Page 2 | Teen DS has broken down on the motorway- can you keep me company?

AnotherAppleThief · 2022-12-31T03:50:15+00:00

He's fine, the police are with him as his car is in a live lane but I won't rest until he's home. They are just waiting for recovery. Absolutely pooped my self when the phone rang in the middle of the night, parents of teens will understand that fear! Anyone awake?

Augend23 · 31/12/2022 08:22

Band = van* above

Oblomov22 · 31/12/2022 08:23

Glad he's home. The electrical fault sounds bad, might be expensive to fix?

Original poster

AnotherAppleThief · 31/12/2022 08:24

gogohmm · 31/12/2022 08:18

@AnotherAppleThief

Hopefully he'll learn that he should put a waterproof jacket in his car (plus other standby emergency equipment!)

Can happen to any of us.

He had his big winter coat on but he still got wet sadly. He was outside for nearly 2 hours in the end so it was just a bit much. The added spray from the motorway probably didn't help. His feet came off worse, trainers are drying on the radiator!

OP posts:

Original poster

AnotherAppleThief · 31/12/2022 08:28

Oblomov22 · 31/12/2022 08:23

Glad he's home. The electrical fault sounds bad, might be expensive to fix?

Yes it might be cheaper to scrap it sadly.

OP posts:

Anotherbloomingchristmas · 31/12/2022 08:28

So glad he's safe OP.
Motorways are dangerous places to break down.

Mince314s · 31/12/2022 08:39

Hope he's feeling better soon. For his future reference and especially if he's driving temperamental cars, it can be helpful to have a full emergency kit in the car (I say, not having replaced mine) of a bottle of water, snack, wet kit, warm kit, snow shovel. Helps if you're stuck for a while.

For everyone, don't assume the rescue person understands you're in a dangerous place. A lot of the phone lines have been outsourced to other countries so saying you're stuck on the M1 might mean nothing. Be specific that it's a fast road and you're on a lane with cars and lorries driving at 70mph that might not be able to see you. They prioritise pretty well so the more info the better.

DeadDonkey · 31/12/2022 08:41

LlynTegid · 31/12/2022 07:47

Glad he has got home and rescued OK. Perhaps for your health if no-one else, evening trips should only be if needed for work from him for a while.

I suspect that you aren't the parent of a teen that is old enough to drive.

Mince314s · 31/12/2022 08:42

And it might be worth googling the symptoms and common faults for that car. A lot of electrical problems (not all) are a cheap fix once you've identified the problem. Might even turn on now if it's been off long enough for the ECU to clear.

DeadDonkey · 31/12/2022 08:42

Glad he's home safe - DS breaking down on the motorway is a something I really fear.

familyissues12345 · 31/12/2022 08:51

Ah OP, the joy of being a mum of a teenager!

DS is 19 and always out and about in his car. He has mates spread far and wide (went to college in a different town, that had students all over the county) and he thinks nothing of driving around in the early hours.

He had a tyre blow out on Thursday and has buggered his suspension, so he's now carless until next week, oh the upset that caused!

Fortunately he left for Uni back in Sept, so my sleepless nights when he's out in his car are now limited to holidays. He has no understanding of how much I worry about him when he's out, but I can't exactly stop him going out!

HomeAGnome · 31/12/2022 08:58

Christ @AnotherAppleThief I had this last week, they didn't let me know until they got home because they knew I'd freak out with worry
I'm insisting they take my car today as the weather is shit and they are motorway driving
You have my every sympathy
So glad they got home safely

Theoldwoman · 31/12/2022 09:01

Lovelycupofcoffee · 31/12/2022 07:38

You are not alone on this one . My son passed his test recently and I can’t sleep until he’s back in the house at night. He was out with mates last night and didn’t come in until 2 this morning. It opens up a whole new world of worrying about them.

Are there no time restrictions on new licenses?

Here, for the first 6 months you have to be off the road between midnight and 5am.

