goodmichael

So, basically you are using technology, to beat the competition, and to get to a stranded motorist first? Your vehicles should be equipped with the proper tools. You should not have to survey the scene. When someone who is a meth head and has been tweeking for two weeks and is paranoid shoots one of these out of the sky what are you going to do? Seems like you are just looking for an edge to put your company in front of the customer first.

The EPA is not willing to work with small business. I do understand the need to enforce the emission tampering laws. It is much more about generating fine and fee income than it is about perpetuating the enviornment.

It is a matter of integrity. You lied to me once, so you will always have an asterisk next to your name. One has to trust their staff to carry out business as a professional. Calling in sick when you are not is stealing. There is no gray area.

I believe that was the casualty on the slow lane shoulder that came into view post impact. Why not stage in front of the casualty? Why are we staging on the white line inches from the kill zone? The probability of being struck is probably 50 times greater when one is that close to the white line. I believe it would be a 60/20/20 pure comparative liability. The officer should have done a better job, operator should have staged different, and should have been wearing ANSI gear. Dead is dead is the lesson here. Easly could have been a fatal incident. Again, Not picking on anyone. Least expensive and best lessons are learned when we do not pay the price and nobody is hurt.

Randy, I agree. There was a disregard for totality of the scene mentality. The casualty appeared aftwr the carrier was advanced by the impact. Could the operator have staged in front of the casualty? Why did he temporarily stage in the kill zone, even for a second when it does not appear neccessary? Why did the officer not do a bettter job in controlling his or her scene? The catalyst was the jeep making contact with the pickup. From a pure comparitive negligence standpoint, it appears that if the carrier was not staged where it was placed while awaiting further direction, it would have been a minor crash, with a possible oight pole impact as a worst case scenario. If the carrier had been staged in front of the casualty while awaiting further direction the scene would have made a lot more sense. Had this operator stepped out at the exact moment that this incident occurred, this very easily could have been another fatal. I am not beating anybody up. But folks, we have to be more cognizant of the totality of the scene each and every time we are near traffic posted at 20 mph or more. Your life depends on it.

Driving into water is a bad practice. Submerging wheels compromises seals and contaminates fluid. If a municipality requests you to do it, you should refuse. They will not compensate you for damage to your fleet.

Randy, thanks for posting the OSHA summary. It seems the fatal four in construction are also the fatal four in the towing and recovery industry. Those being struck by, caught in Between, falls and electrocution.

One cannot break the law, or policies, but we do need to, collectively as a nation do a better job in working to give people a second chance. It is a very stressful undertaking to make that decision on any hire. It is exasperated when the person has a record. I am not advocating a hug a thug mentality. For the record I am 100% for the death penalty. But there are some people out there with records who have excellent skills, and with a second chance are worthy of the opportunity to be an outstanding employee.

I believe that the TIMS or similar training should be mandatory. If we desire to be professionals, we need to present as professionals. The big picture around a scene is 100 yards around a scene. I have never attended TIMS. I am currently attending OSHA training, and a great amount of emphasis is on the fatal 4 scenarios linked to most fatalities. They are falls, struck by, pinned in between, and electrocution. Towing and securing the casualty is important. It is a chapter in the book. The book, entitled, " My safe journey home" has a first chapter on preparing for your shift 12 hours in advance. The second chapter deals with preparing yourself and your equipment, the third is arriving on scene and planning to conquer your casualty, the fourth is controling and owning your scene, fifth is securing your casualty and mitigating your scene, sixth is departing safely and decompressing, seventh is preparing and being prepared for the next call. You are the professional. You must work efficiently, but your number one goal is to go home alive.

I would open my response by stating that I was legally parked on the shoulder of the road in the course of legal business for the purpose of assisting a motorist who had suffered a mechanical issue to their vehicle and was in need of immediate assistance due to their being at risk by being in the side of an active roadway. After the third objection from the plaintiff attorney, I would continue by stating that I had mitigated the apparent risks to the best of my abilities by being legally parked to maintain a clear lane adjacent to the scene, I had activated my emergency lighting to warn potential distracted drivers of my presence as well as the presence of a pitential hazard. And I would close by stating that I worked as efficiently as safely possible to remove my presence from the scene so as to not be placed in jeapordy from an impaired or distracted driver who, in the course of, and as a result, of their impairment or distraction were a deadly threat to my person.

