Car tyre puncture
Feb. 26th, 2014 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackOn Friday, I had a puncture on the motorway as I was driving to Liv's the first problem I've had away from home.
The steering wheel was vibrating and something was wrong but I didn't know for sure if it was serious or not. Later on (when I was fortunately not going very fast, and in the middle lane with a clear left lane), I heard something go "bang", and then the tyre going "bump-bump-bump".
Fortunately, the car still controlled ok, so I was able to come onto the hard shoulder and stop quickly. And fortunately, I had my RAC number in the glove box, and they were able to come fairly quickly.
And fortunately, it was the left side wheel, so we could replace it without going into traffic. He was able to put on the spare quickly and easily, and I drove carefully to Liv's. I wasn't at all sure there *was* a spare.
And on Saturday, we went to a garage and were able to fit a replacement on the spot. I hadn't realised that was quite so easy.
Retrospective
I was really pleased the first time I had to deal with a problem on the motorway, it was straight-forward, taken care of easily, and I was able to get it all sorted out in less than 24 hours, and I was annoyingly late, but didn't miss anything time-critical, and hopefully if it happens again it won't be scary.
And I feel a little smug that I coped OK. Even a year ago, I likely might have panicked, not sure if I could find my RAC membership, not sure if they'd be able to fix it, not sure if I was a bad person for owning a car without being able to fix it myself, not sure if I could get a tyre in a weekend away from my home city, etc, etc. But it was all fairly easy.
Although I feel silly -- surely this is something everyone else just knows? Many people must learn by paying attention when their parents fix something like this. On the other hand, I'm shocked when people can't do basic arithmetic or can't use a web browser -- most people have some but not all basic life skills, and it's probably worth just accepting that, not pretending that the ones you have are vital and the ones you don't are stupid.
Feedback
What do most people do? Do you assume you will be able to change a tyre yourself? Or assume you need to ring a professional?
It seems like even if you *can* change a tyre, it's unwise to do so on a hard shoulder (let alone on the A14). And the garage has probably over-tightened your nuts so you can't get them off. Especially if it may be in the dark, in bad weather, etc. So given that most long-distance journeys I take ARE on a dual-carriageway/motorway, is it worth preparing myself for a problem which is sufficiently serious I can't wait until I get home, but sufficiently benign I can get to a safe spot to fix it myself?
Is it worth paying extra for having RAC recovery service? I think I accept the risk that if I break down somewhere, I need to be towed home rather than trying to get my car fixed in whatever garage is nearby, but is it worth having that arranged in advance?
What basic amount of emergency equipment is it worth it? Warning triangle? Large torch? Is there a standard kit (eg. is one of the "driving in europe" kits a good guide)?
The steering wheel was vibrating and something was wrong but I didn't know for sure if it was serious or not. Later on (when I was fortunately not going very fast, and in the middle lane with a clear left lane), I heard something go "bang", and then the tyre going "bump-bump-bump".
Fortunately, the car still controlled ok, so I was able to come onto the hard shoulder and stop quickly. And fortunately, I had my RAC number in the glove box, and they were able to come fairly quickly.
And fortunately, it was the left side wheel, so we could replace it without going into traffic. He was able to put on the spare quickly and easily, and I drove carefully to Liv's. I wasn't at all sure there *was* a spare.
And on Saturday, we went to a garage and were able to fit a replacement on the spot. I hadn't realised that was quite so easy.
Retrospective
I was really pleased the first time I had to deal with a problem on the motorway, it was straight-forward, taken care of easily, and I was able to get it all sorted out in less than 24 hours, and I was annoyingly late, but didn't miss anything time-critical, and hopefully if it happens again it won't be scary.
And I feel a little smug that I coped OK. Even a year ago, I likely might have panicked, not sure if I could find my RAC membership, not sure if they'd be able to fix it, not sure if I was a bad person for owning a car without being able to fix it myself, not sure if I could get a tyre in a weekend away from my home city, etc, etc. But it was all fairly easy.
Although I feel silly -- surely this is something everyone else just knows? Many people must learn by paying attention when their parents fix something like this. On the other hand, I'm shocked when people can't do basic arithmetic or can't use a web browser -- most people have some but not all basic life skills, and it's probably worth just accepting that, not pretending that the ones you have are vital and the ones you don't are stupid.
Feedback
What do most people do? Do you assume you will be able to change a tyre yourself? Or assume you need to ring a professional?
It seems like even if you *can* change a tyre, it's unwise to do so on a hard shoulder (let alone on the A14). And the garage has probably over-tightened your nuts so you can't get them off. Especially if it may be in the dark, in bad weather, etc. So given that most long-distance journeys I take ARE on a dual-carriageway/motorway, is it worth preparing myself for a problem which is sufficiently serious I can't wait until I get home, but sufficiently benign I can get to a safe spot to fix it myself?
Is it worth paying extra for having RAC recovery service? I think I accept the risk that if I break down somewhere, I need to be towed home rather than trying to get my car fixed in whatever garage is nearby, but is it worth having that arranged in advance?
What basic amount of emergency equipment is it worth it? Warning triangle? Large torch? Is there a standard kit (eg. is one of the "driving in europe" kits a good guide)?
no subject
Date: 2014-02-26 06:39 pm (UTC)Changing a wheel is one thing I know I can do. The first time I needed it done, I'd just been visiting my dad and was still very near his house, so I called him instead of a professional, and watched what he did. The second time, I thought 'well, it didn't look too hard', got out the spare wheel kit, and found it had actual instructions, so no problem.
For more or less anything else I'd ring a professional, though! And I take your point that if you're on the hard shoulder with cars whizzing past at 70mph even something you can do might not be so trivial; in my own wheel-changing situations I was (respectively) in a car park and in Owen's driveway.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-26 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-27 07:35 am (UTC)The second time, I was with my BFF in his car, and it turned out that I'm a lot stronger than he is, so I did a lot of the grunt work. He got to work on time. He said that if he hadn't been able to puzzle it out on his own and kick the nuts free, he'd have called his roadside assistance plan. The idea that people had roadside assistance plans was a novelty to me.
After that I've dealt with a few tire problems on my own, pretty handily. Also changed a battery, which terrified me because I have an electricity phobia.
Large torch, water and some granola bars, a waterproof poncho, a blanket, dry socks, walking shoes if you're in the habit of driving in shoes you couldn't walk a few kilometers in. Do you have enough snow or ice that carrying a shovel or sand would be a good idea? Tow rope. Jumper cables. Oil and funnel.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-27 09:38 pm (UTC)I'd always have roadside assistance because I travel alone often when I'm driving and roadside assistance guarantees a tow to the destination. It's as necessary as insurance to me.