Category: Safety

Cars never want to break down when it is convenient and when yours decides to do so on the side of the road, it can be frightening. Even worse, you may then be at risk for tow truck scams. These tips can help you avoid being the victim of a deceitful tow truck driver the next time you suffer a breakdown.

 

Tow Truck Shows Up Within Minutes

There are tow truck drivers who patrol certain sections of highway looking for stranded motorists. If a tow truck miraculously appears just minutes after you have pulled over, they may attempt to scam you. They will be very friendly, offering as much assistance as they can and offer to tow you to a nearby service station. They hook up your car, take your keys and hand you paperwork. However, when you arrive at the station where your car has been taken, they charge you a significant amount of money to get it back, even if they don’t repair your vehicle. In some areas, tow trucks are not permitted to drive around looking for customers, so they hire others to do it for them. Be suspicious of anyone who stops and immediately offers to call a tow for you.

 

They Insist They Must Take Your Car to a Particular Shop

A tow truck driver who tells you that they must take your car to one particular shop due to a contractual obligation or policy is more than likely attempting to scam you. Legitimate tow truck drivers are willing to take your vehicle wherever you want to go. If it is outside a certain mileage range, the tow may cost more but other than that, they should be willing to take your car to any shop or even to your home if you plan to work on it yourself.

 

Hooking the Car Without Your Permission

If a tow truck driver arrives and immediately begins to hook up your car without talking to you first, they may be trying to scam you. There are unscrupulous tow truck drivers who will hook up a car and then demand an extremely high payment to tow the car. When you tell them you aren’t paying that fee, they will hold your car hostage, refusing to release it unless you pay them. They are legally required to release your car if you tell them you don’t want them to tow it. If they pull away with your car when you have told them to release it, they can be charged with a crime.

 

Ask to See the Bill First

Before the tow truck drivers hooks up your car, ask them for an estimate of costs. Although there will be a fee for the tow, there may also be storage fees and many other charges involved. A reputable tow company will provide you information on what the tow will cost as well as any additional fees that may be incurred. Any paperwork handed to you should have pricing information and if it does not, ask for it before they hook up your car.

 

Contact Your Insurance Company

Many car insurance policies have towing coverage included. If you have towing coverage, the insurance company may suggest a preferred company and, even if you must pay more than the coverage allowed, it will save you overall. You also know that the insurance company has vetted the towing company and the one they recommend will not attempt to scam you. One thing to be wary of is a tow truck driver who is asking for too much personal information, especially insurance information. They may use what you give them to perpetuate other frauds. The same is true with credit card or driver’s license information.

 

Check the Documentation

Tow trucks should have identifying information on their vehicles. There should be a licensing number and a company name clearly displayed. Be sure that any paperwork you receive matches the information on the truck.

 

Be Patient

When your car breaks down on the side of the road, you may be tempted to jump at the first offer of assistance that arrives. However, to make sure you are not being scammed, simply thank the individual for stopping by and send them on their way.

 

What to Do If You Have Been Scammed

In instances where a tow truck driver refuses to leave or release your vehicle, call the police. You can also contact the police if you arrive at the location where your car was taken, and they are demanding an excessive payment for you to get your car back. If you believe you have been scammed, there are also other steps you can take. Contact the Better Business Bureau and the consumer fraud department for your state. You may even be able to get assistance from your insurance company. You may be able to contest any charges if you can prove the tow truck company misrepresented their services, committed flagrant acts of deception or claimed to be with your insurance company or law enforcement. The charges can be contested in civil or small claims court, but you will need to review the law in your state. In some states, once you give signed permission for the tow truck driver to take your car, you may be held liable. Always read anything handed to you before you sign it.