Randy, anytime you put out a message about safety you have the potential to save a person's life. You may not hear about it, because the fact that a person put another safety tool in their mental toolbox does not present when a person makes it home to their family whole. You have to take great pride in the fact that you as well as Brian as well as others have saved lives by presenting and calling attention to issues. Just how many times have people changed a habit, took a second to observe their surroundings, and been more aware, will never be known. Yourself and others should be very proud of the fact that you have changed habits and saved lives. And for that I am very thankful for all you and others do!

I feel he had ample equipment to recover the vehicle. It was just wrong all the way. The statement hey, it is recovery man is not acceptable. It is not professional. That was a pretty decent vehicle from what I could see. Even if the other side was crashed, you are a professional. You do not further damage the casualty, endanger lives, including your own, or endanger property belonging to another.

I would definitely give a person a second chance. I would not take the risk of hiring a predatory sex offender but would give a chance to a person who was convicted of an offense who was involved as a younger person with a person who was younger than them and was charged as a sexual offender. I served the state of Texas as a parole officer and supervised a specialized caseload of sex offenders. One of my parolees was a young man who had been involved in a sexual relationship with a young woman who was three years younger than him. They had been dating for an extended period of time. He was hispanic and the young girl was an anglo. The parents disapproved of the relationship. They contacted the district attorney and had the young man prosecuted. He did six months and was released on supervision. He was a decent young man, found a job, did everything that was expected of him. I would hire him in a heartbeat. I am the first to admit, I am a ahole. I do not like visible tattoos, I do not like smoking in a vehicle that is owned by me. My insurance, my fuel, my rule. ( I should put that on my headstone.) If that is something you do not like, that is fine, go roll your nickels, dimes, and quarters, hoard your change in a 1.75 ltr Jack Daniels bottle and when you fill 22 of them with quarters go and put a down payment on a truck. Then you can do whatever you want. I will give someone a chance if they want to work. I will assist anyone who genuinely has a desire to work. But I will only hire you if I see that you will represent me and my business. Because I built it. Not some socialist, Chic fil a hating, love and tolerate everybody, everybody deserves equal opportunity politician who wants to dictate what I risked all for, worked, stressed out over, and developed despite being taxed to death. It is mine, not yours. And I will run it as I please. Let me get of my box. Yes, I would support people in giving them an opportunity for a second chance. Law enforcement needs to look at their criteria for allowing people the opportunity to work rotation work as well. Thanks for letting me vent, that was better than my psychotropic meds!!

It is easy to let yourself slip into the mindset that only bad people get far in life. It can lead to one allowing that to be used as an excuse. I know many people who busted their ass for years to get where they are today, that being successful. Do some people cheat the system, and never get caught, sure they do. But many others work 12 hour days and fight to be a success. I worked for a man who had an 8th grade education who built a towing service and was a millionaire. He started with two used trucks. If you go to a tow show, most of those who attend and own their own business started as a driver with nothing but a dream. They fought, sacrificed, persevered, overcame many obstacles to be in the financial positions they are in today. When I go to a tow show, I have not been able to in many years, I can pick out the owners ,many times by just looking for the most stressed out, tired, individuals with the nine mile gaze. Despite what politicians tell you, at least the ones who are semi focused on America, (many seem to want to run for President of Mexico rather than the USA) America is still awash in opportunity. A person selected for a Chic fil a franchise only needs 10,000.00 to get started if selected, there are vast opportunities in the trades. HVAC, welders, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians are in demand. But you have to get off your ass and work to make it happen. The education system has brainwashed the current generation XYZ whatever they are called, to follow your dreams. Your dreams are worthless if they do not generate an income! The government needs to get out of the education system lending business immediately. Then the price of advanced education will level out to market demand. The USA is still, the best deal in countries around the world, and it is because people get up and go to work every day to make it a better place. And like I always say, "Made in China translates to This is Crap."

