goodmichael

Do not rely on brokers or motor clubs to feed your business. They are like a tick, siphoning off the profits. I would attend every training you can afford to go to. Get Wreckmaster certified, go to the RBU classes and learn all of the safety aspects you can. I would also obtain a copy of Dave Ramsey's book entitled Entree Leadership. Read it. Do everything you can to avoid debt for survival in this industry. When you borrow money, you are working for the bank as well as yourself. The banks always have a lot of chrome, stainless steel, marble tile, and beautiful landscaping at their facilities. You paid for it. Banks and finance companies are not your friends. That saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer could not describe financial entities any better. A few are decent, but they are all looking to slice off that little piece of the pie. If you have all of your permits and numbers it is a marketing strategy that you need. ALWAYS have a business card ready to hand out. Some grocery stores and retailers have coupons that can be put on the back of the customer receipt. Offer to give churches a certificate for a certain value for a tow as a silent auction prize. Advertise in church bulletins. I do not know how heavily your market relies on online presence, it is almost becoming a requirement to have an online presence. Do things the proper way. If you have a deck truck, ALWAYS utilize a four point tie down. Be known and develop a reputation for being a professional.

California is a beautiful state, but it is one of the most oppressive states towards business. If you are able to afford insurance to get started then I would start out by handing out business cards to every shop and dealership. You also need to sit down and discover exactly what it costs you to run a call. This includes your truck, insurance, maintenance, insurance, taxes, permits,labor, and fuel. I would guess that your costs in California are close to a hundred dollars to just start the truck You need to make a profit on every call you run. You will see people running calls for less than their cost. These people will have, keep, and struggle to maintain run down equipment. Profit is your best friend.

THAT was a good one.

I agree with you. That is an opportunity to change lives.

I think you need to go to work for someone and learn their business model. You need to put in the time and commitment and stay at least a year. You should be up front if they are wanting to send you to training at their expense if they are willing to pay for it. After you learn how things are done at one or two companies then you will have an idea as to what you are getting into. In California you have to deal with oppressive state regulation in addition to all other trials and tribulations. This is not an easy industry to break into and automatically, right out of the gate, make a decent living. It takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice and dedication to make it. There is only so much pie, and everyone wants to carve out a bigger slice for themselves. You will find that the biggest obstacle to overcome in this industry is the people within the industry.

Be honest. Provide value for the rates you charge. You will have more business than you can handle.

Until the mindset is adjusted and improved, this industry will rely on BOB bottom of the barrel to fill in the gaps. If you want people to be a professional, you have to treat them like a professional. And you have to stop running your operation like a brothel, worrying what the competition does and what they charge. You have to give people time off and benefits. You have to constantly be on the lookout for talent, and be willing to develop talent. This industry is it's own worst enemy. And has nobody else to blame.

I agree. That occurred twenty minutes from my home base. There is plenty of room to allow for the violator to pull off the road. The violator that was pulled over was also injured, the impact tore the door off of the violator's vehicle. The car that caused the collision had out out state plates. I believe that operator fatique had a considerable contribution to this event. To make matters even worse for this department, one of their detectives passed away two days later after a fight with cancer

Safety glasses should be work whenever a person is under a vehicle for any reason. As far as hardhats, they need not be worn every time, but they should be accessible. I worked for a company that towed Ford work trucks from a mine on a regular basis. THe mine required PPE. vest, safety glasses, as well as a hard hat. They even checked the expiration date on the hard hat. One of our drivers drove the 112 miles one way only to be rejected at the gate because he did not have his PPE. it was on Thanksgiving Day, so he could not just go to the nearest Tractor Supply to make a purchase. 55 MPH is way to fast of a speed to set the bar to require roadside protection. I firmly believe that 35 mph should be the limit.

Galvanized coatings do indeed emit a toxic plume of fumes once they reach a certain temperature. It is always best to have fire rescue cut this type of a metal, as they have the proper PPE. One does not want to expose your staff to anything that can be prevented. Galvanized coatings emit these fumes when they reach a certain temperature.

