TowZone

I run numbers in my head and the odds of a Tower be Struck in the next 5 days are extremely HIGH. Please, Please, Please Be On High Alert. I know that many here have a heightened awareness of the dangers. However, I have encountered at least Tow Truck Drivers this week that have scared me to a point of being sick. Had I not taken the time to turn around and stop, adding extra lights. Well, I may have learned that they the odds of being struck were HIGH for one of them. Both were on the interstate in a very dangerous location on that white line. Each them of were attempting a change a tire and were having problems. Both vehicles could have been towed to a safer location. I am glad I was there and yes my odds of being struck in the Tow Truck are HIGH. I see it this way, I am in the Truck and they are not. I have RED & BLUES they Do Not. Now, I am not about to say the RED & BLUES make a difference, because in fact that difference is very small. Sometimes that is all it takes. Oh and neither tow truck driver was wearing PPI. So, when they crossed the white line into the roadway. No One Saw Them... Not Even I.... Be Safe Out There. Preach SAFETY and May the TowForce be with you.

The actions of the Tow Truck Operator seem to excel above the actions of the officer. This is a good video to open a discussion, yes it is arm chair quarterbacking. However, watching team footage is how teams learn. Who wants to start?

Ed, It was 13 years ago... I can not recall recoveries I did last year. It would really have to a special recovery to be memorable. I'm sure you have had dozens and dozens of these since.

On Friday, July 22, 2022, at approximately 12:25 AM, police and EMS units were dispatched to a serious motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Lakehurst Road and Hospital Drive. The initial investigation revealed Tina Dung, 21 of Maryland, was stopped for the traffic light before she proceeded through the red signal and collided with a Legacy Towing flatbed wrecker heading east on Lakehurst Road. The three passengers in Ms. Dung’s car, all citizens of China, were sadly killed as a result of the collision. The 54 year old male, 52 year old female, and a 23 year old male victims were all from same family. Neither driver showed signs of impairment. Ms. Dung sustained minor injuries as a result of the accident. She received a citation for Failure to Observe a Traffic Signal. Neither the driver nor passenger of the tow truck were injured. The crash remains under investigation by Toms River Police Traffic Safety Officers, Corporal Terry Warren and Michael Cassidy, and the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. Also assisting at the scene was Toms River Fire Company, the Ocean County Sheriff CSI Unit, and the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office.

This incident was reported yesterday and though there was a tow truck in the image. Confirmation could not be made at the time. Two Semis and a Tow Truck were involved in a crash. One person was killed in the crash Tuesday morning in Lincoln County. The crash happened on the Turner Turnpike near mile marker 175. The crash victim was identified by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol as 41-year-old Melissa Mitchell Aldrich, Missouri. She was a passenger in a Freightliner involved in the crash. The driver of the Freightliner was brought to OU Medical with various injuries.

This is an age old debate, at some point and time Wrecker Driver was detremined to either not be good enough or have aged out. It then became Tow Truck about the same time the term Wrecker Driver became Tow Truck Operator. Of course both are actually one and the same. However. as the skill level increased and training became more common the term Driver which became associated with a steering wheel holder changed to Operator. I have said for year, I don't care what anyone calls me as long as I am getting paid.

Yesterday I brought up Steve Simpson who was struck and killed on Dixie Hwy. in Louisville, Ky. October 3, 2016. Today we did some research into his killer. Did anyone here know that he was given an 8 year sentence for manslaughter in 2019. Released this past February after serving approximately 2.5 years of the 8 year sentence? The early release was in part due to overcrowding.

I was just informed that the truck has been recovered and the suspect were detained at gun point even. We'll have to wait and see if these were Pros or just some smart junkies. Some might be surprised with Meth & Crack Heads can do... I'm leaning towards they part of a gang that have done this before. But, hopefully we find out at some point.

Timeline: Christian D. Larson wrote The Optimist Creed in 1912. Ernst Holmes Built the first wrecker in 1916 and the Optimist International adopted the Optimist Creed in 1922. The Optimist Creed was not actually written for the Optimist Club International.. As a side note, for many years I was a member of one of the oldest Optimist Clubs in the nation formed in Louisville, Ky. in 1916. Ernst Holmes must have certainly been an Optimist when he invented the first wrecker in Chattanooga, Tn. in 1916.

A New Official TowForce Semi-Annual Roll Call is now in Progress! July 1-31, 2022 You can add your reply by following this link below. Hope everyone have a Happy Holiday! https://www.towforce.net/topic/19081-towforce-semi-annual-roll-call-in-progress-july-1-31-2022/

Ed, that is what I was thinking when I saw the pickup truck. The sneaker style wheel lift is not clearly visible. Wreck Chasing Must STOP everywhere. It is a Dinosaur in todays Towing & Recovery Industry.

