rreschran

I agree that working service calls and flat tires are a deadly practice. George's comment is a fast and easy solution for a quick fix to get the vehcile moved. The concept of roadside repair is alive an well on the Autobahn and formerly a concept of consideration by major auto clubs called, "On the Go Strategies". While the thought was customer convenience and satisfaction, it doesn't negate the fact that increased time on-scene is that main factor where tow operators, service technicians, and motorists get killed. Accordingly, from California's Freeway Service Patrol Manual, Section 18, Ten-Minute Mobilization Period, it states, "An operator is allowed to spend no more than ten-minutes attempting to mobilize a vehicle. If the necessary service or tire change takes longer, the operator shall tow the vehicle off the freeway to an approved drop location and complete the service." My company policy says that I won't send my drivers to get injured or killed for the price of a service call. R.

Great answers guys ... I appreciate your comments for experienced and new towers alike. While using rims for roll-overs is one of those, "easier", techniques, can it be done (?) sure, should rims be used, not so much. R.

For every tow operator safety course I teach, there's a hands-on module specific to using and rigging snatch-blocks. Regardless as to ANY size snatch-block that's going to be used in a simple winch-out or perplexing recovery, they all have one thing in common that they need ... GREASE. Color me high-maintenance, but, I have this pet peeve where I hate seeing tower's having to hammer a snatch-block's turn-knob to get it released; only for the simple fact that the block hasn't seen grease since the Civil War. When a snatch-block spends much of its time exposed to wet and weather, it's bound to rust. Accordingly, every tow operator is responsible for ensuring that the snatch-block on their truck is inspected to ensure there is an operating and in-place safety clip, a swiviling head, turn-able tightening knob, a close-able side-plate, and a rolling sheave-wheel. Additionally, a shot of grease in the block's Zerk fitting will help ensure the rolling wheel keep's on rolling. Towers are reminded to not over-tighten the tightening knob by backing-off slightly to allow easy un-tightening when the block's use is completed. There's no reason, other than laziness and no maintenance, for towers to need a sledge or a J-Hook to have to beat-open a seized or stuck knob; even a shot of WD-40 will help keep things rolling and working, R.

I wanted to present these FYI comments that have to do with court-case conversation regarding slow-down move-over and the (acceptable) use of emergency lighting. In a recent deposition, attorneys bantered back and forth about what was considered an emergency when referring to highway shoulders versus slow-down move-over considerations? When asked for my opinion, I responded by clearly stating, "Anything stoppped, parked, or otherwide blocking the free and clear movement of vehicular traffic that's parked or displaced on a highway's shoulder, gore point, or center divider ... that's an emergency." I was then asked, "If a car was out of gas, did that present any kind of emergency?" It was easy for me to repeat what I had just said, BEFORE they started to confuse, reverse and mis-state my testimony. They spent the next 20-minutes trying to disect and destroy my statement. But, even with their bright lights, rubber hoses and anticipated trickery, I stood fast by my statements that they're called emergency shoulders for obvious reasons. I spoke to the importance that tow trucks must have a stationary presence of being parked with over-head emergency lighting activated and in-action. I was sure to include fatality statistics I've been recording as a means to show why any event on a highway is a dangerous event. So ... after three nearly wasted-hours, the deposition concluded. If you (as a tow professional) go to court for anything relating to SDMO, it's important to understand the reasoning and the letter of your state's SMDO law.

Just for fun, we usually agree that there are many, many different ways to roll a vehicle over in light-duty classifications. In this weekend's class, several operators mentioned that they thread chain through a vehicle's rims for an anchor point due to ease and speed. While I personally don't like the idea, what method do you use to attach a recovery chain as the basis of your rollover rigging? It gets the job done, but couldn't a cracked aluminum rim result in a whiplash effect that results in loss of recovery advantage? What do you think? R.