Original poster

AnotherAppleThief · 31/12/2022 09:06

Theoldwoman · 31/12/2022 09:01

Are there no time restrictions on new licenses?

Here, for the first 6 months you have to be off the road between midnight and 5am.

Show quote history

No restrictions.

OP posts:

Original poster

AnotherAppleThief · 31/12/2022 09:07

familyissues12345 · 31/12/2022 08:51

Ah OP, the joy of being a mum of a teenager!

DS is 19 and always out and about in his car. He has mates spread far and wide (went to college in a different town, that had students all over the county) and he thinks nothing of driving around in the early hours.

He had a tyre blow out on Thursday and has buggered his suspension, so he's now carless until next week, oh the upset that caused!

Fortunately he left for Uni back in Sept, so my sleepless nights when he's out in his car are now limited to holidays. He has no understanding of how much I worry about him when he's out, but I can't exactly stop him going out!

This is exactly us! I worry less about him at uni weirdly, it's probably the car thing!

OP posts:

SUBisYodrethwhenLarping · 31/12/2022 09:08

Glad he is home safe 🙂🙂🙂 hope his car can be fixed ok

Totally understand about "children" out driving and the "stress" until they are back home

IMHO putting WHAT 3 WORDS app on everyone's mobile is an excellent idea -- also find out your own 3 word address and put it on the fridge in case you need to give to emergency phone lines

Knulp · 31/12/2022 09:12

If they recovered him for free then he has been very lucky, they normally charge

Original poster

AnotherAppleThief · 31/12/2022 09:13

Knulp · 31/12/2022 09:12

If they recovered him for free then he has been very lucky, they normally charge

It's not free, we have to pay when we collect it, today hopefully.

OP posts:

familyissues12345 · 31/12/2022 09:20

@AnotherAppleThief , it's definitely easier when he's at Uni, I blame the car!

He's planning on taking his car next year, as his second year house has loads of parking. So I'll be back worrying again

Lovelycupofcoffee · 31/12/2022 10:03

@Theoldwoman Not aware of any restrictions . Usually he’s home earlier being honest went out last night as he’s working New Year’s Day . Where abouts are you ?

Willmafrockfit · 31/12/2022 10:07

dh waited almost 12 hours for rac yesterday
appalling
however he was very very low on their priorities.

piedbeauty · 31/12/2022 11:08

LlynTegid · 31/12/2022 07:47

Glad he has got home and rescued OK. Perhaps for your health if no-one else, evening trips should only be if needed for work from him for a while.

Why? What a crazy thing to say. Anyone can break down. Sounds like OP's son dealt with it. It's a life lesson.

piedbeauty · 31/12/2022 11:10

@Mince314s - is this accurate? Which companies?

A lot of the phone lines have been outsourced to other countries so saying you're stuck on the M1 might mean nothing

piedbeauty · 31/12/2022 11:12

Op, glad he is home safely. I know what you mean about worrying less when they are at uni - but there are different things to worry about then instead, eg them going out and drinking too much, being spiked, etc...

iknowimcoming · 31/12/2022 11:30

Glad your son is safe OP, and indeed it is a life lesson, saw a woman last week on the M4 who had crashed into the central reservation SHE WAS SITTING ON THE CENTRAL RESERVATION CRASH BARRIER LOOKING VERY RELAXED TALKING ON HER PHONE, BEHIND HER CAR LITERALLY THE FIRST POINT OF CONTACT TO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC IN THE FAST LANE!! Even my DS who hasn't yet passed his test was horrified. The lane wasn't closed btw there was just a warning on one of the gantry's to say 40mph (no reason given) but obviously not everyone was following it. I really hope the police arrived and she wasn't hurt and they taught her that you must move away from your bloody car

Mince314s · 01/01/2023 11:10

@piedbeauty M1 was a bad example, basically if there's a call centre in rural Scotland to keep the costs down they may never have driven in London so make it clear what type of road it is rather than just naming it and assuming the person you're speaking to has the same local experience.