There needs to be an established protocol to render services on the side of a roadside that has speed limits in excess of 35 mph. And they need to be adhered to with a zero tolerance. No tire changes should be initiated roadside for operator safety, a lane should be blocked with a blocker vehicle that has the capacity to absorb the impact of an impaired and or distracted driver. Proper PPE should be a standard industry requirement, to include safety glasses, reflective vest, as well as a hard hat. These implementations will be costly. They will cost millions of dollars a year to implement. BUT, they will save lives. I strongly believe that these implementations will decrease the fatality as well as injury rates by at least 65%. And they will be worth every penny of the millions of dollars required. For decades this industry has been demeaned and bullied by the motor clubs, insurance companies, bottom feeders in the industry, as well as motoring public in their prescribed methods to pocket these millions of dollars that should be invoiced, and that would cover safety. And the price has been paid for in souls of the departed, life changing injuries, as well as pain and suffering that has been inflicted upon those who work on the side of the road as well as their families who have to pick up the pieces to move forward. If we want to raise the bar, we need to ensure that our people are safe on the side of the road.

When I propose that OSHA is a solution, I say that because nothing else works to end the senseless deaths and injuries. I am not aware of how many fatalities there have been this year, but how many years has this can been kicked down the road, and how many more years will it continue to be kicked down the road. We as an industry are so afraid to charge for services that are required as it is. Motor clubs would have no choice but to pay for blocker vehicles if they were federally mandated, as would vehicle manufacturers. I think it is fair to say that there is a certain percentage of companies that could care less about their employees, just as it is fair to say that there are companies that care deeply about the people who work in the trenches. How many people across the board would mandate safe working practices and be willing to terminate an employee if they fail to follow all designated protocols. Just as an employee has that attitude that it can not happen to me, so do many companies that blatantly look the other way and just keep rolling the dice hoping that they will get through the night without a critical incident. We as an industry adopting measures has been a colossal failure, on the part of operators to accept responsibility for their safety an well being by not taking needless risks, as well as on the part of leadership to ensure that safe operating practices are implemented. I have NEVER received any formal safety training at any of the companies I have worked for regarding roadside safety. NEVER . I have spent hours being trained on how to complete paperwork as well as account for cash, checks, and debit card disbursements, and how to turn them in. In the meantime the fatality count keeps creeping towards 65 for the year.

Randy and Brian, I have a high regard and respect for both of you. Thanks for all you do. If OSHA were to mandate policy that a certain number of feet of traffic lane must be vacated for a scene to be worked when working next to the highway and that a structural mechanism capable of absorbing an impact be utilized this will be an additional expense that will be required to be billed out. If the burden to implement this mechanism is placed on the party who requests the service response, be it a government agency, motor club, or private party then they will be responsible and accountable for footing the bill. Safety costs money. Safety is an investment. Safety mitigates the risks inherent to the normal day to day procedures that one implements to complete work. A ten dollar pair of safety glasses might well prevent a sliver of metal from getting into a person's eye. The costs of a sliver of metal getting into a person's eye range from a low of 3000.00 to close to 5500.00 on average. This takes into consideration an er visit, lost work and production time, follow up visits to the doctor, as well as costs in premiums post claim. A ten dollar pair of safety glasses is an inexpensive cost of doing business. I would be willing to state that the cost of roadside incidents, that are preventable costs this industry close to $100,000,000.00 a year in ems services, medical bills, lost wages and productivity. There is no monetary value that can be placed on a human life. There is no amount of money that can replace a person to their family, friends, and loved ones. This $100,000,000.00 is absorbed by the people in this industry. $100,000,000.00 will buy a vast amount of safety if and when it is mandated.