I held a CHP Tow Operator Safety Course at Riverside's Statewide Towing this weekend and you can bet this was a topic of discussion. Enrique is still in bad shape, but I'm told he is stable, but his recovery will take a long time. The impact caused him breaks in both legs, a broken pelvis, and injuries to his head and neck. While the healing is the physical part of his journey, I'm praying for his mental healing as well. R.

Not the first and certainly not the last.

Amazing. This non-standard, potentially deadly, industry technique, is called an, "End Roll", where there are several YouTube videos of the same practice. And, if I'm a new tow operator looking to learn how-to do rollovers, videos like this plant the seed of incompetency, not to mention what kind of damage it's doing to the underside weld's of the carrier? Nice going !!! R.

Fire tends to smolder and if fire doesn't consume all interior seats, upholstery, or whatever, re-ignition is always possible. And ... you can bet, if that car is ablaze on the back of my carrier's deck, I'm gonna' do whatever I can to get it off the deck versus taking video of it. I'm just funny that way. R.

... one shouldn't have to block their car in their driveway unless it's about to be repossessed. This part of San Diego County is only a few miles to the International border crossing to Mexico when many, many cars wind up. R.

I've donated old RVs and live-in trailers to willing church's as they help those parishoner's in need. The only cavaet is they cannot be parked on public domain or they're subject to impound. I wrote a simple letter of agreement and sent a Release of Liability to the DMV with the new owner's information. No issues after the fact. R.

Statewide Towing is a leader in towing and heavy recovery in Southern California with show winning big rigs. The article doesn't mention rain, but weather could have been an associated factor. Not that it's different anywhere else, motorists drive like crazy out here. This is simply another example that tow operators aren't safe for any reasons. Christine and I send our wishes and prayers to Enriquez looking for a speedy recovery, and also to Chris and Tamara. R.

As it regards defending one's company against damage lawsuits to lowered cars and exotics, I was twice where owners falsely claimed damage to their lowered cars. At the onset of the transport request, I'd take pictures and make notes as to, "prior to tow", damages are already visible., and then have the owner sign the visual inventory. You can bet that most low-profile cars and exotics have experienced underside damage having been stuffed into some roadway dip or that of entering someone's driveway. For the court process, and in the lowered car cases I won, I explained to judges that the vehicles allegedly damaged were lowered by the vehicle’s owner, NOT lowered by the factory, and damages weren't caused as the result of loading. I made a complete photo presentation of the pre-existing damages as well as explaining the process used to load a lowered car. If the vehicle was factory lowered like a Ferrari, Porsche, or Lamborghini etc, not that of a lowered Lexus, Honda or other street-machine, my presentation was factual, honest and detailed to have the court accept my explanation that I did everything possible to keep from damaging an already damaged vehicle. Documentation and photos is key prior-to any load or transport of lowered, custom, or exotic vehicle. R.

When dealing with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Roll's owners, you know just how difficult and picky they can be? If your tow business serves the, "exotic and custom", niche, I'll pass to you a gimmick that I've used for years in serving these difficult personalities. Have you ever seen a chimney sweep do-their-thing in-cleaning your woodstove or fireplace chimney? The purist sweep wears an old-style (tails and top hat) uniform that oftentimes includes wearing white, parade style, formal gloves. For years, when I'd begin loading someone's expensive exotic or custom, I'd wear clean, white-gloves. I'd bounce confidently out of my carrier, walk up to the vehicle's owner and greet them with a solid handshake. After an intitial greet and complementary chit-chat about their awesome car, I'd slowly put on a pair of clean, white-gloves, as I began the process of carefully loading their vehicle. No, white-gloves aren't for pulling cable or grabbing chain, but at those moments when it's neceessary to enter their car's interior to shift into neutral or take off the emergency brake. The process includes a little bit of theatrics and intentional slow-moves so they'd see me handling their vehicle with, "kid's gloves", so to speak. Accordingly, when it came time to open and close doors, I'd never touch the vehicle's painted surfaces. And, when closing a vehicle's door, I'd use only my, white-gloved index-finger, in the lower corner of the vehicle's door. There's no better way to, "wow", a customer than treat their vehicle with care ... and let them see you doing it. White, parade gloves are available on-line for as little as ten bucks for five pair (plus shipping). It's a neat gimmick intended to tug on the exotic owner's heart-strings. The gimmick is simple and costs little, but the results are noticeable and can lead to very satisfied repeat customers. I'm pretty sure that your competitor doesn't include white-gloves as part of their service. R.

