This car part was the subject of Joe V’s latest debacle

Behold the skid plate. Or the flux capacitor. But we're pretty sure it's a skid plate.

If you remember the TV show Seinfeld you can relate to knowing our producer Joe Votruba, because knowing Joe is like knowing Kramer. Things happen to him that happen to no one else. He told a crazy story on Wednesday's show about driving to work when all of a sudden he heard the tell-tale thud-thud-thudding of a flat tire. He pulled onto the shoulder of the highway and got out, only to find all four tires perfectly fine. Eventually he realized the car part pictured above was dragging beneath his vehicle and had been bouncing and banging along the highway. Strange thing is, this skid plate was being supported only by zip ties instead of being properly attached. The only thing Joe could figure is when he recently had work done on his car something had gone wrong, some mechanic broke something, and instead of coming to him and telling him the shop decided to MacGyver it back onto the car with zip ties.

As angry as he was, he had a more important matter at hand. How to get the rest of the way to work. He searched his vehicle for something sharp to cut the rest of the zip ties off but couldn't find anything. Naturally, Joe being Joe, he didn't call a tow truck or Triple A like the rest of us would do. He decided in Joeworld this was indeed and emergency so he called 911.

Now I feel if I had called 911 and told them I needed a police officer to come out with scissors or something sharp to cut zip ties off my car I would have been laughed at. Hell, I figure anyone would be. Shows what I know. The dispatcher heard his plight and happily sent a NJ State Trooper to his aid. Upon arrival, there's Joe V explaining what happened to an officer and then asks if he can borrow a knife.

Borrow...a...knife.

Let that sink in just a moment. "Hey, officer, can you let me hold what could be used as a weapon here on the side of the road right next to you?"

Here's where it just gets crazy. The kind trooper did it. He trusted Joe enough to hand him his blade. I guess he didn't think Joe posed much of a threat even with a knife. The trooper even got down on the ground a few times and helped him move things around or held things while Joe cut away. Once separated from beneath the engine, the skid plate went into Joe's trunk and the officer went on his way. What a decent thing to do for a motorist in trouble!

I feel like only Joe V could have talked 911 into basically bringing him a pair of scissors. Now once he goes back to talk to those mechanics, that's a wall on which I'd love to be a fly!

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