A law is not going to protect you on the side of the highway. If you as a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, are depending on a "law" to protect you from 80,000 lbs of steel and plastic and propelling down the road at 70 miles an hour, you need to go sell everything you own and put a bet down on the red marble at the roulette when in Vegas. You will have far better odds with the red ball. I stopped to assist a woman just yesterday who was stuck on the US 281 to IH 410 East bound flyover who had suffered a blowout. An Airport police officer stopped and shut down a lane to ensure that the vehicle could be tended to while minimizing the risk. Randy, Brian, myself, nor anyone else can ensure that you as a person work in a safe environment it is up to you. I am an advocate for OSHA getting belly deep into this industry and mandating that safe operating procedures be initiated. I hope, wish, and pray that they levy hundreds of 35,000.00 fines for companies that do not initiate and implement safety plans that will save lives. I hope that these fines cause business entities that do not make safety their number one priority to close. Yes, I hope they put companies that do not do everything in their power to ensure that their drivers go home safe completely out of business. I say this as someone who despises government. I hate government interference in business. But I hate for people to die needlessly on the side of the road when it is totally preventable. I say this with the understanding that there is no way to prevent all deaths on the side of the road. The risk will never be 100% mitigated. But the 65 people who will die on the side of the road can be reduced to single digits. One death is far too many. But 65 is totally unacceptable to me, and it should be to you too if you are reading this. Someone asked previously who the industry leaders were. The industry leaders are YOU. YOU are the one who has the power to make a difference. YOU are the person who has the opportunity to refuse a call when all precautions are not met. YOU are the one who has the capacity to demand a safer work environment. YOU are the one who pays the ultimate price if a perfect storm of misfortune meets at the location you are working as a service provider. When I had a heated exchange between a state trooper and myself when he arrogantly refused to close a lane for me to work safely and I proceeded to tell him how things were going to work, it preempted a meeting with his command staff. We all came to an understanding on what roadside safety meant. When I asked how many lanes and how many hours the road would be closed if I were a fatality victim, they had not answer. We now have a much deeper understanding of respect for one another after me walking from a crash scene. And they are well aware that I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Being a consummate professional is the number one requirement for a recovery agent. When I picked up cars decades ago for a particular agency who was a member of Time Finance Adjusters, I always wore a sportscoat as well as docker style pants when I spoke to field contacts. I was able to get so much more information by dressing like a professional rather than someone who just left a bar at 2am. I also would not drive up to a neighbors or debtors home in a recovery vehicle and proceed to ask questions. I drove a discreet sedan. Did I tell little white lies to glean information on the debtor? Of course, but I always followed the law. When I was picking up units at 2 am that was a different story, I dressed down for comfort. My goal is, 100% of the time to not have ANY contact with a debtor, whatsoever, unless the transaction is a voluntary surrender. I do not want to be seen or heard. If a debtor or third party jumps onto or into the unit as I am taking possession, all bets are off, I am leaving the unit. If a debtor jumps in the unit and speeds away and has a collision just up the road, you can bet a number one with an extra sandwich from Chic fil a that you as well as your company will be the party to a lawsuit. Remember, you make no money sitting in a courthouse. Be professional at all times. Follow the laws 100 % of the time. This includes the fair debt collection practices act.

Have you reached out to the manufacturer? They may have some ideas, or may work with you to assist in field testing their equipment. If a winch catastrophically fails and someone is seriously hurt or killed, and it is tied to that component, and you took it upon yourself...…….. See where I am going? I always think like a predator, and not like prey.

There is no car that is worth putting another human being's life in jeopardy. TDLR would do well to stop just being a money tick and do something worthwhile and mandate that those who repossess vehicles or collateral at least be familiar with what a breach of the peace, illegal acts, as well as the fair debt collection practices act is all about. This incident at least fails the breach of the peace standard. I am not kicking a person when they are down, but a person died for a piece of crap hunk of plastic and tin with a mile of copper wire thrown in. Every car is a piece of crap compared to a human life. I have repossessed vehicles and been in a tight spot or two. If in doubt I will release the car. I found it once, I will find it again. There are 7 million car notes that are 90+ days so even if I do not, they are like Lay's potato chips, they will make more.

Paying your employees with a 1099 is a big NO-NO. A big one. you will get yourself into hot water fast with the IRS. They are an employee, not a contractor. I have always felt that 25-27% is a fair commission rate. You can also use safety/ performance bonuses to add incentives. When the Streamlight Stinger flashlights first came out, I received one of them as a safety bonus. I have it to this day. It looks like it was outside the space shuttle and went to the moon and back, but it is still fully functional. I strongly recommend that you read the book by Dave Ramsey entitled Entrée Leadership. One of my favorite lessons of the book was how their organization is so selective in hiring. They actually take the prospective employee out to dinner, on their dime to a meal in order to assess how the employee conducts themselves with their significant other, how they treat the waitstaff, and their general demeanor. Be selective in who you hire. Having an attitude of a seat for every ass will get you in hot water as well.

