U-Haul Fail X 3 (Epic!)

[LillFilly]

Working a shift at the mall, we got a call from one of the stores of a customer who just watched a uhaul rental box truck hit 2-cars. We got over there and spoke with 2-witnesses. One was getting into her own car when she saw the box truck back-up out of its spot and hit the 2-cars parked across from her (witnesses are the red circles, this witness saw the box truck back into the blue and green cars). The second one was putting her groceries away when her little girl told her that the box truck had just hit the car in front of it (the grey one) as it was pulling-into the spot. She looked-up just in time to see the box truck back-up into the blue and green cars!



So, in total this driver hit 3-cars total; he came close to hitting 2-others also! The witnesses confronted him and his family as they were getting out of the truck. They shrugged, ignored the witnesses, and went into the store!

So, we called the police, took photos and information, etc. 2-of the owners of hit vehicles responded to the pages we made. One was furious as she had a gouge in her bumper. The other wasn't concerned about the small dent in his. We had to leave a note for the 3rd driver, but the police included it in their report when they arrived.

During this all, the family from the box truck returned with a cart full of shopping! The woman/wife/girlfriend looked pissed, the male driver just looked...befuddled. He kept saying over and over that "I was going to look for the owners of those cars, honest!"

Riiiight. Luckily, we know he would have had to either show his own insurance to rent the truck or have taken the insurance they offered, so the victims are probably covered. Security left at this point, so I don't know if his paperwork/license was all in order. Wouldn't that have been a shame?

Oh, to top it off, the second witness' little girl was all excited about seeing the police at work, because she wants to be a police officer when she grows up!

[EvilEmpryss]

Epic driving fail, yes, but just FYI, almost all of the UHaul trucks are from outside the state they're rented in. The fleet isn't required to change the vehicles' registration to the state they're currently driven in. The shuffle across state lines so often it would be prohibitive to require them to do so.

[wolfie]

Epic driving fail, yes, but just FYI, almost all of the UHaul trucks are from outside the state they're rented in. The fleet isn't required to change the vehicles' registration to the state they're currently driven in. The shuffle across state lines so often it would be prohibitive to require them to do so.

It's a CMV thing. When vehicles are registered for commercial purposes, it's fairly common to be "base plated" in the jurisdiction where the company's head office is located, regardless of which terminal they're based out of. Happens a lot in the trucking industry. IIRC, all U-Haul vehicles are plated in Arizona.

[workerbee222]

Quoting my driver ed instructor here:

Whenever you see one of those "You Drive 'Em" rental trucks, you keep in mind the last time they drove a truck was nevah."

It's funnier with a Maine accent.

[Sapphire Silk]

Still, U Haul will be contacted by the police, and U Haul can then check its records to see who the truck is rented to. The victims insurance companies, if no one else, will track this information down since it will be crucial to insurance paying out on claims: the driver of the rental is responsible and his insurance is going to take the hit, not the insurance of the victims.

And technically, what the driver did is hit and run. So he may get a surprise visit from the cops later, in spite of the fact there was no personal injury.

[Ben_Who]

To be fair to the driver for the hitting, I once rented a U-Haul as small as an Econoline van, and the damn thing handled like a school bus. I was convinced I was going to clear the right side of Main Street of parking meters.

That's as fair as I'm going to go, though, because shrugging and walking away from an accident is a whole other beast. He can get his own "fair" for that.

[EvilEmpryss]

Quoting my driver ed instructor here:

Whenever you see one of those "You Drive 'Em" rental trucks, you keep in mind the last time they drove a truck was nevah."

Daughter about to reach driving age already knows that I'll be training her to drive more than a compact car with an automatic transmission. I'll rent or borrow manual cars and fully intend to rent a uhaul or two (with and without a trailer) for some empty parking lot training, just so that I know she has some varied experience and knows how to handle herself.

She's also going to know how to check and change the oil and all important fluids, change a tire, and perform basic maintenance. There's no excuse not to know how, even if you never do because you get it taken care of at the service station.

[raudf]

After totaling my poor Ford Fairmont, my parents decided that I needed a more... tank like car. Enter the '78 T-bird land yacht. Looked like it had been through hell and told hell where to go, but it ran like dream. It was also a lot bigger than the Fairmont. I practiced parking the unwieldy brick with wheels in an empty lot before driving it to college and I still hooked the rear bumper of the vehicle beside me. This beast of a car was so stoutly built that it took five of the heavy set frat boys to budge it's front end down enough that the two guys lifting the SUV's rear could get it apart. The SUV didn't take any damage, which I found strange, but owner found funny since they'd done something similar with the SUV.

[LillFilly]

To be fair to the driver for the hitting, I once rented a U-Haul as small as an Econoline van, and the damn thing handled like a school bus.

There were massive amounts of empty parking further back in the lot, where the other, reasonable people parked their mini buses, cars hauling trailers, etc. The uhaul driver was lazy and just didn't want to walk an extra 40 feet methinks.

[Seshat]

Daughter about to reach driving age already knows that I'll be training her to drive more than a compact car with an automatic transmission. I'll rent or borrow manual cars and fully intend to rent a uhaul or two (with and without a trailer) for some empty parking lot training, just so that I know she has some varied experience and knows how to handle herself.

