rreschran

Ron … I can’t speak for CTTA, however, I can speak to California training for tow operator training. I am an authorized CHP safety instructor with my own stand-alone,  two-day, 16-hour, tow operator’s safety course.

The two-day course is 8-hours classroom, then 8-hours of hands-on module. I specifically cover causes that get tow operator's killed while driving tow trucks and as pedestrian workers. Tow operators of all classes must go to refresher training every 5-year regardless of class or experience level.

In addition, rotation/contract towers now must also attend or complete on-line, the 4-hour TIM course to go along with their background application. All tow operators serving California’s Freeway Service Patrol are mandated under California Vehicle Code sections 2430.5 and 2436.5, to attend 3-days of topic specific training taught by CHP instructors and specific to highway operations like HERO and Rangers. Currently, there are no requirements for non-contracted tow operators who venture onto the highway to respond for calls or services (mechanics, service technicians or tire companies).

It’s my opinion that ALL tow truck drivers should be required by state law that they are trained in topic specific highway related response. Because there are no requirements for non-contracted tow operators here, anyone, regardless of time and experience can come onto the highway to tow, service or do vehicle repairs. Although California mandates training for tow operators, it doesn’t necessarily create a solid safety factor in the tower’s mindset noting that … California leads the industry in tow operator fatalities and struck-by incidents both on the highway and off, next in line being Florida and then Texas. Texas has TDLR requiring state mandated tow operator training.    

Regarding California's most recent fatal, it was noted from another post that the tow operator killed may have been newly hired with only two-days on the job? Question: Why would any tow company send an inexperienced tower into the proverbial lion's den until that tower had been thoroughly trained? There's something tragically wrong if that pans-out to be a true statement. I personally believe that ALL tow operators and service technicians (of all trades) must be thoroughly, "highway trained", before being dispatched to calls on high-speed freeways. so owners, what actions do you take to ensure your personnel are thoroughly trained noting that, California's Vehicle Code Section, 2430.5, and its Freeway Service Patrol program, REQUIRES, every FSP operator attend a 3-day, CHP, highway safety course that includes TIM training. May I ask, what are your company's MINIMAL training requirements for on-highway response for new hires and those who claim that they're experienced? Thanks.

Hi John ... it's always so very exciting to hear from you across the pond. I hope you and your business are doing well. Thanks for your comments and I personally won't apologize for offending other towers when it comes to ... as you've so eloquently described ... "self-preservation". Perhaps that's one of the reasons why this industry is behind the curve is because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Will towers ever wake up? Highway related fatalities are traced back to 1934 and the same old pig headed mistakes and actions have resulted in literally hundreds of towers killed. And, Like me and you John, I'm pretty sure most towers have their own "struck-by" stories to tell ... some non-preventable. Like the over-use and abuse of amber-light on all the time, perhaps the current feeling is ... "Nah ... it's just another tower killed ... glad it's not me." I guess we've grown numb to the root causes that continue to get tower's killed, but I'm interested in the tower you talked with about no safety vest. At some point John, if you do talk with the company's owner, please share what his reaction were.   Best regard.      R.

I commend the Towing and Recovery Museum's decision to support this product and as a step in the right direction to help lessen the number of tow operator fatalities this industry experiences each year.   R.

Ron ... you asked for a rant, or, a rah rah speech? Well ... here ya' go.

No ... I'm not a state association, yet simply, a concerned individual who's worked much of my adult career training police officers and tow truck operators. For 30-plus years, I've been a career instructor and technical writer teaching white-line safety and the TIMs concept for tow operators.

I have had my legs broken by an out-of-control vehicle while I worked a highway patrol recovery some 40-year's ago. I know what it's like to being critically injured at the hands of some motorhead because they were driving too fast for conditions in the rain. I know what it's like to think and rethink that incident asking,

"What I could have done better to have lessened my on-scene exposure?" 

I felt guilty for having totaled my bosses tow truck, but, only because I was there to help serve law enforcement, not because it was my fault. It was at that very moment where I committed myself to learning and practicing on-scene safety. Since then, I have tracked highway related fatalities that go back as far as 1934, with nearly 950-operators killed for varying reasons; as many as 350-of those killed on the highways. 

