We were going to be late. There was a screw with a head the size of a dime that had managed to work its way into the tire of my vehicle, and if we didn't get the tire changed pronto, there was no question about it we were going to be late.

There are times when you are running behind, and it's not such a big deal. But my son plays on a travel ice hockey team, and being late simply is not an option. We were told by his coach on the first day of practice that there are only two excuses for being late or absent that he would allow. He never did share what those two excuses were; we could only assume that no one had come up with them yet, as thus far, no excuse had been accepted. And if someone is late, the whole team pays. So you really, really don't want to be late.

I hate sounding like a helpless female, but I never did learn how to change a tire. Somehow between college, motherhood and entrepreneurship, I skipped that particular life lesson. But who to call? Although I've always been a card-carrying member of the Automobile Association of America (AAA), I remembered that when I purchased my vehicle a few months back, an emergency assistance program came with the deal.

Seventy-eight percent of all new vehicles sold in America today come with some sort of roadside assistance program. Coverage varies by manufacturer and can include towing, jump starts for dead batteries, flat-tire changes, fuel delivery and lockout rescue. Most manufacturer roadside assistance programs are usually for the same length of time as the vehicle's warranty.

It turns out that the plan I received with my new vehicle was strictly a "towing assistance" program. I didn't need towing; I needed the world's fastest tire changer. So I made the call to AAA.

According to a J.D. Power and Associates study on the response time of vehicle assistance programs, independent companies take an average of 36 minutes to arrive at the scene with help, compared with 53 minutes for manufacturer-sponsored programs. Of all the independent companies, AAA's average response time was the fastest 35 minutes.

I'm not certain whether it was my pathetic begging on the phone, good timing by the AAA driver or just plain good luck, but the AAA driver arrived in less than 15 minutes.

I explained our situation to the driver, then stepped back as he worked so that I could call the coach. I tried not to sound like I was lying as I left a message about our predicament on his cell phone voice mail. Why is it that even when you are telling the truth, the excuse "We had a flat tire" sounds like such a fib?

The driver must have sensed our desperation. I swear I have never seen anyone change a tire so fast. We were on our way in a little over five minutes. Even with the Herculean efforts of our roadside assistance hero, my son was still 15 minutes late getting on the ice. His coach wasted no time. "Why are you late, Gordy?"

My son managed to stammer out his reply. "W-we had a flat tire, coach." His coach glared at him for a second and said, "I used that bogus excuse on my boss this morning."

Mortified, my son could not reply. Then the coach smiled and laughed as he said, "It's OK, kid. I got your mom's phone message."

All that stress, all that incredible effort by our roadside hero, and all was for naught.

Now if we can only figure out what the other acceptable excuse is for being tardy ...