goodmichael

A hard hat should be worn whenever working a rollover incident, or incident where a "struck by" injury to the head may occur. "Struck by" I'd one of what OSHA calls "the fatal 4". Wearing a hard hat, eye protection, as well as hearing protection presents a professional image. Also, hard hats have an expectation date. They should be replaced every 2 years

Funerals are for the living. That was an awesome piece of literature. You can never replace time lost. Never! I was really perturbed recently when someone was roasted for suggesting that they charge extra for working in inclement weather. What about holidays? Rates should be double and a half for working Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Father's day and Mother's Day! What are you afraid of? Police work at a holiday rate, as do plumbers and electricians. It should be written into your contract. Grow some balls and ovaries and demand fair compensation for the experience, education, training and education that you bring to the table. And after hours should be time and a half as well. Stop being meek, and demand your due.

You can only suggest ideas, policies, and changes. If a company is not receptive, and the suggestions pertain to safety, you should seek another employer who cares. I recently started working with a company who talks the talk, but crawls when it comes to walking the walk. I delivered to a location recently and was instructed to load/unload in the street. I told them to grab their safety vest, flags, and hard had and come divert traffic for me. I told them that they would need to stand about 100' back so tha th when I heard the thud when they got hit I had some warning. You, and you only are ultimately responsible for your safety. As far as other ideas, I have had management and owners that were offended when I suggested new ideas. They thought I was trying to take over. I keep my mouth closed today, do not engage in conversation unless I have to, and pray for payday. If an owner or a manager wants my input they need to ask.

There is always going to be somebody out there documenting something wrong. We always raise the hue and cry as to why insurance is so expensive. There is a blatant example as to why you pay tens of thousands of dollars a year for insrance. If you are a company who values safety, strives to do everything the right way, and has a desire to be looked upon as a professional, that video should really piss you off. Because when that operator crashes, that vehicle is damaged, or someone is hurt or killed due to excessive speed, that company merely calls their carrier and makes a claim. And that carrier, collectively passes those costs on to the companies who care. The companies who utilize 4 point tie downs, who follow speed limits, and are a professional representation of the industry.

Municipalities generate billions of dollars nationwide on fines and fees related to dwi/DUI. The lobbyist groups that represent the adult beverage industry are huge. Here in Texas the political leadership refuses to allow sobriety checkpoints. How big of a slice of the towing and recovery pie do you believe is related to impounds that are dwi/DUI related? How many operator deaths are dwi/DUIrelated? The legal fees, incarceration costs, as well as fines and related fees related to alcohol far outweigh the monies generated by the beverage industry. The thousands who die in alcohol related events every year are acceptable to politicians. The monies generated outweigh the casualties.

I keep 2 in the truck. Cheap insurance.

Parole is generally granted by a board that votes on the case. I do not know how it works in Colorado, but that is how it works in Texas. Here a judge has little say in the decision.

Society is overwhelmed by those that do not take responsibility for their safety or well being. They walk in front of traffic while on their phones, cut off large trucks, walk in front of vendors pushing carts in grocery stores. There is no end to the madness.

Great job.

It is not the responsibility of the roadside company to ensure the safety of the motorist. This is strictly a courtesy. It is not included in the contract that passengers be transported to a safe haven. If customers want to effect change, they need to put pressure on their roadside service to pay for that accessory. Crew cab trucks, as well as extended cab trucks cost extra money. And there needs to be a ROI on the expense.

Hopefully the driver did not suffer from a medical issue or meet foul play. I worked for companies who had a similar circumstance, and both drivers had done nothing wrong. I have also encountered operators who went mia due to drugs. Came back two weeks later like nothing ever happened. Hope the driver is okay.

The belief that I can make it or, should I say, "It will be all right" permeates this industry. It will take leadership in the motor club world, the automotive manufacturing and repair sector, and government, DOT as well as law enforcement to step into the arena and demand professional standards to effect change. As of now many shop from the right side of the menu. Safety and professionalism take a back seat to price.

Until there is a set, agreeable, enforceable standard on operators insurance will continue to rise. An agent told me recently that the totality of the circumstances are looked at when rates are set. If one has a deck truck that will transport one on the bed, and one on a wheel lift, there is a potential for three environmental claims. Four if you consider a strucn by vehicle. Take a good look at who is being employed in this industry. There are some great, outstanding companies in this industry. There are many questionable ones, and there are som ed that are just unsafe. You as a reputable, safe, conscientious business entity support the dregs of the industry, as the losses are pooled together as far as the industry is concerned. I would propose that companies who do the right thing as a mantra, invest in proper equipment, diligently maintain equipment, are highly selective in hiring, training, and employee development, have a safety plan that is workable, attainable, and practiced not just written down on paper band together and solicit bids for a premium rate on insurance.

Just as maintenance on your fleet is only 7% the cost of repairs resulting from poor maintenance, PPE is cheap when compared to an injury. We need to do better at requiring PPE to prevent injuries, not because it is required by contractual agreement.

EwwI have impounded a few for no insurance, dwi/DUI's, and no valid license. I have also repossessed two police cars from a municipality after they defaulted on an obligation. It was pretty awkward calling in the repossession to law enforcement when it was their fleet that was the unit captured. I recovered both units the same episode.

Good for you. You are an innovator in this industry. The life you save may very well be a family member.

I vividly recall having to drive a casualty to Fort Worth, Texas on a hot 100 plus degree Texas afternoon. I had been up multiple times the previous night for police rotation calls and was not at all well rested. The ac was out in the deck I drove. I had to stop multiple times to just gather my composure. I made it back, but it was a very dangerous and treacherous ride. Lack of ac is easily a contributing factor in exasperating driver fatigue. If I worked exclusively at night it would have been a different story. But here, not having ac, working in the heat of the day in 100 plus high humidity can lull an operator into a fatal one vehicle fatal collision. Which will leave survivors to quote unquote suck it up.

It is that suck it up mentality that gets people killed. Having worked and pushed myself past the point of fatigue and then having to complete a 100 mile tow in 100 degree heat I can tell you that the lack of ac is an extreme hazard. The lack of ac is also a huge turn off for a client. And what about your defroster aspect. Your defroster does not function without ac operating. If it breaks and needs to be scheduled for a repair that is one thing. But waiting with no target to get it fixed is unacceptable in my book. I am not going to suck it up and risk a crash. And have a black mark on my CDL.

Hot day, fatigued driver who worked two or three calls the previous night and further added to his sleep debt. Now it is 4pm on a hot day, the operator is fatigued. A hot cab here in South Texas could be the difference between an alert driver and a crash. Also a hot cab for a customer waiting on the side of the road on 35 Ssouth is not going to get you accolades from a client.

Do not run a call for less than your cost plus profit. You are in business to make a living, not to let motor clubs rob you of your profit. Start small. Wreckmaster is a great training venue. Recovery Billing Unlimited is a great training venue as well. I am a big Dave Ramsey fan. I would get a copy of Entree Leadership and read it as well. Banks are not your friend. Think they are? Get sick or hurt and miss a couple payments and you will see their true colors. A paid off truck rides different. Again start small. Do not mortgage your soul. A truck will cost you close to 10 grand a month to operate. Divide that by 30 and that is what you need to carve out of this marble we call earth. You can do it, but start small.

We got it started.

I could not have given you more sound of an advice platform. It will take new leadership such as yourself to elevate this industry into a profession. Never forget that family is first. Never forget this.

I have an associate with a detroit dd50 that he ran out of fuel. Any suggestions to get him up and running. Michael 210-296-4823

Thanks for posting.

That looks really good. No great. I love the old iron. Great, no, outstanding work!