Emergency Contact List / "Rodside Assistance"

shane2290

shane2290

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Hi All !!

Been awhile since I posted anything but planning a road trip to east coast in the fall in hot rod or the muscle and I dont see that list on here anymore ? or is it not available now?

Cheers Shane
 
Shane: A year or two back, I emailed Frank, mentioned there were a lot of non-current names/ph numbers, cities, etc, on the list, and he was knee deep in other stuff at the time, so it was taken down. Thus far it has not been dealt with.........................

That's all I know
 
It really is amazing how widespread this hobby is! I've been on group tours, solo's & maybe a 6 pack but always someone stops by to help & with info. Happened to me in Cal, Yakima, mainland, Island etc. May be a biker or suit but seems many people know about vintage & rods. I just head out w/o worries.
 
Well I know I would definitely stop but the idea of a list is excellent . I did have an issue a hundred miles from home and my first thought was who do I call . I am somewhat out of the regular path but would certainly be willing to be on a list .
 
That list was a small comfort when travelling around. I still have the old list in the junk box but luckily have never used it. I would certainly add my contact again to a future list.
 
I always stop to help as well but list maybe some added comfort and I was on it before and would gladly join up again. I actually may have old one but would be out of date for sure as people move and phone numbers change.

Cheers Shane
 
Hey guys. My apologies for being absent so to speak. Having said that, I'm really not as I check in numerous times a day to make sure things are going OK technically. Also making upgrades to the forum software, etc.

There are a few communications I owe everyone and I'll get to it this week for sure - including this one.
 
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Hi again. Finally getting back to this... I must admit that I had to spend a little time going through my archives to figure out how I managed this way back when.

At it's peak the "Rodside Assistance" list (my play on roadside assistance) had 75 names on it:
  • 22 from BC (sadly, only a handful are still active here)​
  • 7 from AB (as for BC)​
  • 4 from SK (as for BC)​
  • 1 from MB (gone)​
  • 38 from ON (as for BC)​
  • 0 from PQ​
  • 1 from NB (gone)​
  • 1 from NS (occasionally)​
  • 1 form NFLD (gone)​
Here's how I had it working
In the sidebar of the forum (where you now see Latest Posts, Members Online, Resources, etc), I had a section for Rodside Assistance. When you clicked on the image, you were directed to a web page. The content that I had on that page was as follows:

Overview
In the spirit of 'comrodderie', the Canadian Rodder Hot Rod Community, recognizing the need for a network of helping hands, has established "RODSIDE Assistance".

Similiar to other established networks, RODSIDE Assistance is a location-based network of individuals who have provided a phone number that can be used in emergency situations when assistance is needed.

The list is arranged by country, province/state, city/town, name/Canadian Rodder forum nickname (if appropriate) and phone number. It can be printed and kept in your car. It is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format so you'll need the Adobe Reader to access it. If you don't have it, a link is provided towards the bottom of the page.

While available in the public domain, these numbers are only to be used in the spirit of why they were provided. That is, for assistance.

If you want to be added to the RODSIDE Assistance list, and we hope you will, send an email using the link at the top of this page.

Access Rodside Assistance network list here by:

1. Opening the listing within your browser for viewing / printing by clicking on the "Rodside Assistance Here" banner below.

You will be prompted for a password. Use: rodside 1 (that is, rodside, a space, then 1)

(Note: if you have trouble viewing, use option 2. or upgrade Adobe Reader using button below)

2. Downloading a copy to your hard drive by right-clicking the banner, then, depending upon your browser, selecting "save target as" or "save link as" or "save link target as". Navigate to the file on your hard drive and open it with your reader (you still may want to upgrade to newer version of reader). You will still need the password shown above.
Click to expand...

The overall concept was that ANYONE (not just Forum users) could download the list. I password protected it so that it could not be maliciously obtained by bots, etc. In other words, a human had to read the text, find the password and enter it before the file would download. If I recall, I would change the password periodically.

The list showed: Province / City / First Name & Forum Handle if applic / phone #

EG.
Province City Name Phone
Ontario Markham Frank (Admin) XXX-XXX-XXXX

So, should there be interest, I would be prepared to resurrect the concept.

However, some discussion should take place to understand who would be privy to the list.
 
Excellent stuff Frank, thanks for giving it consideration. I have had my name on that list and will continue to support that program.
As I get older and more cranky and feel that there are a lot of “ill-do’ers” out there, I feel that I would want a guy to be able to reach out if wished or needed. I liked the old system as described, keep the old style ‘bots’ from obtaining phone numbers (calls of prank calls or business opportunities has been very very quiet over the last two years, and would prefer to keep it that way). So what we can do, or have in place for that is a good thing.
I believe, for me, that any of our members, supporting or otherwise should have access to that list and be able to update it as wished. Having open to the www, is questionable, I am not opposed to that, but do feel less chance of the call list being abused by someone that had to put ‘some’ effort into joining “our community”.
I will add that I have used that list to reach out to members, to meet face to face, even stay a night or set up part-transfers.
Thanks again Frank, I will follow along as I am sure there will be others input that will sway my current opinion.
Cheers,
Greg
 
I am a little unsure as to what anyone feels could be done with this list of people that are already on the internet and obtained by joining this forum . I for one would be happy to be on the list and happy to help anyone I could .
 
Always liked the "Rodside Assistance" list.
My name can stay on the list, only my handle has changed since.
 
While I certainly like the concept as I have received that type of assistance while traveling with my Comet in California on a Comet forum, I too am concerned about who has access.
In my case there was no help list but we were long time forum members and knew each other.
 
More than willing to have my name stay on the list!, I carry the NSRA fellow pages when travelling in the USA!!!
 
What I'm hearing so far is that there is support for this BUT there is concern about who can access the information.

I'm going to let the thread run on for a while but am thinking about a way(s) to limit access. It was suggested by Greg (CDNflatlander) that:
our members, supporting or otherwise should have access to that list
Click to expand...

Your thoughts on this specifically? I believe access by the "general public" is a non-starter.
 
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