Slip-Sliding Away: What Happens When Icy Roads Send Your Vehicle Into A Ditch
It is that time of year when precipitation turns the roads into dangerously slick surfaces. Despite your best driving skills, your car can still slip and slide right into a ditch. Before you try to gun your way out of the ditch, you should know that trying to get yourself out of the ditch could cause more damage to your vehicle than it might have after sliding into the ditch. To avoid more damage, here is what you need to do next:
Call an Emergency Towing Company
​Sliding into a ditch with unknown foreign objects in the ditch is definitely an emergency situation. You cannot get the vehicle out of the ditch, and trying to get the vehicle out on your own without knowing what is underneath the vehicle or trapped in front of or behind wheels is also an emergency because it could severely damage your vehicle. An emergency towing company would bring tools to dig the wheels out, remove large rocks that might scrape the car or prohibit movement, and a towing winch that can slowly and powerfully pull your vehicle from the ditch.
If you do not know of any towing companies in your area, or you do not have a smartphone that can find towing company telephone numbers, call the local police. They will have to be alerted to the fact that your vehicle is stuck in a ditch and you are seeking help. The police can send a squad car out to your location and find an emergency tower to come help. The squad car will stay with you to prevent injury from other passing motorists until the towing company can arrive and rescue you.
The Tow Truck Has to Go Really Slow
The tow truck driver has to drive really slow so that they won't slip off the road and land in the ditches themselves. It may take up to an hour to get a tow truck to you while you wait with the police officer. Be patient. The tow truck driver will get your vehicle out, but then you will need to ride with them to a garage if you suspect your car has any damages. If you choose to drive off after your vehicle has been pulled out of the ditch, be very careful about driving the rest of the way home so that you do not have to call the tow truck again.