You should be proud.

Also make sure that her first times (and possibly second, third, etc till she's competent) of driving in various sorts of bad weather are done with someone who can advise her in the passenger seat.

And if you can get access to a skidway and an experienced skid-instructor, get her that. My parents' driving school rented our city's police training yard once or twice a month, and ran advanced classes through the skidway, the confined-space track, the driver-courtesy track, etc.
The site also has a 4WD track, which they also used for 4WD specific lessons.

Um. My point is that the resources are probably available for you to do even more to keep your girl safe. And to keep all the drivers and pedestrians around her safe. From her, at least.

[EvilEmpryss]

I'm experienced with skids and getting a car back under control... though from direct experience, not training. I was hell on my first three cars as a teenager. It's a miracle I survived.

I intend to keep her to empty back roads and parking lots until I'm certain she's able to keep from panicking in an emergency.

Speaking of back roads and lessons, we just had some snow here so I took her out on a back road at night to mess around and show her how even a heavy vehicle like a minivan will have trouble with ice and slush. She didn't believe me when I said the car would really slide if I slammed on the brakes. We were out for a good hour just testing out different scenarios so she could feel what it was like without having to worry about controlling anything yet.

Quality mother-daughter time!

[AmethystSquirrel]

She's also going to know how to check and change the oil and all important fluids, change a tire, and perform basic maintenance. There's no excuse not to know how, even if you never do because you get it taken care of at the service station.

My father did the same thing to me. The bastard (I say this lovingly) even split my fan belt. We were on the road together and He taught me how to make a temporary repair with pantyhose.
This was all before cell phones were for common people.

My mother taught me how to drive with a trailer and how to back it in to snug places.
Sadly, I am a better driver than my hubby.

[Jester]

IIRC, all U-Haul vehicles are plated in Arizona.

You recall somewhat correctly. U-Haul is based out of my home state of Arizona, and while I don't think all of their vehicles are plated there, the majority seem to be.

To be fair to the driver for the hitting, I once rented a U-Haul as small as an Econoline van, and the damn thing handled like a school bus.

Driving larger rigs is not easy. I hauled a trailer behind my Blazer from northern Florida all the way down to Key West for my niece Princess, and it turned my normally nimble Blazer into a 5,000 pound brick with wheels. Which is always fun to drive 500 miles from one end of the state to the other.

He taught me how to make a temporary repair with pantyhose.
This was all before cell phones were for common people.

Even with cell phones being so common these days, people should still be taught to be self-reliant. Since, you know, you can't always get a signal, or you may be some place out of range, or your phone may die, or a hundred other things. A great example is right here in Florida. For the most part, this state is saturated with cell phone towers, and you can get a signal just about any place. Unless, of course, you drive across Alligator Alley through the Everglades, in which case, you better hope you don't break down, because if you do, your cell phone isn't going to be worth a damn thing. Very remote, the Everglades, and very cell phone unfriendly. And it's not the only place that is like that.

[Argabarga]

Even with cell phones being so common these days, people should still be taught to be self-reliant. Since, you know, you can't always get a signal, or you may be some place out of range, or your phone may die, or a hundred other things.

Not to mention being self-reliant means you don't have to WAIT. Too many people who get a flat and call for the tow guy end up waiting an hour or two in miserable conditions for me to arrive (Since your motor club is so cheap that we're the only tow service in an 80 mile radius who'll deal with them, and you picked up that nail 65 miles away from where we're based from) when if they were just a bit more motivated and a little less ignorant, they could have swapped out the flat and been on their way in about 25 minutes all by themselves. Especially on a new car where EVERYTHING you need including instructions is right there.

Learned helplessness just drives me crazy.

And you'd also be amazed (well, not really) at how many people I've seen back into other cars, get ready to flee, and then grudgingly leave a note behind when they see me sitting there staring at them....

[raudf]

Not to mention being self-reliant means you don't have to WAIT. Too many people who get a flat and call for the tow guy end up waiting an hour or two in miserable conditions for me to arrive (Since your motor club is so cheap that we're the only tow service in an 80 mile radius who'll deal with them, and you picked up that nail 65 miles away from where we're based from) when if they were just a bit more motivated and a little less ignorant, they could have swapped out the flat and been on their way in about 25 minutes all by themselves. Especially on a new car where EVERYTHING you need including instructions is right there.

THIS. My crazy as hell late MIL was horrible about not knowing what she was doing and relying on the car club for every little thing. When I met my hubby, he didn't know how to change a tire either. First flat in his car, I got out and showed him how. Took less time doing it that way than digging for the club card in his wallet. Next time, he got walked through as he did it himself. From then on, he could manage just fine on his own. She never learned, but was terribly stunned when she got a flat while we were with her and hubs got out and changed it.

And I even know how to find the fuel filter on older cars... and got into an argument with a mechanic, because he didn't work on Nissans (because they are "foreign" cars) and all I needed was a blasted fuel filter replaced. I pointed it out and said, "Do you have one that looks like this?" "Ummm.. yes..." "Then I'll buy it and put it in myself!" Must have shamed him something fierce, because he did it for me. I wasn't going anywhere very fast with the other filter, because it was literally up hill both ways to college and home. Lots of hills. I could have peddled the car faster!