But gentlemen are not always available, so a girl should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Lifehacker.com posted an article describing safety tools you should have in your car. Here is a list of those tools, but I advise you to consult the Lifehacker article for the details:
- blindspot mirror
- tire pressure tools
- rechargeable battery booster
- flares, lights or other signals
- seatbelt cutter and window breaker
I don't have a battery booster in my car, but I do carry jumper cables (and I know how to use them).
Also, I belong to AAA, so I guess a gentleman is always available if need be.
Happy Motoring!
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| Wearing Venus |
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| Reading Femulate from north of the border is Robin Southern. |
if you alone and stuck by the roadside the AAA is the safest answer
ReplyDeleteAsking a stranger for help can be very risky, you do not know who they are
Lucy
In both cases where strangers came to my assistance, it was daylight and I was (1) in a shopping plaza with a lot of foot traffic and (2) on a busy road with a lot of vehicular traffic, so I felt safe. But that was some time ago and today, I would not hesitate to call AAA.
DeleteRemember ladies, newer cars may not have spare tires, particularly with run flats..my big fear is no spare at night in a nice dress,,,,AAA well worth the cost! Trina
ReplyDeleteI have used AAA for years and have had too many car problems to mention. Through it all, AAA has done a great job.
ReplyDeleteAAA to the rescue! My arthritis makes changing tires difficult and when my battery is croaked, what's a girl to do? I had one dead battery episode when Mikki was driving. The AAA battery guy determined my AAA battery was really dead and he replaced it at no cost as it was within the guarantee timeframe. "Battery guy" was polite, efficient and didn't blink an eye when "Mr. Policyholder" was wearing a dress, makeup and had long, curly hair! I recommend the extended coverage -- my car was damaged quite a distance from home and the extended coverage took care of the extra mileage, plus an additional tow from my house to the repair shop!
ReplyDeleteOne late Sunday afternoon as the sun was setting I got a flat. The little idiot light was blinking at me tell me that one of the tires was flat. I pulled off the road and sure enough a flat tire!
ReplyDeleteSo I get the car up on the jack, blocked the wheels from rolling, and begain the process of tacking off the flat tire lugs nuts… but they wouldn’t budge. So I was standing on the lug wrench, nothing. Cars were zipping by me and then this car pulled over, a young black man gets out the car and asked if he can help. My knight in shinning armor not only changed the tire but put everything back in the trunk. And he didn’t even blink when he saw that I’m trans.
Stana, you might remember this.
One of the members of the support group car caught fire on the way home, in the town where he was a volunteer firefighter! All the volunteers that he knew was there but no one recognized her! The officer called a taxi and nobody ever said Boo about it at their weekly meetings.
And speaking of no spare tire.
My car doesn’t have one and I had a slow leak in one of the tires… the one that was flat on one side (I had to throw that old joke in there). So here I am on the Cape, 200 miles from home having no idea where to go for help. I called a number of garages and they all said the same thing, bringthe car in and we can get a new tire for you in a week! Way out on the tip of the Cape near Provincetown nobody stocks tires and they order them for their weekly delivery. But one garage said to bring it in and they would have a look. So off I went to the den of testosterone, but to my surprise the garage was run by two lesbian! Only in Provincetown! I gave the keys to one of the mechanics and he brought it into the garage and on the lift. Then he came out and asked for wheel nut key. Hun?
Wheel nut key? I didn’t even know it had them.
Well he looked the tire over and suggested that I get a 12 volt compressor for the ride home just in case the idiot light came on. So that’s what I did (It turns out that the car came with one and a can of fix-a-flat. Now I have two 12 volt compressors but the new one also runs on 120 Vac.)
I do remember the car fire incident and at the time, I dreaded the thought of that happening to me. Today, the loss of my car would be my only concern.
Deleteas a non full-timer: if i were to go ever out driving en femme, then i would consider the most important things to carry in the car in the event of a breakdown a change of clothes and some make-up remover. so by the time any emergency services or good samaritans arrived to assist, they would just be helping out an ordinary geezer!
ReplyDeleteEven if you feel quite competent to make the emergency repairs (and there is nothing a woman can't do that a man can, even if she is trans) I would strongly recommend a warning triangle (a legal requirement in many countries) a hi vis vest, and some form of overall to protect your finery.
ReplyDeleteI also make sure that my wheel nuts are tightened to the correct torque (tyre shops will often over tighten) so they can be undone by the OEM wheel brace, I also always put some copper grease on them to make sure they don't rust on. (yes I am a petrol head)
My great fear is not my car breaking down, as I am a member of Britain's excellent AA, but having my handbag stolen with my car keys in it. I always carry spare cash on my person for just that hopefully unlikely eventuality.
ReplyDeletePenny from Edinburgh.
Dearest Stana ,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your Blog doesn't sit in judgment of one's level of trans-femininity but accept us as we are such NO such categorizing which is so wrong , no can make such distinctions .