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March 10, 2005
Wisconsin: We love ya!
Jackie and I were introduced to Wisconsin's Gateway Patrol program today.
We were cruising down I-94 outside of Milwaukee heading back to Chicago when a tire decided to die suddenly. It was snowing and the wind was fierce. We pulled over to inspect our misfortune as cars and trucks whizzed by nerve-rattlingly close.
The state's Gateway Patrol employs a small army of emergency assistants who roam freeways quickly clearing wrecks and looking for stranded motorists with flat tires, dead engines and other hazards of driving by car.
We had been struggling for at least five minutes with the car manual's obtuse directions on how to remove the face plate covering the tire's lug nuts when Keith of the Gateway Patrol appeared suddenly like towtruck angel. (That's him in the picture getting ready to jack up the car while I unhelpfully watch.) Keith had the spare on in about 10 minutes and shepherded us out of the danger zone moments later.
It seems Wisconsin is a pioneer in roadside assistance, with one trade publication
calling the state's years-long program "a model for the region and for other similar
programs across the nation." The Gateway Program is so forward-thinking that Keith and his colleagues hand over a pre-stamped survey form to rate the complimentary service. For most government-operated programs, that's unheard of.
Keith could not have been nicer and more helpful during the experience. He wouldn't accept a tip, so Keith -- this blog post is for you. Thank you.
Your newest fans,
Ben & Jackie
Other blogs that reference Wisconsin: We love ya!:
» Wisconsin's Gateway Patrol Gets High Marks from Zmetro.com
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Glad that you had such a positive experience! Great testament to intelligent urban programming!
CVS Pharmacy does something similar here in Cincy. They have 8 or so vans that rome the major highways during heavy commute hours looking for people in need of help.
Doesn't the Mini have run flat tyres in the US? Mine does here in the UK. Gives you 50 miles or so leeway. Anyhow good to see you have such great taste in cars!
One study several years ago about roadside assistance programs like this found reduce they "blockages" like mine and others by 36 percent. "That translates to a reduction in highway user delay time of about 42,000 hours per incident." That's a lot of lost productive hours. http://www.trafficincident.org/papers/1999/99_fsp.html
Finally, a government doing something to help people! Bravo, Wisconsin!
I told you to take Amtrak!
The CVS program C McMahon mentions is an interesting government/business partnership, which has been operational for at least five years.
CVS Pharmacy sponsors 49 percent of the program while Ohio and Kentucky split the remainder by 75 percent and 25 percent.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/10/16/loc_vans_aid_stranded.html
Freddie -- That was my thought exactly as the car suddenly got a bit wobbly and the flat-tire indicator light came on.
But alas, I believe the special driveable flat tires are only standard here on the S models. Getting an S model vs. a non-S model was the difference between waiting a few weeks for delivery vs. a few months. Just couldn't wait that long to get motoring.
Ben - What happened to the TT???
