The Limos.com Forum Has Moved!!!

I have a friend who drives for another company, very good chauffeur, very nice person! Well, last night she was surprised, as was I when I heard this:

She was fueling up the limo, with clients in the car, left it running per the owner (because clients were in the car), in a VERY bad part of Baltimore. She walked up to the gas attendant to pay when a stranger walks up to the limo and starts admiring this fine vehicle (it's the Chrysler 300 w/lamboghini doors, silver and black). The driver saw nothing wrong with this, happens all the time with this particular car, and went forward with pre-paying for fuel. As she is walking back to the limo, it just takes off. She is stunned, doesn't know what to think, is in complete shock. She doesn't know who was driving, her cell phone, purse, everything was in the front, with the clients in the back. The attendant called the police, apparently all the passerby did not own any cellular equipment, and the police were able to pull the vehicle over 3 miles down the road. The attendants wife showed up at that time and was able to take her to the crime scene. When she arrived, all the clients were out of the car, each speaking with an officer. Come to find out, it was the clients friend that stole the limo. He had climbed through the partition, and drove it off. They proclaimed that they were scared for their lives because this stranger was conversing them on their choice of vehicle for that evening. Needless to say, the owner was extremely upset, informed her to leave the clients there, with the police, while he decided whether or not to press charges.

Has this happened before? I told her this definitely tops ANY story/situation I have come across! (Oh,I'm sure you're wondering, the limo is fine, no scratches, nothing!)

Fueling with clients in the car??? Never happened to me, and it won't. Sounds like someone wasn't prepared before the trip.

If I leave the car, it means it's empty and the keys are with me.

Sorry, but you deserve it if it happens to you.

quote:

Originally posted by gunny:
Not Fueling up before the run?

Pumping Fuel with the engine running?

One would have to ask this "Driver"

I agree. I always make sure the tank is FULL before all my runs.

I just booked 4 jobs today yeah babyyyyyyyyy gonna be a nice week

I have a remote start fitted to my limousine, when you get in using the remote start you apply the brake with the key in the ignition and drive away.

No key - no go. Simple, cheap, and effective inside or outside.

I also have a 9mm Glock that is simple and effective but a little more expensive. Makes it difficult to drive with two holes in the head.

Dick Hall

Thank goodness this wasn't my car, the friend of mine was the driver. The clients were wanting to go to DC, which wasn't scheduled/on the itinerary they were supposed to just be in Baltimore (DC does not have "convenient" gas stations), and she'd been idling for a few hours while they were inside getting ready. She had a 1/2 tank, asked the client if they would mind, since she was just sitting and waiting, if she went down the street to fuel up before they left. They told her that they could just fuel up on the way. Well, found out that they called the owner and told him they were going to sue his company (these were the ones who stole it) because they felt the driver had placed them in danger. It was a bad area of town and they said there were gangs surrounding the car throwing up gang signs. (Ridiculous, huh? There were only two people who walked up and were looking at the "pretty led opera lights.) Well, after the owner cussed them out, he told them if they called him one more time, he would press charges, he was still undecided I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve W.:
Nicole we have actually had a similar comversation on this very topic before:

Limo Security

I found a company called Tremco Products that sells a product for police cars where you have to step on a secret button in the car to get it in gear. Only problem is they only sell to police departments. I think the same thing could be accomplished either with a button on the dash or even wiring it into the seatbelt circuit requiring the driver to have thier seat belt engaged in order to take it out of gear.

Salicete has a good idea there but that still leaves in the human factor of them remembering to pull the key. Perhaps if the gas Credit Card is permanently attatched to the key ring that may insure it's removal at least at the gas station (pretty vulnerable place for limos drivers it seems with recent history)

Most of us take our cars to car washes so any passive devise would require informng the car wash staff on how to drive the vehicle, do not know if the extra effort is worth it for what seems to be a rare event. But we have had at least one driver killed in CA around this problem so any soloution may be worth it.

BTW if it was me in our 300 and I had to get gas with the clients (never had to in 10 years but OK) I would have locked them in the car with the engine running. Then when I came back would have unlocked it using the nifty keypad I installed:
Essex Keypad Install

However when the offender comes from inside your own limo that's an entire new ballgame.

Like they say make something idiot proff and the world will invent a bigger idiot!