Training is a fast track to one increasing their pay. Training is the path to becoming a safe operator as well as mitigating the risks of working alongside of the road. Everyone needs training on a regular basis. A trained and competent operator is a valuable operator, he or she will be able to command top dollar in the workplace, and will easily be able to walk from a less than adequate workplace and chose where they will go rather than accept what is out in the market. A competent company will and should always make room and accommodate a trained and competent operator with a good attitude. The ROI on a trained and competent operator is extremely high.

I am not picking on you, but that is definitely NOT a proper way to off load a vehicle. It is rough on your unit, can cause damage to the vehicle you are off loading, and I have to say, is just not the right way to get the job done. Please use your due diligence to get proper training. If you are ever the party of a lawsuit, you will make room for a set of go jacks. Again I am not picking on you, I want you to be a better, safer, more profitable operator. I have done many things over the years that at the time were the easy way. I now many times look back and ask myself, "what were you thinking?" Good luck, Be safe.

Under ideal situations this might be possibly true, but PPI as well as repossessions are a totally different species, not just animal. In many areas that I have worked, parking is TIGHT. A flatbed will simply not work from a logistic/fit standpoint. Then we have the issue of dragging a vehicle onto the bed. One is just asking for a damage claim when they do this. Even if it is a repossession, there is always the possibility that the car will be reclaimed by the debtor. When I see a person shake a vehicle from a flatbed, I deem that operator as needing additional training. THe only legitimate reason would be at the direction of law enforcement in an effort to preserve evidence.

This should be a wake up call for everyone once again, that you are in error to assume that people are going to be diligent and attentive. People are not. It is not the responsibility of other people to ensure your safety. It is your responsibility as an operator to do EVERYTHING you can to mitigate the risk of harm that might occur when you are working on the side of the road. One of the first steps to taking responsibility is to assume that no one is paying attention to your emergency lights. A second step to taking responsibility is to assume that every driver on the highway or roadway is in some manner impaired, be it by alcohol, drugs, technology, sleep deprivation, or by just general disregard to the health, safety, and well being of others. Do not be lulled into complacency when working on the side of any roadway. Do not for a moment, think that it can not, or will not be you who is severely injured or killed due to a moments inattention. If you have children and a family who depend on your income, take responsibility for your actions and get life insurance or disability insurance to assist them in the event that you are seriously injured and unable to work, or are killed on the side of the road. Have a current last will in place as well as a do not resuscitate order in place if you are seriously injured. You should also specify as to whether you want a church service or funeral. If you are not going to do everything you can on the side of the road, at least do what you can to make your wishes known to ease the burden on your family.

Dragging a vehicle onto a bed as well as shaking it off of the bed are not the methods I would want to have utilized if someone were to tow my property. As such, I would not do it to property that belongs to another.

If there is even the slightest possibility that something might fall off of the casualty, a driver should not proceed with the casualty down the road. As a driver of a commercial vehicle, we are held to a higher standard. I observe drivers utilizing dollies on the freeway here all of the time and they are driving 45 mph in a 65 mph zone. If you can not safely complete the procedure, get off the road, secure the casualty, and then proceed. Your beacons are not a safety zone shield.

I am not bashing you, but in the event that there is even a thousandths of a percentage of a chance that something will fly off of a vehicle, those amber lights are not going to mitigate your liability one bit. Again, I am not bashing you. I have a Doctorate degree in stupid towing procedures course number 5403. When I was young, ten foot tall and bullet proof, and had no concept of death, I almost killed a policeman when I boiled the brake fluid in a one ton Chevrolet hauling a dump truck loaded with roofing shingles on a misty morning. I almost ran him into a ravine. (I had zero training, and I was a dumb ass. Now I am an educated, trained, experienced, realizing I will not live forever dumb ass. Some of the secrets I will take to the grave. Or maybe I will write a book on stupid tower shortcuts and failed tricks of the trade. I have been very fortunate that I have been watched over by the patron Saint of towing on many occasions. I do believe that many people run their beacons as a safety warning to other drivers that they are a moving hazard.