The professional Chicagoland roadside assistance technicians here at Towing Chicago are prepared to provide vehicle recovery and towing services to vehicles of all sizes. Our team is highly experienced in light duty trucking, medium duty trucking, and heavy duty trucking services. In this blog entry, our professional towing service technicians will detail some of the different types of tow trucks that we regularly use to provide towing services throughout the entire Chicago region.
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If you’re planning on traveling through the United States on a road trip, driving without stopping has advantages – you’ll save money on hotels, have more time once you get to your destination – not to mention the sense of exhilaration you get on a nonstop drive. However, in order to stay safe and energetic, it’s integral to follow these tips to make sure your ride goes smooth.
Get a good night’s sleep before the journey
Scientific studies have shown that missing a few hours of sleep can impair your driving to a comparable level to being intoxicated with alcohol. Don’t let this happen by making sure that you get a lot of sleep the night before you leave.
Wear Sunscreen
This is a very underrated tip. If your skin is in direct sunlight for hours at a time, your skin is going to be exposed to harmful UVA rays. You’re going to need sunscreen to protect your exposed skins from getting burns. Apply liberally, and repeat when necessary.
Eat Nutritiously
Don’t just eat roadside fastfood. Instead of stopping at a drive through, stop at a supermarket, and get salad, fruit, or a hearty sandwich – rather than fried food that won’t give you the nutrition you need through your journey.
Avoid Staying at Rest Stops
Pulling over and sleeping in your car can be dangerous – and it’s illegal in some states. We don’t recommend it. Use rest stops to stretch your legs, get a snack, or go to the bathroom. Then get back on the road.
Even if it seems like a rare occurrence, it’s actually not that rare that cars find themselves getting towed. Here’s eight great tips for avoiding ever having to deal with getting your car towed in Chicago.
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Try not to park in common towing spots
These spots vary from place to place – but in most areas, blocking active driveways, intersections, and curb ramps is a sure way to get towed. Many areas also have laws determining how long you can keep your vehicle street parked. It’s worth it to become familiar with the laws regarding parking, driving, standing, and stalling in your area. As a ground rule though, never park by
- Bus Stops
- Loading Zones (usually marked with yellow)
- Blue Zones (if there’s not a disabled person marker on your vehicle)
- Red zones (curbed painted Red)
- Tow Away zones during normal commuting hours.
2. Always Read Street Signs
It’s important to read these carefully, especially when you’re in commercial areas with high traffic. Police and traffic officers tow illegally parked cars much more often, and with a much greater number in high traffic areas – which also often carry much more parking restrictions.
3. Be aware during commute hours.
During crowded evening and morning commutes, many cities bar parking on many streets. A certain parking space could be completely legal at 2pm, but would get your car towed at 3pm. You have to be aware of what the parking ordinance for that space is – even when you’re at a meter. The usual peak commute hours are from 7am to 9am and from 3pm to 7pm.
4. Call a tow company yourself.
Don’t rely on city services to tow your car if it breaks down. Call a private towing company in Chicago or roadside assistance agency yourself.
5. Pay all outstanding traffic tickets.
In some areas, cars with delinquent parking tickets can be booted or even towed – this can happen even if your car is in a perfectly legal parking space. If your car gets booted, you’ll have to pay an extra cost to remove the boot. Booting and towing, added with tickets and time penalties add up to a lot of money. You can avoid this if you pay your parking tickets.
6. Avoid getting parking tickets in the first place.
- Set an alarm on your phone to remind you that the meter is about to expire.
- Keep a bunch of quarters for meters in your car.
- If it’s offered in your area, buy a prepaid parking card.
- Mark your calendar with the street cleaning schedule and no-parking times for the areas that you frequent.
7. Keep current vehicle registration.
All police have the right to tow and potentially impound your car if your registration isn’t current when you’re stopped by a police officer.
8. Always keep your driver’s license current.
If you’re ever stopped by police while you’re driving, and your license has expired or is otherwise illegible or not current, the police have the right to tow and impound your vehicle if nobody else is available inside the car to take over the wheel.