The photo was somewhwere in CA. I took it of some website. (It's actually from the URL in the pict, I just linked it.) Everything here is drybarrel.
Having sholved a few of them out of snow plow banks, the idea of having a hydrant in a vault in the street has some merit.
As for the why through the car? Well, the 5" has a mind of its own when charged. You try to reduce the bends as much as you can. Standing next to a coupling is great way to break your foot, I've seen them hop.
Of course, at this point everyone just wants to be like Backdraft. I haven't been on the job for about 5 years, but that was back in the midwest and I learned from someone with 20+ years on CFD. Some of the stories he would tell...
Oh, and CPD will tow your car no matter what. Saw them tow a radio station's remote van. Live. On the Air. With the boom up. It did say "No Parking."