Nicole we have actually had a similar comversation on this very topic before:

Limo Security

I found a company called Tremco Products that sells a product for police cars where you have to step on a secret button in the car to get it in gear. Only problem is they only sell to police departments. I think the same thing could be accomplished either with a button on the dash or even wiring it into the seatbelt circuit requiring the driver to have thier seat belt engaged in order to take it out of gear.

Salicete has a good idea there but that still leaves in the human factor of them remembering to pull the key. Perhaps if the gas Credit Card is permanently attatched to the key ring that may insure it's removal at least at the gas station (pretty vulnerable place for limos drivers it seems with recent history)

Most of us take our cars to car washes so any passive devise would require informng the car wash staff on how to drive the vehicle, do not know if the extra effort is worth it for what seems to be a rare event. But we have had at least one driver killed in CA around this problem so any soloution may be worth it.

BTW if it was me in our 300 and I had to get gas with the clients (never had to in 10 years but OK) I would have locked them in the car with the engine running. Then when I came back would have unlocked it using the nifty keypad I installed:
Essex Keypad Install

However when the offender comes from inside your own limo that's an entire new ballgame.

Like they say make something idiot proff and the world will invent a bigger idiot!

Holy sheep shit batman. Now, that's what I call a wedding mishap. Too bad that isn't included on these so called reality shows. I think it is called Wedding Disasters. I am quite certain the guy sitting in the pokey for 15 years feels the wedding was a disaster.

quote:

Originally posted by gunny:
Not Fueling up before the run?

Pumping Fuel with the engine running?

One would have to ask this "Driver"

haha,I'll have to give her a call and ask.. I know my company requires there to be a full tank before we head to clients'. Not sure what was going on in this situation though.

Bryan Baker's (aka Dr Limo's) company had an instance where the car was at a wedding when it was stolen and crashed. Before Bryan owned it, the former owner was driving a 180" for an exclusive wedding. The bride, groom and the chauffeur were being directed to pose next to the vehicle by the photographer.

The passenger rear door was open and they were all standing in front of the stretch panel. It was at this time a very drunk best man decided to take the car for a joy ride! With the bride still in front of the door, he jumps in, puts the car in gear and slams the gas to the floor.

The car lurches forward while the back door runs down the bride and then comes to rest after broadsiding several vehicles and ramming a pick-up on the far side of the parking lot. The jack-ass then gets out of the car laughing and yelling "now that was fun!"

He was charged with a bunch of crimes that included attempted vehicular manslaughter. His father who is a very wealthy developer tried to buy his son's way out of jail. He actually offered about $5,000 to repair the limo which had more than $17,000 worth of damage to it. (the chasis was bent and it needed most of the front end replaced as well as everything down the right side)

Fortunately, this guy is now spending the better part of 15 years thinking about how fun it was to hurt his best (former) friend's wife and total a limousine.

While my situation never got that far, I did have a passenger slide into the driver's seat of a car and attempt to take it one night.

The group had been rowdy all night during a bar hop. The chauffeur upon unloading passengers in front of a club decided to have a chat with the passengers about their behavior and the female was drunk and wanted to go home while the group had cocktails. She was a pax and not the actual client that paid. The client stated he did not wish to part with the car on her behalf. Because the chauffeur expected a confrontation he had his trusty Motorola hand-held radio in hand. The female says, "F#&@ IT, I'll drive myself home" and jumps in the idling car, throws it in gear but just idles forward with no acceleration. Chauffeur radios for immediate help and police. We had another car two blocks away who drove the wrong way on a one way street to block her path nose-to-nose with his limo.

The cops arrived. She went to jail AND the client went to jail for public intoxication and mostly because he didn't know when to shut up. He should have gone in the bar and had a cocktail rathher than argue with cop over whether the girl should be arrested or not. He wouldn't let the limo take her home but he wasn't going to let the cops take her anywhere!

Not Fueling up before the run?

Pumping Fuel with the engine running?

One would have to ask this "Driver"

I have heard of limos being stolen, but mine won't be.

I have ignition override switches in my cars. You can pull the key, and the car stays on, unless the brake, gearshift or ignition is touched. Move any of those, and the car shuts off.

Most police cars have the same device.

Aside from that, the car should have been fully fueled either before the clients got in, or while they were away from the car at whatever function they were going to attend.

Amateur Hour