Savannah, left out of Indy Friday on her Mission Trip to Poland. I have done my best to update those who provided support for this trip. A note for members who donated funds and have not received any of these notifications. Please let me know so I can put you on the list. On Friday, while they were ontime into Chicago. They sat on the Tarmac for nealy an hour and watched the overseas flight leave 5 minutes before they were to reach the terminal. The Airline did step up covering rooms for two nights as well as food vouchers for dinner each night. Finally, they boarded a flight yesterday and are much closer to the camp two days off schedule. Now, you know the Bad. The Good is... Spending a couple of days in Chicago wasn't Bad. Images must be cleared by the group for mass broadcast and will be added when possible. Likely a few at a time, so check back.

This Topic Ends Tomorrow and we are still $400 short for our Annual Survivor Fund Donation. Combine that with Last Years Donation and we are now $800 short of our annual donation. I just do not know what to say, there isn't anything more that current supporters can do. In Fact I would not ask them to go over and beyond. So, I will be reaching out to each and every potential sponsor which has shown interest over the past few months to reach funds.

Fallen tow truck operator honored on son’s tow truck MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - It was an emotional and special day Friday for a local tow truck operator who lost his father in an accident four years ago. James Moorehead’s tow truck was specially wrapped in new graphics to honor his father, Paul Jason Moorehead, Sr., who was killed in 2018 while towing a car on I-59 in Jasper County. “I’ve kind of taken James under my wing,” said Graphics Guru owner, Zane Royal. “He’s done really good with starting over with J&C Towing. It was such a tragedy to lose a friend for such a senseless accident. It’s always been ‘move over’ for tow trucks. Being that we are a graphics shop, he had a new truck that he was putting together and I said we are going to wrap this truck.” The graphics feature a photo of Moorehead, his birth and death date, his signature and a special message reminding motorists that tow truck operators are heroes too. “Slow down, move over has been part of my life for a while. Not just since my father passed away, I’ve always said slow down and move over,” James Moorehead explained. “It’s not just for tow truck drivers, it’s for anybody. Even the construction workers that are building the highways. You need to give them respect because they need to make it home to their family at the end of the day, as well.” The truck was unveiled to James Moorehead in front of his family at the Graphics Guru shop on B St. in Meridian Friday afternoon. RESOURCE LINK with VIDEO

We Failed to meet Goal by about $100. Could have likely need $200, but she will be on a plane for Poland soon. There is still a few hours to get those funds in and if you miss this opportunity to give to a worthy cause. There is a new promotion starting this Friday, July 1st and running though July 4th. I will let you check out the details in a topic an Important Topic which is also a Roll Call. Let's Get It Going!

Social Security will be around in ten years. However the full retirement age will have inreased to 70. My full retirement age already increased from 65 to 67 and I am weighing what age to take it starting at 62. It is just Math, it should be that difficult. Oh, but it is.... or at least it is more than I can grasp in a few hours. The Towing Industry needs an on call Clergy, an Attorney and Artist and now a Financial Planner. Geesh...

Thanks Randall, very good observations. As much as I make a head motion while making this statement. It appears that body cams are going to apear more and more in our industry. I thought I would really dislike wearing one when they issued them to us. I really don't give it much thought. It is a huge CYA in the instances where the use is deemed both apporpriate and useful. While I do not implement it on each and every call, there are several instances where other people are involved that I do activate the camera. This is evidence that I used proper safety and advised those persons where to stand for their safety. If they wonder out into traffic at that point then I did my best to advise them of the hazards. This is also important for those on scene that are not related to the incident, including Live Streamers (Persons Documenting the Event). The Body Cam activated or not changes attitudes. Is it something I see companies implement, on a wide scale probably not. On a small scale or an individual level with Tow Operators purchasing their own then yes I do see this increasing. Like the number of in cab cameras are increasing, it's about documentation!