Oh My ... that hurts my heart. For sure that ain't no barn find. I remember when the Shelby first came out and I had an opportunity to eventually tow a 1965 Shelby fastback that was a Hertz Rent a Car waaaay back then. I like that the tow company was smart to load the Mustang (at 2:04 in the video) onto a set of dollies as, no doubt, everything was surely rusted in place. I hope the brothers have a BIG pot of gold in which they'll certainly need to attempt to bring this Shelby back to life. R.

In last weekend's CHP Operator's Safety Class, as many as one-half of the attending tow operators were new with three to four months on the job. On Day-2 Skills, during various techniques and scenarios, several new towers were hustling to get things done. While in the process of moving the tow trucks or carrier's into position, there were four seperate instances where someone didn't set the tow truck's emergency brakes. Although I appreciate their eagerness and excitement to learn, not setting the Ebrake is a deadly practice (or driver behavior) that must be corrected. Each time I was certain to call out to the operator the importance of setting the tow truck's emergency brake as well as using chocks for the appropriate technique at hand. Once we returned to the classroom, we had focused discussion of what happens when towers hurry to get things done. I pointed out that there have been nearly 50x operators killed when they hurried to approach their tow situation to not set the Ebrake or shift the truck's transmission to park. Hurrying can cause the tower to trip and potentially fall into traffic lanes. I do understand that exiting or re-entering the tow truck requires faster movement, but running to get chain or equipment isn't necessary. Like everything else in the line-of-work, slow down and make each movement calculated at the moment of arrival to ensure the truck's transmission is in-park or neutral (stick) with the transmission Ebrake fully applied. And, once you've exited the tow truck, get use to setting a chock-block on the downhill side of the truck's rear dual. R.

While I too am sensitive to this unfortunate incident, there's a reality that regardless of one's means to take their life, any vehicle could be that means as it proved true in San Diego County several years ago. A female, chose death by tow truck and stepped from a highway's center divider into the path of a carrier ending in fatal results. In May 2019, I wrote a mini-article for American Towman entitled, "Suicide by Tow Truck", relating to the uptick in pedestrians versus tow truck deaths. In my research, I found a 2003 investigational study by, Australia’s, Monash University’s, Accident Research Center, entitled, “Suicide and Natural Deaths in Road Traffic,” it reported, “It has been shown that in many of these cases there was a history of mental illness, and the presence of alcohol use. One study identified the main mode of suicide among pedestrians was to walk or jump into the path of a heavy vehicle.” The tow operator should know that there's nothing they could have done. If they need someone to talk to about this experience, please feel free to contact me. R.

Could it be part of the hustle to get that impound hooked up and away without detection that led to this incident? There are several like type fatalities where the tow truck was not in park ultimately rolling over or backing over tow operators. Christine and I send our prayers to this agent's family and the company he worked for. R.

Dollies and snatch-blocks are two of the most used equipment items on a carrier or wrecker. Regarding snatch-blocks, because they're a rolling pulley with several moving parts, they NEED to be greased. This is especially true when snatch-blocks are stored atop a carrier's side box and exposed to moisture. I believe it's a driver's responsibility to ensure that the snatch-block has grease and all components, including the appropriate safety clip, are working. In this weekend's class, one of the many snatch-blocks we used hadn't see grease since the Civil War. There shouldn't be a time when the tower has to take some other object, "to beat the snot out of the twist knob", when it's frozen shut with rust. At the very least, a finger-tip full of boom or wheel-lift grease, on the knob's threads, will help the knob to easily screw and unscrew into and out from the snatch-block's faceplate. Owners, in your company, is this a driver's function or that of the shop's? R.