Randy, to add a 6 and 7 he is positioned in a restricted lane, turn only. That adds to confusion of the situation. He is also complacent, the fact that it is hot has no bearing on the fact that metal has no mercy for meat. That car, may I add, might be a test drive, the driver has restricted view due to the signage, as well as the fact that if it is on a test drive, the operator might not be adequately rehearsed in where controls are. That was an excellent article. It should be utilized in safety briefings. You hit another one out of the park sir, as usual! Thanks for all you do!

Terrible. It appears that the truck on the deck folded over the pylon into/onto the cab of wrecker. It appears to be set and in place at the tailboard of the deck. Horrific accident.

Call me, I can get that information for you to send out the notification letters. I might be able to get it tomorrow, if not Monday for sure. I am happy to assist you, as they say at Chic fil a, my pleasure! Michael 210-296-4823

Randy, I missed your presentation this year. I actually was in Grapevine at the resort for a trade show from the 6th to the 8th. Could not get away again so soon. Keep up the fight.

Brian, very true indeed. Today one is generally guilty until proven innocent in many cases. Political correctness outweighs the truth.

It is always a proud moment when you or one of yours is caught doing the right thing. Most people are good and honest. The three percent that are not ruin it for everyone. If you want to read something really cool look up the teacher who left her purse in a Chic fil a.

I agree. You never know what is going through a persons mind today, and or what their intentions are. Once you have clients in your vehicle, you should use due diligence to ensure that they are transported to their destination in the most safest, direct route possible. Driving down the highway is perilous enough. Stopping on the roadside not only heightens your chances for a collision, but subjects everyone to the unknown dangers of the subject you are engaging.

You are the person who controls who you allow in your truck. You have to make rapid and sound decisions on the roadside. Always watch the hands. It is the hands that kill. Observe the person, if they are jumpy or extremely on edge, these are warning signs. Use your best judgement, and have faith in your sixth sense. I have refused to transport people before. I have always had solid observations to back up my decisions.

# 2 is the one that can cost you big bucks.

We lose people to roadside struck by incidents due to the industry not making safety their number one priority. Safety is an attitude. And safety costs money to perpetuate. We have a poor attitude on safety. We as an industry accept the sixty deaths as a cost of doing business for the year. We then cross our fingers that they will not happen to anyone we know. On the same front, people whine, cry, piss and moan about the cost of their insurance premiums. But nobody, but a select few, has ever raised the fact that if this industry adds protocols to make the industry safe at the cost of the end user, the premiums people pay will be considerably lower, and the sixty deaths might possible be cut to fifteen for the year. We have some outstanding business people in this industry that strive to provide a great, safe workplace for their people. We have a great deal of clueless people who have the assets and ability to acquire equipment but do not have the vision that safety is paramount in this field to survive for the long term. They are concerned, but not concerned enough to take the required steps to ensure a safe workplace. They are more concerned about the loss of business they will encounter if they charge accordingly, and their charges are reflective of a safe workplace. They do not want to hurt their customers feelings, and or are too worried about someone else getting sub par clientele. Then there are the meat grinder people, the bottom of the barrel companies. They could care less about their staff. Fire one hire one is their motto. You all are a piece of work. We also have poor industry leadership that is afraid to step up and call people out for lack of safety. I consider myself fairly informed despite not having a television in my home for four years. I read about fifty books a year on various subjects. Nobody from the manufacturing end , Miller, Jerr Dan, or any of the other CEO's of equipment manufacturers have called for any type of urgency in discussing this issue. Motor clubs have not done so either. Law enforcement has failed as well. I am speaking of at large discussions to address the issues of safety. I hope I made somebody mad. I really do. We as an industry perpetuate an unsafe working environment for our staff by not doing everything we can to ensure that we do all we can do. So to answer your question, so many die because so many more do not care enough to take affirmative action to prevent the deaths.

Not familiar with them. WreckMaster is a great outfit and is well known and recognized. One other bit of advice I have is to not grow your business too fast. Many people find that they make less money with more trucks. Law enforcement towing is a tricky business. They require specific equipment, extra insurance, and 24/7/365 availability. As well as a secure storage yard facility. There is money on the table but one sometimes turns down business to be available only to wind up with nothing if the phone does not ring. Know and control your costs.