@goodmichael Good to see you back on board, we have missed your input. Hope all is well and you are feeling much better. The number of hours I have been putting in as of late has taken it's toll and I find myself sleeping nearly 8 hours compared to 5 or 6 just to catch up. We have a state funded program called TRIMARC here that does basically to same thing as your HERO Program. Sadly the Hours are Limited and I think they are either short on staff or equipment. Their hours of operation are 6:30am to 10:30pm, It would be nice to have one unit available during the overnight hours. Often they start recieving calls for service at 6:00am and I have not heard of a unit out after 8:00pm so I'm not sure the hours are the best. it is likely they start at 6am and end at 10pm with a half hour on each end to start and end shifts. Never the least it is an invaluable service which without doubt has saved lives due to the traffic advisor board mounted on the units. The fear I have is one will be struck changing a tire on the side of the roadway. This can occur even with the large arrow board. How days I find that the traffic advsor board may prove to slow traffic as they slow to read the message. Then again that could cause a secondary an accident as well. I was assisting with traffic control at an accident the other evening. A lady literally stops her vehicle in the travel portion of the roadway just past my unit. I feared the worst but after about 10 to 25 seconds she moved on. Keep in mond this was a 55mph highway that traffic is traveling a minimum of 65mph and traffic stops are 80mph and higher. If they changed the speed limit to 65mph, drivers would just go 10mph more. Even I can not do 55 in my personal vehicle. One I would get run over and Two the 4 lane roadway is designed for higher speeds. I am sure many here have these same issues.

Defining a Safety Perimeter is a good policy. I prefer the officer handle this aspect, although quite often we find that it becomes our responsibility. In this topic of discussion: We are focusing on a person with the camera or likely camera phone. This is often the vehicles owner who is not cognitive of the possible dangers. How many times have we had someone with the vehicle (a driver, an owner, a friend, etc.) step into traffic for a picture? What is your responsibilty regarding safety at the scene? Would you knowingly allow someone to step into traffic? How about entering into or standing in a hazard position?

CSP said two patrol cars were hit in less than a week. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/csp-car-hit/73-12b49736-4293-43f6-af3d-c04734bfb814

This question was asked in a FB Group: ---------------------------- How does everybody feel about highway jobs? and if y’all do them how much extra do you all charge? ---------------------------- While, in may position charging extra isn't a possiblity. I do see where a Hazardous Duty charge is an option. However, the most effect method would be to factor that into all calls for service and set it aside in a special fund. I am not aware of any tow companies that currently do this. As for Motor Club Calls the number of companies that have decreased their number of calls for services on Interestates and Highways seems to have decreased. I can see were adding a Hazardous Duty charge on would be appropriate. Again, with transparency to the employees those charges would go into a special fund. Just to increase employee compensation alone does not provide assistance should an employee be injured. Yes, it seems a high number of companies provide little or no assistance to an employee or their family should that employee be injuried or killed in the line of their duties. I hope some will speak up and prove this to be inaccurate. Now for my response to the topic: It is amazing the direction topics take in this group. It comes down to factoring in hazardous duty compensation. This can be difficult to charge on specific types of tows, so it is generally factored into all tows. Police, Fire, EMS have Hazardous Duty Pay. Tow Trucks being in the Private Sector overwhelmingly do not, even though they are often in similar situations such as working on roadways with speeds over 45 MPH. I say speeds over 45 MPH because generally the majority of tow truck operators struck are on roadways over 45 MPH. Factor in the majority are working alone whereas Police, Fire, EMS, even DOT nearly always have backup. This does not prevent them from being struck, but it does reduce the chance of injury. Although, by the current numbers more Police Officers are being struck compared to Tow Truck Operators. My major concern are the number of tow truck drivers not wearing proper clothing and practicing safety when working on any speed roadway. Sadly, there will always be bottom feeders that change less even on highway calls. Just as there will be more companies now that refuse highway calls, even if it is only during specific hours.

Great Images, hoefully you got some of the recovery as well. But, I understand if you didn't as I get busy as well. So, he pulled to the side of the road as he was doing what, about 70mph. Cause that is quite a bit of gaurdrail he took out. Lucky to walk away without injury, as many guardrails I have seen do far more damage. Not that the Subaru isn't total, cause it is.... The Good is he doesn't have to worry about the mechanical issue. The Bad is he will likely have to pay for that guardrail.

I just sat in on this webinar, if you missed it all I can say is it was one of the best. Not the normal drag on boring at all, it was an informative and fast paced 45 minutes. Looking forward to Rural Road Safety Awareness Week in July.

With the Patron Support of of Chuck aka Towman92266 we are now at the last $225.00 towards goal for this trip. This total includes all travel and expense. A huge thanks to Savannahs nana who not only covered the bulk of the mission trip. But, took Savannah out today and got her setup with some items for her dorm room in the fall. Hoping to get back on conducting the drawings upon Savannahs return next month. Again, if you ar not a current TowForce supporter. PLEASE, consider a supporter level. This time around it is Savannahs Mission Trip, next time it may be a members son or daughter TowForce is able to support on a mission trip. We also have an outstanding pledge to the survivor fund. So, if you miss this Mission Fund. The First Week of July we will set a goal for the Survivor Fund. Making TowForce the New Force in the Towing & Recovery Industry. May the TowForce be with you and see you as a support level member real soon.