the roadway. Immediately, I turned on my hazard flashers. I lost track of the number of idiots that could not see them or just plan didn't pay attention and drove right up on my tail.

Of course these were better than the friendly blonde who stopped and told me that I would be safer standing along side my car than sitting in it with my seat belt on. The friendly CHP (California Highway Patrol, for those of you who are not US West Coast or have survived without every watching Eric Estrada in CHiPs), officer who stopped to see that I was all right had a good laugh at that and told reassured me that in the vehicle is always safest unless the vehicle is damaged.

Or the nice strawberry blonde who walked up to my window and interrupted my conversation with road service to ask if she could help me push my van uphill and out of the way. I do give her credit that she was thinking that it was too much for one person and getting the car our of traffic was a necessity, but it takes three men to push the thing on flat surface, and this gal was smaller than me.

It took over half an hour for the Police to come and make it safe to back the van out of traffic, and then it wasn't even an officer, but a volunteer, but he was nice and helpful. The CHP officer showed up shortly after he left.

But really, how can people consider themselves safe drivers when they can't pay attention to cars in front of them or even be aware of personal safety. And of course I must be safer on the side of the intersection next to a dead car with no physical damage, than inside of it with a seatbelt, an airbag, and lots of steel and industrial grade plastic.


No offense meant to any blondes, just a necessity to rant. The car by the way may really be dead. The first two mechanics have ruled out transmissions, fuel system, ignition system, which leaves the computer. Cars ran just fine for decades without computers, why do they need them now?

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Perspective Alters Reality

Thank you! I'm glad that I was just on 29 and not out on 4, 680, or 101. That would have been a nightmare. This was just stressful and frustrating.

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Perspective Alters Reality

I know; I worked at a dealership in high school, doing filing for the service department. In most cars pre-1990, I can tell what the problem is or at least narrow it down for the mechanic with 90% accuracy. I hate the service writers who look to my husband when discussing the problem. The don't know quite how to react when I start responding. I've been tempted several times to tell them, oh don't worry about him, he's just here to settle the finances and about the only thing he knows about cars is how to fill the gas tank and top off the oil. However, with the 1990's and above as computers became more prolific, I can only guess, but I still talk to mechanics more than he does.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Its not much fun being stranded! When I reading your post I half expected the Condor to stop and offer to fix your car....or give you to tow.

Sounds like a lot of Sydney drivers, impatient, and don't look and wonder why they run up the back of someone.

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.

Were they blue-eyed blondes? True blondes? Or had the peroxide blanched their brains?

Yeah, it's not fun being stuck by the side of a busy road. I had the experience of a car dying while I was on 285 here in Atlanta. I turned on the hazard lights and tried to get over as my car slowed down, and people acted as if I were doing this deliberately. ARGH!

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features

It was the air flow sensor; the timing belt and water pump were ready to go and the engine mounts were starting to crack, but they also recommended brakes and plugs. As my husband was telling me this and asking what we should do (he does finances, not cars), I told the dealership does the sensor and engine work, and do it all while everything's torn apart rather than waiting and paying for it to be torn apart again. We have someone better with brakes than the dealer and same goes for servicing and they'd have the records on the plugs, which I think were done not too long ago.

I love the man, but he is clueless with cars. He came home a month ago, and I walked outside and asked him why my car was hissing and he looked at me and said "huh?" I walked around the car and back to my original spot and asked him what he ran over to make my tire go flat.

Being stranded wouldn't have been that bad, except my husband cancelled our AAA road service when he switched insurance companies, in favor of the one offered with the insurance. Geico may have more affordable insurance, but their road service is crap and I'll be going back to AAA as soon as I can.

My first few cars were mechanic specials so I don't mind being stranded, I just wait. It was people who were trying to be helpful, but weren't and the people that were supposed to be helpful, but weren't that was stressful. And of course, the repair bill that is on the way.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Don't worry, he more than makes up for it with sports. Before we got married he was coaching two baseball teams, three or four basketball teams, and was in two fantasy baseball leagues. And football is baned from the TV in our house, not because I don't like; I just don't want the argument that will come with it because we like rival teams. Although, I am allowed to visit his parents during football season, but he is not.

Also, he has no sense of direction (fortunately, I do, but only if I've been to a place before), but, typically, he does not stop and ask for directions. He also has to drive, he's gotten better in town; I've just given in on that, he's such a nervous passenger that it carries over to me.

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Perspective Alters Reality

I've never changed a tire; that's why I always had AAA. But I have done fuses and added just about every possible fluid. When I was single, and driving the cars I bought off the mechanics I worked with, I had several of them towed. At least I only had to pay for parts back then.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Cars with quirks are the best kind. I'd take my old Mustang with leaky transmission over any of the cars that I've had since. Just needed to remember to add a quart of tranny fluid every three to four weeks and it ran perfectly, and if I forgot, well the little slip between gears always reminded me.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Oh, Marie, yikes! That's why I keep full insurance coverage on my primary vehicle. Most insurance companies would junk out something that would take that long to fix. Of course, I also think that we tend to take things like that for granted and that we are becoming an increasingly disposable society.

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Perspective Alters Reality