I have written and reported on tow operator fatalities, helped bury many police officer and tow operator friends killed in the line-of-duty to the point I have grown weary of the repeated slaughter. But, I haven't lost my inner-fire with simple hopes that we'll somehow recognize a way to reduce the pandemic of tow operators killed. But, that comes with stirring the emotions of some tow operators and tow business owners who don't give a care about what their doing or how they're going about their daily tasks. 

We know that flares, signs, blockers, cops and whatever ... does take extra time, but the very fact of identifying a work-space that says, "HERE I AM", should be worth the time it takes. There are lessons to be learned here people ... we're not reinventing the wheel, but simply demand,

"Do what you have to to make yourself seen; don't stand in active traffic lanes and stay OFF the white-line side." 

That's no-brainer stuff. How hard can that be?

Sure there are incidents where distracted drivers will continue to crash into us working the highways. But, lessons learned from 350-tow operator fatalities has clearly identified that working on or near the white-line side is THE most dangerous place to be. Need I say more?

I am a realist that understands that DUI's, texting and motoring stupidity are here to stay. Towers continue to put themselves in harms way. No ... not because of a lack of training, is it too much testosterone, or is it that overflowing macho that says, "Nothin's gonna' happen to me?"

Without concern for hurting anyone's sensibilities, tower's ... stop worrying about the cops not being there, state associations not being involved, or those damned non-concerned highway drivers. You have NO control over what they do, but you have every bit of control about where you work and what you do to help save your individual life. It's your professional skills and on-scene processes that you that prayerfully will keep your name from being part of my fatality archives. Take control of your actions and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. You should be telling yourself ... "Not me, not today", preparing yourself mentally that no punk driver is going to take you out based on your carelessness or complacency. On-scene safety is every operator's choice ... and NO amount of hand-holding or coddling by others will help keep you safe more than your own actions.

In a nutshell, the cops aren't helping, the associations haven't stepped up and the motoring public simply doesn't give a crap. To me ... that presents a bleak picture of the industry's future. I will continue to help spread the word of safety and survival where I can. But, I can only pray for your safety. It's that, "lead them to water", kinda' thing.     R

Right on Brian. But, forget about the costs. Cost shouldn't be a factor in safety and prevention.

In all business plans, that should be the first consideration is how to keep a company's employees safe in the work-place. And, that's accomplished by safety, processes and training. We know it ... we see it ... we teach it. But, where is safety lost in translation when tower's can't retain even 10-percent? I'll go out on a limb here to suggest that on-scene safety is the responsibility of each tow company owner. It's each owner's responsibility to make sure towers have the, "mental tools and preparations", before sending their personnel onto the highway.

I personally feel the industry has lost it's sense of safety by making bling and monster-tow trucks the priority while safety and survival scrapes the bottom of the proverbial barrel. I evidenced that recently by noting seven, only seven attendees, including you Brian, attend a PTSD seminar versus that of seeing literally hundreds of towers watching a rotator being run through its paces at the same tow show. 

It's evidenced in these posts where only a handful of personalities have the guts to approach those procedures and processes that get tower's killed. When an industry doesn't care about it's people, its current state will only get worse before it ever gets better. We know the issues, so, what's it take to overcome the lack of safety awareness in a proactive manner?

One can't expect to peer down the barrel of a gun with the possibility of being shot in the face  right?

Ron ... you beat me by second ...  this update in information, as reported to the news by the CHP and from other sources, comments indicated the tower may have been changing a tire or could be have been preparing to load a car onto a carrier because it had a flat tire being the reason for the call? No matter what the trouble-code read, the car could have should have been loaded from the non-traffic side in a Tow First manner.

A news photograph taken at the fatality scene where three CHP officers are seen to be looking closely at the driver's side, rear area of the carrier, and the rear area of where the customer's vehicle rear tire is located ... both clearly at the white-line side. See the link ... what are your thoughts? 

Note:  Photo Source RMG NEWS        https://abc7.com/tow-truck-driver-struck-killed-by-big-rig-in-hit-and-run-in-castaic-area/5326142/

Those areas in the photo are consistent with where tow operator typically work/stand as well as where the (POI) Point of Impact would have been when the semi stuck the tower. It's also clear that the carrier's, amber overhead lights, were on, but the carrier's deck was in a full-tilt load position with the disabled vehicle parked behind it. Unless the disabled vehicle had its parking lights on, the vehicle's position would have blocked the lower and rearward facing lights. There's nothing in the news or CHP's comments to reflect that road flares or cones were visible to the rear. All of these factors (surmised from a single picture) may suggest that there's a huge gap between what should be solid training requirements versus what's not being conducted in the field.

