QUICK PICKUPS: How quickly can you get...

QUICK PICKUPS: How quickly can you get help if stranded on the freeway? Caltrans and the County Transportation Authority wrote to hundreds of motorists rescued by their joint Freeway Service Patrol the first quarter of this year for reaction. The result: high praise for the patrol. Most said the response time was under 10 minutes. And a majority said they were assisted even before they made it to the emergency call box. . . . Interestingly, 65% said they didn’t know beforehand that such a patrol existed.

Freeway SOS

Nearly half those with car failure aided by the county Freeway Patrol Service between January and March say help came within five minutes. 0-5 minutes: 48% 6-10 minutes: 28% 11-20 minutes: 16% 21-30 minutes: 6% Longer: 2% Source: California Department of Transportation