Best choice among bad choices?

jjordan

Moderator
Scenario: Your car breaks down 2 hours away from anyone you know. The tow guys show up with one of the tow trucks that carries the disabled vehicles on the bed, doesn't just pull them along with two wheels up in the air and two wheels on the ground. There are two men in a 3 seat tow truck, and you have a 3 year old with you. The options they present are: (1) all 4 of you ride in the cab of the tow truck, you holding the 3 year old on your lap, or (2) you and the 3 year old ride in the disabled vehicle (buckled in) while it rides on the bed of the tow truck. You're going to be towed ~11 miles, mainly on a 4 lane, divided, limited access highway. Traffic is quite light.

WWYD?
 
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griffinej5

New member
Any chance of them taking the car and coming back for you? Is it in an area that might have a cab available ? Enterprise or other rental that can pick you up? I think I'd go with some option that allows everyone to be buckled in somehow, so at least I would be in the towed vehicle if some other option was unavailable.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Any chance of them taking the car and coming back for you? Is it in an area that might have a cab available ? Enterprise or other rental that can pick you up? I think I'd go with some option that allows everyone to be buckled in somehow, so at least I would be in the towed vehicle if some other option was unavailable.

Hmmm... possibly yes to question #1, but then there's a woman and a 3 year old waiting by the side of the road on a dark, rural highway for 30+ minutes. Unfortunately no to the other two questions, although they would be good options if they were available!
 

bubbaray

New member
Yeah, zero chance I would put my child alone in the tow truck with two strangers. Not that my kids would ever (at any age) have been ok with that. I have seen vehicles slip on those flat deck trucks so I would not under any circumstances ride there. The unrestrained child on my lap is the least bad of an all-around bad scenario
 

lgenne

New member
Having been in nearly exactly this situation (one of the guys was my DH; it was an interstate; we were towed ~4 miles; kid was roughly 18 months) I went with kid on the lap.
 

thepote

New member
I'd go with the kid on the lap, without hesitation. If that's the one ride we get into an accident I'd take it as a sign from the universe or something.
 

CTPDMom

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I'd go with riding in my car with my 3 year old on the flatbed. Properly restrained. Even with the risks/unknowns of what could happen to my car if the tow truck got into an accident, the vehicles are generally well affixed to the tow truck (after all, they don't want it rolling off!) and if I'm well affixed to my car with my seat belt/child in car seat, that seem the safest of the bad options.

Child on lap is a definite no for me. Child alone is...yeah, not feeling that one either. Nor is waiting on the side of a dark road with a child.
 

amandaj553

New member
I'd go with riding in my car with my 3 year old on the flatbed. Properly restrained. Even with the risks/unknowns of what could happen to my car if the tow truck got into an accident, the vehicles are generally well affixed to the tow truck (after all, they don't want it rolling off!) and if I'm well affixed to my car with my seat belt/child in car seat, that seem the safest of the bad options.

Child on lap is a definite no for me. Child alone is...yeah, not feeling that one either. Nor is waiting on the side of a dark road with a child.


I'm partial to this answer also... although if it were me, it would likely be myself alone with 2 kids.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Number one answer, call a cab (or another tow company... When I've had to call for assistance they either make sure they have enough belts for everyone, or they don't transport people and wait with you until a ride arrives, and offer to call you a cab if needed).

If for some reason that's not an option (no cab service?) we would ride in the towed vehicle, properly restrained.
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
BIL hit a deer with the whole family (5 total, and their camper) which made the truck undriveable. They were in the middle of nowhere. Tow truck driver called his wife to collect my sister and the kids.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
I think I'd go with riding in the towed vehicle. That's what my DH said, too, FTR.

This is what I'd to, too. Not sure why on lap would ever be a better choice than properly restrained in a vehicle. :scratcheshead: And no way I'd put my kid of car seat age alone in the cab with two strangers Not really from worry the trangers would do something bad, more from assuming my child would be very uncomfortable with it.
 

HEVY

New member
I was in my own situation when my car broke down about 2 hours away. I was so stressed out all they way home, praying, scared. I would have never thought to ride on the tow bed, pretty sure is't illegal anyway, even here in VA :rolleyes: It was hard enough driving in the tow truck on the mountain roads which most didn't even have a guardrail, never mind up on the tow bed with the car rocking, no way.
Anyway, there was a seat for all but R had to sit in the middle and there was only a lap belt and no head rest, the back of the seat was actually close to her shoulder blades, there was no money for a cab or rental, and I don't know a single person who could have helped.

Emergency situation, got to do what you got to do, it's that simple.

If it was AAA I would have asked them to send someone else to drive me home, if not, I would have put the kid on my lap and prayed.
 

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