The majority of tow truck drivers are honest, hard-working people with only a handful of them known as tow truck bandits. If your vehicle breaks down on the side of the road, call Elmer’s Auto Body for an honest, reliable tow to or shop. For over 70 years, we have provided auto services with no gimmicks or surprises. When we tow your vehicle, we provide you with details on pricing and will work with your insurance company to handle as much paperwork as we can so you don’t have to. We also offer a wide range of auto body services, from paintless dent repair, bumper repair and windshield replacement. Contact us today by phone or fill out the easy form online to schedule an appointment.

COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, is having a major effect on business around the world. Elmer Auto Body’s leadership is closely following developments and we want you to know that we continue to operate our business as usual. In addition, we have business continuity plans in place and we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our employees, as well as the uninterrupted operation of our business, systems, and support for them.

 

Here are some of the things we’re doing to continue to provide outstanding service to our employees and clients:

• Allowing customers to have their car repaired without human contact. (Please call or chat with us online)
• Keeping our offices clean and safe
• Increasing the frequency of cleaning surfaces like door handles, countertops, etc.
• Increasing the availability of hand sanitizer throughout offices.
• Encouraging employees to stay home if they don’t feel well and to work from home when possible if they are taking care of someone who is ill or if they have been exposed to someone who has the virus.

 

As we continue to monitor the evolving situation, we ask you to consider taking precautions when you go about your daily lives.

Here are some suggestions:

 

• We are fortunate to live in an age when technology allows us many options for interacting with our clients. Whenever possible, we suggest you take advantage of those options and expand your use of phone and email correspondence as well as online technologies such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, FaceTime, etc. in favor of in-person meetings.
• When face-to-face interactions are necessary, use hand sanitizer and offer it to clients and prospects before and after your visit.
• Refrain from shaking hands.
• Try to use social distancing techniques to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus.
• Use sanitizing wipes to clean any shared items, such as pens, tablets, keyboards, etc.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website (www.cdc.gov) for more information about the virus and how to deal with it.

 

Elmer’s Auto Body is proactively taking steps to keep our employees and customers safe while remaining committed to our mission to serve our clients and prospects in providing solutions to protect the things that matter to them.

 

Your health is very important to us and we will continue to provide you with updates.

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Why Do You Need To Know This?

It’s no secret that car accidents kill a lot of people and injure thousands more. In the United States, car accidents rank as the third most common cause of death. Worldwide, they rank as the eighth most common cause of death. As such, driving a car is probably the riskiest thing that most people do on an everyday basis.

That is exactly why it pays to avoid the areas in which the greatest number of auto accidents occur. We might ask ourselves: “Why do some areas see more accidents than others?” And the honest answer is that we don’t know, and we don’t need to know. We just need to know where the most dangerous areas are (so that we can avoid them). With that in mind, let’s see which cities in New Jersey have the most car accidents.

Which Cities Are The Most Dangerous?

Because accident-related data is usually public, it is not hard to find some numbers on this subject. Here is an excellent article that gives us a look at the whole thing on a town-by-town basis. According to these people, New Jersey had about 270,000 auto accidents in 2015. While this represented a slight drop in relation to previous years, these accidents were not evenly distributed.

The following cities seem to have the most car accidents:

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• Newark (10,156 accidents)
• Jersey City (7,962 accidents)
• Elizabeth (4,335 accidents)
• East Orange (2,655 accidents)
• Linden (2,266 accidents)
• New Brunswick (1,738 accidents)
• Mount Laurel (1,713 accidents)
• Sayreville (1,634 accidents)
• West Orange (1,564 accidents)
• South Plainfield (1,018 accidents)

[/dt_vc_list][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Of course, it should be noted that car accidents can happen anywhere. Avoiding these cities will not necessarily be enough. As we already know, New Jersey saw about 270,000 wrecks in 2015. Newark had the biggest share of these wrecks, but that share only accounted for about 4% of the total.

Population Seems To Be The Biggest Factor

When we ask ourselves why some cities see more wrecks than others, the answer is not an obvious one. However, we do see one pervasive trend that offers a reasonable answer. As this article outlines, the numbers make a lot more sense when we break them down at the county level. When we do that, we can see that the most heavily populated counties are the ones that have the greatest number of car accidents.

