Courtesy Patrol Available To Curb DFW Accidents
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Guy Chamberlain does a lot of driving. He's a supervisor and part of Dallas County's Courtesy Patrol, "We cover Dallas, Denton and Collin Counties."
Thursday morning Chamberlain goes from one stop to the next helping stranded drivers. He came across a mother and her four year old son stuck along Interstate 45 on a bridge in Dallas. "Hey buddy can you put your seat belt on for me," says Chamberlain "It's awfully dangerous. You guys could get hit out here."
Kat is the mother and she says her car overheated. She tells courtesy patrol she's only waited for about 10 minutes and she wasn't too worried. "It's day time it's not that bad," says Kat "I didn't call for help I was waiting for the car to cool off."
She may have not been worried, but Chamberlain was the second he spotted the car. "It's on a bridge no place to go it's not like you can go out the car you are stuck there," says Chamberlain. He is familiar with these types of calls.
On Tuesday night two children died in a crash in Dallas after the sedan they were in ran out of gas along Interstate 35E. Witnesses told police the sedan had no lights on and no shoulder to park on.
Chamberlain says if you run into that, "If I was on the right shoulder of the highway where I had access I could get off on the passengers side of the car and I could get off in a grassy area with trees that's the safest beat."
He also urges drivers to always put on flashers and if you have no place to go then his advice, "Stay in your car and make sure you're buckled up until help arrives.
Lugene Hughes did just that after being stuck along 635 for about an hour. She was out of gas and grateful courtesy patrol was there to help. "It's very scary," says Hughes "I thought I was going to get clipped a couple of times."
The phone number for Texas Roadside Assistance, (800) 525-5555, is listed on the back of every Texas driver's license.