How do we as an industry, "Connect the Dots?" Can OSHA help to regulate training? Should there be more training? While I think that the industry's training is the best it's ever been ... it's not reaching the grand majority of the towers out there to reflect the numbers of tow operator's killed.

Common guys … give Brian a break. I support his comments as correct regarding roadside safety versus that of safety for pedestrian tow operators. This section of California’s I-5, towards Gorman and Lebec, is extremely rural, wide, winding and fast traveled. Plus, at 8:30 in the PM, it’s totally pitch-black with no streetlights. If you’re driving a car at 80-mph, you’re driving too slow. And, there are only a couple of CHP units covering the many miles covering the Grapevine area which is the only north south trucking corridor to an from Los Angeles.

Not to prejudge this incident, the industry’s history has proved that that, if towers are routinely struck as pedestrian workers, was it possible that this operator may have been working/standing near the white-line side when struck by the semi noting; there are other versions of this crash to suggest the Triple-A tow operator was reportedly working to hook-up a disabled vehicle with the motorists inside the disabled vehicle at the time of the strike.

Accordingly, I'll suggest that, all the cones, flares, signs, blockers, cops and whatever ... doesn’t negate the fact that working on or near the white-line side is a dangerous place to be. And, THAT’S the first component of operator safety … stay away from the traffic side where semi-trucks lurk.  I believe this fatality is a prime example to show that, when there isn’t available assistance in a rural location, it demands that towers be that much more diligent in their actions when working shoulder events.

That being said, of the 30x operators killed on California’s highways this year, nearly one-half killed were pedestrian workers. Perhaps the message of white-line safety isn’t being effectively taught by companies, while at the same time, towers continue to place themselves in harm’s way. Consider this tragic fatality another lesson learned. Christine and I send our prayers to the tower’s family and the company he worked for.     R.

Networking with tow professionals is my greatest value received as well as the friendships I've built over the years.

I recall a young tow operator (back east) who was beaten within an inch of his life during one those freebie tows when the drunk motorist went ballistic .. no thanks

... the grass is always greener on the other side until the drought hits.

I have sad news to report from the South African Cape where a 38-year-old tow truck driver from, Algoa Towing and Recovery, was killed in a hit and run around 3AM this morning. It was reported that the tow truck driver was on the side of the road taking photos of the accident for insurance purposes when a small pickup truck struck him and then fled the scene. Christine and I send our prayers and sympathy to the tower’s family and to Algoa Towing.     R.

https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2019-05-25-tow-truck-driver-killed-in-hit-and-run/

Rural properties like these can be difficult for delivery persons to be able to recognize underground utilities. In the same manner we teach GOAL, getting out to look is extra hard when underground utilities don't present themselves by being in clear view.  At the very  least, when faced with a rural recovery like this, Ed's photos are a solid reminder for towers to look and ask where the underground utilities are? If the owner of the house isn't home, there's huge risk of dropping through or into. Thanks for sharing Ed.    R.

Thanks Ed for leading the way in making this an acceptible practice.

Hey BIlly ... I've been studying that number for years. I personally think there's no accurate accounting based on the many tow related venues or business types towing and recovery companies are listed under while they respond in a tow truck, i.e., repo, salvage, law enforcement, PPI, insurance hauling, long-hauling etc, full time and part time.  Only until recently, tow operator or tow involved statistics have been recorded, but there are historical fatalities (recorded or known) since 1934. If you ever come up with an accurate number that can truly reflect ALL of the tow operators in the states ... please share it with us. Thanks.    R. 

Ron ... I wholeheartedly nominate Steve and Doc Calitri of American Towman Magazine, and, Clarissa Powell, Tow Times Magazine, for their career participation to the towing and recovery industry. Their publications and tow show presentations have provided towing and recovery professionals the platform in which to share everything having to do with the industry. They've created environments that bring tow professionals to together throughout the world. Thank you for your contributions to the industry. You are true leaders and this recognition is due. Steve, Doc and Clarissa have undoubtedly influenced myself and millions of readers on an international scale ... no small task. I believe this award is befitting to their leadership and committment to the towing and recovery industry.     R.

Christine and I send our heartfelt prayers in the loss of the Sharma's. We will not be able to attend, but know we are there in spirit.    R&C Alpine, CA.

