[Shaun]

Okay guys on my trip to and from Cherry Point last week I noticed that vehicles parked on the side of the road after a breakdown had been left with either a white plastic bag or white cloth hanging from the left side of the car -- what is that for ?

[SPOCAHP ANAR]

To let everyone know you're too cheap to have AAA or call a wrecker.

[Mick]

So if you see a car with the white bag hanging off it, finders keepers

[troylaplante]

I have never figured that one out myself, Shaun. I guess it is to draw attention to the vehicle so that people will see it better and let the police know that it is a breakdown.

[troy2000]

...but in Mexico a white flag on the antenna is a sign of distress or urgency. For example, if you're running your pregnant wife to the hospital because she's about to pop, you'd stick a white flag on the antenna before you started blowing thru stop signs, speeding, etc.

Or so I read in a Los Angeles paper years ago, when the cops shot an agitated Mexican national under those circumstances; no one handy spoke Spanish, and the situation escalated out of control.