GRUMPS The Towman

Reciprocity between state training would be a BIG step in the right direction for National Standardization.. Just my 2 cents..😀

Mine is a 17 and 4x4. My profile pic is mine. I think there is a couple good shots of mine on my posts : seasonal road recovery and quick rollover under the light duty/carrier recovery categories. I do have more pics and recoveries to post, Just need time. lol I love mine. Shes been real good to me. bought her new in 17. I hope yours is as good to you as mine has been. I will try to put a pic on here. ( bear with me, I am not very computer savvy LOL

What I see around here alot is Operators roll up on a scene and the FIRST thing they do is Look for the EASIEST route to load their casualty Even if that means setting the truck across the road blocking traffic to get dead on with the casualty. I on the other hand, usually 98% look to see how I can load my casualty WITHOUT impeding traffic even if it means additional time and equipment to do so. I DONT want my truck in traffic, I DONT want ME in traffic. I charge the appropriate rate to perform the job with SAFETY in mind. even if that means an extra 10 minutes to snatch off the deck and/or reposition. Bottom line is KNOW what your doing, CHARGE PROPERLY for what your doing and KEEP YOUR A$$ out of traffic as MUCH as possible.. those amber lights and reflective clothing DOES NOT make you invincible.

Y This IS the time to ask that question because it just shows what kind of business this particular clown in this story runs.You dont as far as I know. All of my efforts to get my son covered have fallen on deaf ears. My oldest boy is 18, Has a short but spotless driving record, and been learning and working with me since he could basically walk. He has also taken and passed WreckMaster entry level and carrier training. Yet I cant put him on my business Insurance as an operator untill he is 23.

Well Said!!! A very important eye opening piece you have written here.

Sweet truck !!!! Looks like my trucks sister. what year is yours?

NEVER EVER do it.. there is so many other alternatives to doing that. It is a matter of sheer untrained laziness ( not to mention a obvious lack of common sense ). If I were to catch one of my employees doing it they would be terminated for MAJOR safety violations. As a side note I DO NOT allow drive ons or roll offs on my flatbed at all.

NOT AGAIN... Rest in peace Operator.

Rest in peace driver. I hope the tow operator had his tag lights on. Hopefully this turns out to be just a tragic accident and not caused by operator negligence.

Nice work. It is still that way at least here. Both my boys ( 17 and 8 ) have the fundamentals down on operating my truck. Just like their "old man" did. teach them young, teach them RIGHT.

For the most part yes. they are around here anyway. As soon as he told them that he was out of traffic and cleared from the scene it was time for the ins/m.c. to go shopping and find a service for him at pennies on the dollar. But now the general public will villify us because it took so long for a tow truck to get to him..... Its our fault,... Just go ask the public.......

Glad to hear the Operator is ok. I want to believe he was working the curbside of his truck. We need some good stories of Operators surviving these wrecks because they were following some of the guidelines that over the years we as an industry have implemented

Congratulations Mrs, Tucker. Enjoy your retirement.

I could not agree more. Like i have said before, I am just a tiny 2 truck operation in a podunk upstate town. I wouldnt even know where to begin. But I will say, I am passionate about this Industry and what it stands for. I like many others out there would adjust and adapt as the industry evolves. I would love to hear the Ideas of association leaders as long as they are open to hearing from all of us little guys out here too.

Training Is expensive yes, Standards set on a National level requiring said training may get the costs down some in my opinion. if EVERYONE who wants to be in this business has to get and provide this training I feel the prices would settle down. It may suffer from "shiny new thing" syndrome in the begining and be outrageously priced to start, But as more accredited training becomes available the prices would come down. It needs to be looked at the cost of doing business.This would also in my opinion get these scab companies and the inexperienced kids they hire to disappear over time. This industry needs to evolve from just a job to a career for people dedicated to it. We are the Mcdonalds of the automotive world when in reality we have the ability and the need to be the 5 star restaurants

Thankfully this young man will be ok.. Now to look at the BIGGER problem here. The owner of "CUT RATE" Is obviously one of those particular owners who just finds warm bodies to set behind the wheel of his trucks. Yes I can see where the dealership receiving the vehicle should have called ems for this boy. Your deflecting your responsibility to the dealership. But here you are Mr. CUT RATE putting a boy out there with apparently ZERO TRAINING. YOU, MR. CUT RATE ARE THE PROBLEM. That boys injuries are YOUR fault. Maybe I am being harsh, But I can only hope this incident puts you out of business Before you and your practices get someone killed.

If memory serves right, there were quite a few different 4 speed transmissions available In the second gen C30's so its impossible to know without doing a vin check or running the numbers off the trans itself. as far as the rear end and lowering the trucks height, it may be easier to lower the truck with a custom set of leaf springs and shackles. I would discuss that option with a local truck spring shop. A good spring shop would be able to build you a set of springs in house.

Your closing paragraph is Well spoken Sir. And thank you for your tireless efforts of keeping track of these horrible statistics.

May you rest in peace Operator McCarthy. We will drag those chains from here.

Appears to be a model citizen. Not to worry though, After a couple court appearances, a psych evaluation and some wheeling n dealing He will do 3-6 months at the local puzzle factory and set back out into society and called normal.

Here we go again.... What a horrible new years it has been. Rest easy Operator. And yes Mr. Resch, there have been many occasions around here, particularly during major weather events where wrecks are left for clean up after the storm subsides and generally, P.D. does not return to the scene unless there are odd circumstances that require their presence. In my opinion, Having P.D. on scene does not generally persuade the motoring public to obey the s.d.m.o. Laws. If anything, It becomes more of a spectacle which causes secondary accidents and traffic issues. Too many Operators get a false sense of security just because P.D. is on scene. Bottom line is the ONLY person who can protect you out there is YOU. Plan your movements and actions, Watch your back and Always, ALWAYS leave an escape route for yourself.

I am very sorry to hear that this accident has hit very close to home for you Tow Zone. Stay strong and just know your family at towforce is behind you.

Thank you sir. I am aware that your numbers are not rock solid but I am aware that you do keep as good as possible statistics on these horrible tragedies. It has certainly been a very rough year for our industry. Although I am sure it is not something that you take pride in doing but, keeping track of these fatalities and injuries is a necessary evil. We as an industry MUST take the steps required to prevent these tragedies. Of course there will ALWAYS be unavoidable accidents, equipment failures and so on. I do really feel that MANY of these fatalities and injuries can be avoided. I agree with Mr. Resch that this industry is plagued with the "its not gonna happen to me" syndrome. Complacencey kills. There is NO such thing as a routine tow or recovery. and the sooner we as an industry begin to realize that, the sooner these horrible statistics will go down instead of up.

Rest easy Operator. Your shift is over. A terrible way for our industry to end the year. I know there are still hours left in this year And I am hoping and praying this is the last tragic loss we have to endure for 2019 , but does any one have the total count on Operators killed this year?.. Mr. Resch??

Nice work. gotta love those mystery wheel jobs. Had one last year during a snow storm, head on accident near a wooded area. Wheel, spindle, brake assembly, a hunk of axle and a strut just disappeared. We searched for 30 minutes and found nothing. Figured It got buried in the snow bank off the road and it would turn up after the thaw. We assume some scrapper finally came across it before we found it. There is still talk of the missing wheel assembly to this day with all the locals..lol