Roadside Emergency Tips

When you’re in an emergency, you may or may not think well on your feet. Most people struggle with how to think quickly or intelligently to resolve a situation that they did not anticipate. Emergencies are never anticipated, and knowing how to deal with them can be very difficult. That is why you should always make a plan beforehand. If there was a hurricane coming, you’d plan ahead by getting all your valuables, food, and clothing into the car and evacuating the premises. Likewise, if there is an emergency on the side of the road, you should prepare by having a plan of attack for how to tackle the situation. Here are some roadside emergency tips that we recommend as professionals in Towing Long Beach.

Tip 1: Have A Towing Contact In Your Phone

The best piece of advice we can offer you is to have the phone number to a reliable and professional towing agency in your phone. If you need help on the side of the road, you should call us at Towing Long Beach to come help you out. That way, we can come help you and get you back on the road.

Tip 2: Avoid Roadside Emergencies with Regular Maintenance and Checking Up

Of course, one of the best ways to deal with a roadside emergency is to minimize its likelihood of happening. This means getting your vehicle regularly checked for troubles and maintenance needs. It also means paying attention to your car. If you notice it’s making a strange sound, emitting smoke, or there’s an unusual resistance or sensation happening while you drive, chances are it needs a repair. Additionally, if you notice that you’re running out of gas soon, don’t put off filling up. Just do it so that you don’t end up on the side of the road, suddenly having run out of gas. (Though if that do happens and you’ve followed Tip 1, you can call us and we’ll deliver gas to you right away.)

Tip 3: Keep Necessary Supplies In Your Car

Dealing with a roadside emergency requires having necessary supplies with you. If you’ve got a flat tire and you have no spare, or no jack or tools to switch it out, you’re going to have to call us to come. Truthfully, it’s safest to call us anyway, but if you really know what you’re doing and if you have all the supplies, you can safely change a flat tire on your own. Similarly, if your car stalls and you can’t start it up again, you could pull out jumper cables, flag down the nearest driver, and ask for their help in jumpstarting your car. However, the most important supplies to keep in your vehicle for when a roadside emergency happens are blankets, food, and water, because you never know how long the emergency could keep you stranded for. Keep non-perishables in a sealed bucket in the back so that if you are stranded for hours, you can at least have something to eat, drink, and keep you warm or cool depending on the weather. And you never know – a cool water bottle could help cool down your engine if it’s suddenly overheating and you have to wait for a towing service to arrive.

How to jump start your car battery in 10 easy steps

If you’ve ever found yourself faced with a flat car battery you’ll know exactly how frustrating life can get. There’re very few feelings in this world that are worse than the feeling of being stranded because you can’t drive anywhere. Flat car batteries are generally a result of either leaving your car lights or engine on overnight or for extended lengths of time. In some instances, old or faulty batteries can also be the culprit. Whatever the reason, knowing how to contend with a flat battery is a hugely beneficial skill, and one we’re about to teach you.

What you’ll need:

• Additional vehicle (w/ working battery)
• Jumper cables
• Protective wear

How to jump start a car battery

Follow these 10 simple steps and your vehicle will be up and running in next to no time.

1. Identify the problem

First thing’s first, you need to ascertain whether the battery is drained. You can do this by testing your headlights (a drained battery will lead to dimmed or extinguished lights) and checking the sound of the engine (a slow turnover is a symptom of a flat battery).

2. Preparation

Before you get down to the dirty work, gather together everything you might need. Put on gloves, unravel jumper cables and have a rag nearby to clean off excess grease and oil.

3. Position the cars

Position the working vehicle as close as you can to the disabled vehicle, with each hood facing the other hood. If necessary, manually move the disable vehicle to the street to do so. Be sure there is someone to assist if you plan on carrying out the latter.

4. Connect the jumper cables

The jumper cables need to be attached in a specific order. Take the POSITIVE cable – this is ordinarily colored red – and attach one end to positive terminal on the drained battery. Connect the other end to the POSITIVE terminal on the working battery. Next, take the NEGATIVE cable – this is usually colored black – and connect it to the NEGATIVE terminal on the working battery. Attach the other end of the cable to grounded metal (e.g. nuts, bolts, chassis) on the vehicle with a drained battery.

5. Turn engine on (working vehicle)

Switch the working car’s engine on and allow it to idle for 30-60 seconds. As the vehicle idles, be sure to rev the motor several times during the process.

6. Turn engine off (working vehicle)

Switch the engine off and remove the ignition key.

7. Turn engine on (disabled vehicle)

On the disabled vehicle, turn the engine on. If the jump start has worked it should start up as usual.