This means car accidents can be explained by overpopulation. More people in a crowded space equals a greater chance of collision. For the record, here are the counties that experienced the greatest number of crashes from 2015 to 2017:[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][dt_vc_list]

• Hudson County (198,000 accidents)
• Essex County (34,800 accidents)
• Bergen County (15,700 accidents)
• Passaic (17,300 accidents)

[/dt_vc_list][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As you can see, Hudson County is (by far) the most dangerous county in the state, at least when it comes to car accidents. This might very well be since Hudson County is one of the most overpopulated places in the state.

Which Areas See The Most Fatalities?

Although a car accident is always a big problem, we should give some special attention to fatal car crashes. After all, these are the worst-case scenarios that we all dread. According to this article, which is based on road fatality statistics from the state police, these are the New Jersey counties where you are most likely to die in a car wreck:[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][dt_vc_list]

• Middlesex County (39 deaths)
• Burlington County (35 deaths)
• Camden County (32 deaths)
• Essex County (29 deaths)
• Ocean County (27 deaths)
• Gloucester County (25 deaths)
• Atlantic County (19 deaths)
• Morris County (19 deaths)
• Monmouth County (19 deaths)
• Bergen County (19 deaths)

[/dt_vc_list][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbSUyRm1hcHMlMkZlbWJlZCUzRnBiJTNEJTIxMW0xOCUyMTFtMTIlMjExbTMlMjExZDIwNjUxOS4yODg4OTI5MDUyMyUyMTJkLTc0LjU1Njk3Nzk2NjM0NDk5JTIxM2Q0MC40Mjk5Mjc5MTM4NzY1MjYlMjEybTMlMjExZjAlMjEyZjAlMjEzZjAlMjEzbTIlMjExaTEwMjQlMjEyaTc2OCUyMTRmMTMuMSUyMTNtMyUyMTFtMiUyMTFzMHg4OWMzZGNhOWI1NjViOWUxJTI1M0EweGZiZmYwMDJhOTExMDljZDElMjEyc01pZGRsZXNleCUyNTIwQ291bnR5JTI1MkMlMjUyME5KJTIxNWUxJTIxM20yJTIxMXNlbiUyMTJzdXMlMjE0djE1NzY4NTQxODY0NTklMjE1bTIlMjExc2VuJTIxMnN1cyUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNjAwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNDUwJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0EwJTNCJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNEJTIyJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

A Few Other Points Of Caution

First, remember that many accidents occur at intersections. These are areas in which many cars are changing direction at the same time, and it only takes one mistake to cause a serious problem for everyone. Always proceed through the intersection slowly, giving other cars time to get out of your way.

You should also remember that interstate driving is always the most dangerous. When driving on the highway, you will be driving at much higher speeds (as opposed to in-town driving), and that extra speed amounts to a much greater impact if you should crash. Therefore, you should avoid the common mistake of driving on the interstate when you are tired.

Many accidents are caused by distracted driving, and cell phones are the number one culprit. “Texting and driving” has become such a problem that some states have even gone so far as to make it illegal. Never use your cell phone while driving, as no call or text message could ever be worth the risk. You can always call them back when you get home!

Conclusion

No matter where you go, it always pays to be a cautious driver. Even if you do not make a single mistake, you still must be on the lookout for the mistakes of other drivers. Still, this information might save your life if you act on it properly.

In closing, we are not telling you to avoid the areas listed here, as that might not be possible for you. If you have any business in one of these places, you cannot reasonably be expected to avoid them. However, these are the cities and counties in which you should exercise the most caution. You should especially avoid crowded driving situations because those seem to carry far more risk than any other kind. If you have found this article to be helpful, and if you would like to know more, please fill out the contact form below.

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