Hey Brian ... glad to see you're back at home where you can spend time being involved in these posts. Nearly five-year's ago, I suggested that a crash attenuator truck or device be added to the FSP program in San Diego County as an available safety program to assist all highway towers involved in towing off the highway. Sine they already operate during prime time traffic hours, a device could easily be implements into their prgram even if it was a tow-behind, trailerable unit. I approached the biggest companies to see if they were interested in being part of that program. Their response to my suggestions was less than favorable where they cited, "It costs too much", and, "There's too much liability". The message of, "cost and risk", will never add to obtaining increased safety for tow operators working highway events. In knowing that, I'm confident that NHTSA or any other federal program has made tow operator safety a priority over those programs I listed above. SDMO is only one component of developing a proactive safety program, but the working components are over-looked due to cost and liability. R.

There were 14x drivers in this weekend's CHP Safety Course. In the rollover module for carriers, one tower set the carrier with the deck not fully set on the ground. We had a great discussionas to why carriers need to have a solid platform before winching begins. As carriers are (said) not designed for extreme winching, setting the carrier's deck solidly atop the pavement helps to lessen bending the deck or deck's superstructure when side pull or snatch-block pull commences. To demonstrate that point, I stood on the end of the carrier's deck as it was raised 2-inches off the pavement and jumped on the deck. My jumping showed movement all the way forward to the truck's mirrors; capable of jiggling the frame from the rear of the truck all the way forward. What tricks do you use to ensure the carrier's deck is solid to the pavement? R.

Wow and Wow again ... what an incredible hit. I think this was already reported on TowForce when an Oregon vehicle owner/driver used their impounded vehicle to ram the gate and liberate their SUV. I'm glad the tow operator wasn't seriously injured. The news video shows what lengths the vehicle's driver would go and knowingly take huge risk at killing the tow operator. THe secondary gate across the electric/rolling gate had little effect on stopping her. I hope that the security video leads to the arrest of the male who conspired with her to steal the vehicle and they are BOTH prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. R. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/02/woman-suspected-of-driving-stolen-truck-into-portland-tow-yard-employee-arrested.html

I've been following this from the moment it reported, but unfortunately, there's limited information as the investigation is still open. I have my own ideas as to what did or may have happened, none-the-less, it could have been the tower shot and killed first and then the highway patrol officer. The world's population is living on the ragged edge and it doesn't take much for a ticking time bomb to go off. R.

While I'm a firm believe that, "Shit Rolls Down-Hill", I'd like to see a convoy of one-million tow trucks, carriers, heavies, rotators, whatever, driving in solidarity around the white-house, capitol loop. Is that a possibility where our president were to see a rolling representations of tow operator's defending the lives of those lost and those who continue to work the nation's highway. Like the Spirit Ride ... how much more stronger of a statement could their be? R.

Hi Mr. Moores ... Something tells me that, if tow operator deaths continue to not mean enough to solve the problem, perhaps a, "no-call response", is a solution for towers to consider. So, playing the Devil's Advocate, would a state's DOT take over towing when private tow companies pull-away out of rebellion? I don;t see that happening because some tower will always be in the wings to jump in. Am I wrong? My fatality statistics for tow operator strikes go back to 1956 and count as many as 33-tow operator's killed working highway related events, with or without the cops on scene. That's 66x years of continued carnage and no recognizable relief insight. As far as SDMO laws, we towers are appreciative of those laws, but they do little to nothing because the motoring public fails to respond to their meaning. SDMO is simply an administrative bandage to a much bigger operational problem. Unfortunately, law enforcement doesn't have a solution. R.