We're all awaiting the recovery of the carrier and the sad news that Mr. and Mrs. Sharma have been recovered ... if not for the closure it will bring to their family and the towing community as well. Christine and I pray for the safety of everyone involved in the recovery efforts.     R

I don’t ordinarily talk about my past, but I have to respond again to this post in a different manner as it helps me handle my own personal PTSD. Although this message is lengthy, please read this in its entirety.

Regarding this horrible tragedy, I’ve read some unfair comments made by tow company personnel and others at the decisions to cease (temporarily) rescue efforts citing unsafe conditions. To that I share, in September, 1975, I was a young police officer saddled with the task of monitoring the San Diego River during El Nino storms. I remember a similar incident of a heroic rescue attempt where three firefighters drowned attempting to rescue others. Fast forward to 40-years ago, firefighters were attempting to rescue distressed rafters that went into New York’s Susquenna River. During initial rescue attempts, they rescued one rafter from the water with a rescue buoy, but didn’t get the second rafter. Firefighters went back into the swollen river in a small Boston-Whaler type boat when the current sucked the boat into the churning water. All three were tossed into the water. A second boat went into the water and they too capsized.

We towers should always remember that, when speed of recovery goes up, safety oftentimes goes down.  I want this narrative to serve as training topic for three reasons; one, swift-water tow recoveries are ALWAYS dangerous where I know of as many as five tow operators who died swimming or trying to extract vehicles from swift-water. Two, Mother Nature serves up dangerous conditions that man can never correctly estimate or beat, and three, I had a near drowning experience a few years ago on the Carson River where I’ll attest that even the strongest swimmer may not be able to beat the forces of the river.

Note:  The video I’ve attached is graphic. The video serves as a reminder that, NO rescuer is safe from the unknown or unseen dangers of any scene. While emotions always run high in these kinds of scenarios, when there’s risk to rescuers, sending rescuers in hastily sometimes leads to additional fatalities. Like the firefighters that you’ll see (if you watch the video), when they tried to attempt rescue under extremely unfavorable conditions, they lost their lives in the line-of-duty. But, where is it written that common sense should trump acts of safety and bravery? And, for those nay sayer’s who’ve dissed the decisions made in Sacramento this week, you should be ashamed of your nonsensical comments.

Link:  https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/public-safety/2015/09/29/40-years-later-drowned-firefighters-honored/72989294/

Comments that degrade the brave Sacramento’s first responder community are uncalled for.  I have every faith the carrier will be recovered when fast flowing waters have slowed. It’s my hope that tower’s come away with a smarter view of just how vulnerable first responders are. And, in that, I also pray for the safety of those rescuers who ultimately will go into the Sacramento River. The water will reside eventually and recovery will take place under proper conditions. Until then, it’s far too dangerous to risk the lives of others via some knee-jerk reaction.  I hurt for the Sharma family.     R.

How very horrible. Christine and I send our prayers to this tower's family and the company he worked for.  R.

Looks to me to not be a crash but a roll-away incident because the truck's Ebrake wasn't set.

Sorry for the me responding to a really old posit, but I like your creativity. Others suggest tail-lights or a red-flag based on overlength considerations of the state you work in. It doesn't work in Califoirnia, even if the owner is following, but laws are perceived differently in Cali.    R.

Thanks Minchar ... I agree with you. As in all vehicle code sections, the perception of the reader comes into play. A vehicle on the stinger is a towed vehicle, so I believe the wording to be true as, but not that of a carrier with only a car on the deck ... just like any other load considered product.  R.

Tonight at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, we saw three carriers driving with o/h emergency lights on, two were loaded with cars on the deck. What is MD's law regarding lighting? Allowed?

The original post had to do with towers driving with overhead emergency lights on, not the lack of extension lights, wireless lights or four-way flashers. The training topic regarding lights are many and specific to their use. NO matter what, Brian is proper to say that driving with over-head emergency lights can be confusing, especially if you reside in one state that requires over-head lights, yet work in a neighboring state that doen't require their use. To me, the old days of NO overhead oscillating lights were more effective and safer as flashing amber/yellow lights only were visible to the rear of old style wreckers. To say we must train and police ourselves to use lighting properly is an effort in futility knowing that proper training isn't reaching all towers and all companies (where tow operators get their share of in-house training and not that from a formal entity that has a training module specific to use of lighting.