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Roadside breakdowns happen to everyone, but they're not supposed to empty your wallet. In this raw and candid episode, I share my recent nightmarish experience with Virginia's predatory towing practices that turned my daughter's flat tire into a $500 ordeal.
When my daughter called around 10 PM with a flat tire in Fredericksburg while traveling from North Carolina to Baltimore, I immediately drove down to help. After discovering her brand-new tire had completely failed, I left to purchase a replacement—only to return less than an hour later to find her car completely gone. What followed was a middle-of-the-night odyssey that exposed the lucrative business model seemingly designed to prey on stranded motorists.
The financial breakdown was shocking: $275 for towing, $75 for "storage" (despite the car being there for barely two hours), $25 for the gas used by the tow truck, and most outrageously, $125 just to open the gate to access the impounded vehicle. Even more disturbing was the realization that if I couldn't pay immediately, daily storage fees would have continued accumulating, potentially doubling the already exorbitant cost.
This episode serves as both a personal catharsis and a crucial warning for anyone traveling through Virginia: always use the right shoulder if you break down, never the left, as it's automatically "deemed a hazard" and subject to immediate towing. My experience highlights how vulnerable travelers can be exploited in moments of distress, and why we need to share these stories. Have you experienced similar predatory practices on the road? Share your story and help others avoid the same expensive lesson I learned.