8. Leave the engine running (disabled vehicle)

Once the engine is on, leave it running for a minimum of 20 minutes. Rev the motor periodically and allow the engine to idle. With any luck you’ll be ready to roll before you know it.

9. Find fault (if necessary)

If your engine doesn’t fire up at the first time of asking, go back and check the jumper cable connections. Adjust the clamps where necessary before trying again. Follow steps 5-8 again. If the engine doesn’t start, you’ll need to seek assistance.

10. Clear up after yourself

Whether your car is ready to drive or needs the experienced eye of a professional, clear away your cables and any other equipment used.

A battery jump start is generally a straightforward task to achieve but it’s still one that comes with a certain degree of risk. There have been plenty of cases in which amateurs have attempted to jump start their car and caused further damage to their engine or, even worse, themselves.

Towing Long Beach is one reputable tow truck company that can provide you with a professional battery jump start. If you’re looking to avoid the stress, dirt and workmanship that comes with a jump start, let the professionals take care of it for you.

Tips for Driving Safely Under Bad Weather Conditions

Whether you are a new driver fresh to the road and whether you are an experienced driver, driving under bad weather conditions can be a challenging task, if not a dangerous one.

In order to avoid dangerous situations or to minimize their potential risks Towing Long Beach’s experts have gathered a few important tips for driving safely under bad weather.

Driver related tips

• Don’t drive: unless you absolutely have to go out, simply don’t. Whenever possible, try to avoid driving when the weather gets stormy. If you have to go out, try checking out if the weather is supposed to calm down later on. Sometimes, waiting for half an hour makes a world of difference.
• Make sure you’re well rested: driving tired is never a good judgment call, let alone when the skies decide to pour. If you have to drive in bad weather, make sure you’re well rested, fresh, and up for the drive.
• Focus: while driving, make sure you’re focused on one thing, and one thing only – the road. Avoid distractions such as putting the radio on too loud, speaking on the phone, or any other activity that might distract you.

Driving related tips

• Planning the trip: try planning your trip in advance. The way you go to work each and every day might turn into a dangerous one when the rain keeps coming. Sometimes, a longer yet safer route is preferable.
• Speed: as a rule – take off 10Mphs of every speed you’re used to drive in. slowing down, even a little bit, greatly improves your control over your car and your chances of reacting in time to obstacles or dangers.
• Cautious driving: when driving in less than ideal weather conditions, extra cautious driving is called for. Such driving may include looking twice before changing lanes, keeping to the right lane, slowing down a bit more before taking turns, breaking gradually when possible, accelerating gradually, going into junctions more slowly and carefully, and the like.

Car related tips

• Tires: before hitting the road make sure your tires are in good condition and that they are sufficiently filled with air.
• Breaks: make sure your breaks work properly and that you’ll be able to easily stop your car on wet roads when in need.
• Blinkers: make sure your turn signals all work and are visible. This is especially important in bad weather.
• Wipers: bad or old wipers will make it extremely difficult for you to drive in hard rain. A smart move would be making sure your wipers do a good job keeping a clear view through the front windshield.
• Headlights and taillights: these are extremely important for both seeing where you’re going and to be seen by others. Facing oncoming traffic with broken headlights in the middle of a rainy thunderstorm is not an experiment we’d advise anyone to conduct.

Remember: when it comes to driving under bad weather conditions, a lot is in your hands!

How to Avoid Car Lockout Situations

Even the most organized person may lose their car keys or lock their car with the keys inside, any of us may have our bags stolen with our car keys in them. When such a thing happens we find ourselves standing helplessly next to our locked car unable to drive off as we had planned.
We have put together a list of tips which will help you avoid car lockout situations in the first place as well as to efficiently deal with them if they do occur.

“Unlooseable” Car Keys

Alas, there is no such thing as “unloosable” car keys (or any other portable items of similar sizes for that matter). But there is a lot you can do in order to lessen the chance of losing your keys. For instance, many key chains are designed specifically to do just that, they make your keys more cumbersome and turn the whole package (keys and key ring/key chain)   into something you are much less likely to lose.
Some of us may even decide to use a key chain which can be physically attached (by clip) to a belt hoop or any other convenient place assuring they remain on our person (usually tucked inside a pocket) or secure in our handbags/briefcases/laptop case etc.

Train yourself to check if Your Car Keys are With You

There is great strength in habit. It will certainly reduce the risk of losing your car keys if you get used to making sure they are with you every time you get up to leave. Most of us carry several items with us regularly, a smartphone, our wallets etc. If we make it a habit to check if we have them all with us before we begin to make our way out we will dramatically reduce the chance of realizing we do not know where our phones / car keys / wallets etc. are.

