Do you have roadside assistance? You might have it and not even realize it; it sometimes comes with your auto insurance (check your policy). Roadside assistance is a good thing to have, especially in McHenry during the winter.

Lacking roadside assistance, when the winter winds of McHenry are howling, and often carrying snow, is not a good idea. With roadside assistance, you’re only a phone call away from someone coming to help. In McHenry, there’s a good chance that someone from Rex Towing may pull up in a tow truck behind you and save your bacon when you’re in a pickle (does that constitute a mixed metaphor or separate food groups?).

There are good reasons to call for roadside assistance. In years gone by, most folks changed their own flat tires. In the movie ‘A Christmas Story,’ the father is described as looking at a flat tire as though he’s in the pits at the Indy 500. Today, far more drivers are inclined to call for help. Consider a recent commercial where a teenager is speaking on the phone with his father and the father mentions the lug wrench.

The teenager tells his father, “Of course, I know what a lug wrench is.” Then he turns to his friend and whispers, “Is this a lug wrench?”

So, are flat tires the top reason that people call for roadside assistance? Could be, or it could be something else.

People do call for roadside assistance for all kinds of reasons. When a car breaks down past the point where it can be serviced on the side of the road, they call to have the car towed to an auto repair shop. But, according to one insurance provider, there is one particular reason that people call for roadside assistance that hasn’t been mentioned here yet.

Can you guess what that is? Give us your answer and, if it’s correct, and you’re relatively close to McHenry, IL, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a free oil change from Performance Unlimited. To submit your answer, simply send an email to rich@richpublicity.com with “Roadside Assistance Answer” in the subject line. If you have the correct answer, your name goes in the hat for a free oil change. The drawing is Feb. 21, 2018 (all entries must be submitted by midnight Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018). And, good luck.

Entry is valid for an oil change with up to five quarts of oil at Performance Unlimited. Winning entry is valid until June 1, 2018.