If you allocate a certain place for each items such as the ones mentioned above (car keys included) it will be easy to make sure you have them when you want to leave. These “assigned places” should be easy to access on the one hand but also secure enough to avoid these important items from falling out or being stolen.

Effectively Managing a Car Lockout Situation

There are things we can do in advance which will help us solve a car lockout situation quicker in cases when all the precautions we have taken failed from preventing it.
It is a good idea to have extra sets of car keys in places where they can be brought from, for instance you may choose to have extra sets made so that you can keep one permanently in the office, at home, at the house of a good friend etc.

If all fails and you do find yourselves locked out of your car unable to go on with your plans, it is good to have the number of a reliable auto locksmith service provider handy.

High Quality Towing – Low Rates in Long Beach

Hiring a vehicle towing company is not normally a fun activity. It is usually accompanied by a situation with a lot of stress and aggravation, since requiring towing services is usually the result of some sort of roadside emergency, such as an accident/collision or a car malfunction that cannot be repaired on the spot. To help ease these situations, it is important to go with a towing company that you know you can trust to provide safe, professional, and timely vehicle towing services – while charging reasonable rates.

At Green Towing Long Beach we work hard to meet the challenge of providing cheap vehicle towing services, while still maintaining our high standards of professionalism, high-quality, and safety.

When it comes to vehicle towing prices, there are several factors that must be considered.  Perhaps the most influential factor is the distance that the towing operator needs to travel in order to tow your vehicle. Another important factor is the type of towing service provided – ranging from regular towing to flatbed towing.  Finally, a third main factor is whether the service call is made during the day or during the night.

Other circumstances that might affect the cost of towing your vehicle are extra charges for towing heavier vehicles (e.g. pickup trucks) or if the vehicle must be rescued from a ditch.

Green Towing Long Beach offers professional 24 hour vehicle towing service throughout Long Beach, California at very reasonable rates. Regardless of what kind of tow you need or the type of vehicle you have – car, truck, motorcycle, short distance or long distance – we can safely and affordable tow your vehicle. Just call our friendly customer support team at (562) 314-1801 and one of our professional and experienced tow truck operators will arrive at your location within 30 minutes.

At Green Towing Long Beach, all of our tow truck operators are experienced and highly qualified professionals. They are capable of providing all types of tow services for all makes and models of vehicles. Our tow operators use the most modern tow vehicles and equipment and are all fully licensed, insured and bonded. By optimizing all of these aspects, we have earned a reputation for providing professional, high-quality, towing services at very reasonable and competitive prices.

Need a vehicle to be towed, but don’t want to get ripped off?

Call Green Towing Long Beach 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at (562) 314-1801

What to Do If You’re Stuck with a Flat Tire

Getting stuck on the road is bad enough, but it can get very dangerous at night or during bad weather conditions. Flat tires are not that difficult to change, but your safety must be a priority. Depending on where you get stuck with the flat tire, you may want to call for professional help.There are times, such as at night, during heavy rains, or during rush hour traffic, where you’re going to need to enlist the help of a professional. You should always make sure that you have a spare tire, iron, and jack, inside of your trunk. Before you get started, it is very important that you make sure your vehicle is parked on the side of the road, to avoid any potential accidents. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to change a tire on the road:

• The First Step – The first thing you’re going to do is to remove the lug nuts from the damaged tire. Once the lug nuts are completely off, you will then want to use the jack to jack the car up.
• The Second Step –  The next step involves putting the spare tire onto the vehicle. You need to carefully position the spare tire, so that it meets the wheel studs. You’re going to need to put a little force behind this, as you want to make sure that the new tire is on tightly. After you have the spare tire hanging on the wheel studs, screw each of the wheel lugs back on.
• The Final Step – At this point, you’re going to carefully and slowly, lower the jack. The final step is to tighten down the lugs completely. The reason you tighten the lugs now is that the tire is on the ground and it won’t rotate around like it would if it was still hanging in the air. That’s it! You have now successfully changed your tire.

Green Towing Long Beach Provides Fast & Safe Tire Changes

If you’ve experienced a flat tire on the road, you need a reliable towing company that can help you out, 24/7. At Green Towing San Diego, we work with the most reliable roadside technicians that are on call 24 hours a day. Whether you need that pesky flat tire changed at night or an emergency towing at 2am, we’ll be there for you. We operate throughout the San Diego area, and we’re also known for our speedy arrival time. We provide you with the best quality roadside assistance, at the most affordable rates. Don’t let an amateur play with your car, give our friendly support line a call today, and let us take good care of you!

Call Green Towing Long Beach 24/7 for immediate flat tire help! (562) 314-1801

To check out all of our Long Beach towing and roadside services, click HERE.