rreschran

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.

It's my opinion and knowledge that, use of emergency lighting is generally dictated by state law, not by the wording of any motor club. There are states that require emergency lights to be "on" while in-tow. Additionally, if a loaded wrecker or carrier is travelling on a highway or roadway slower than the posted speed limit for safety reasons (wrecked, over-width, over-height, permit load, etc.) state law may require that emergency lights are on. Unless local law enforcement enforces improper lighting violations, there's not much that can be done. Perhaps there's an issue of training from a reliable source, or, for towers to attend a Traffic Incident Management course to identify what's proper for the state of operation? There's a reality in this industry that suggests towers will oftentimes operate their own way as they see fit, but that doesn't make them an idiot, only incorrect as we all aren't perfect nor do we work in a perfect world. R

We remember our friend and industry trainer J. David Lambert who passed away a year ago yesterday. Rest in peace Dave. I miss you Dave and our on-going conversations ... you're not forgotten. Dave was instrumental in helping to build the foundation of tow operator safety training to industry professionals. Dave formalized the life-saving concept of not changing tires on the highways by initiating TowFirst on his website. For those of you who didn't have the opportunity to know Dave, here's a website to view his contributions. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tow411/dave-lambert-north-america-towing-academy-05-17-17-t142035.html R.

Christine and I send our prayers and condolences to this tower's family and his company. We all know just how strenuous recoveries can be. Hi John. R.

The following news narrative high-lights the dangers of stopping and blocking stalled vehicles on the highway. Early reports of this crash don’t do justice to the tow operator’s intent to block the police vehicle and other vehicles stopped in traffic lanes. I send my prayers to the tow operator and his wife who were injured. Also note; the police officer was not hurt. Perhaps the tow truck blocking for the stopped police (in TIM manner) vehicle saved his life and others, especially if there wasn’t time to set flares and cones? Stop and block is something we towers have been doing for years. News Report “One person is dead and two others in the hospital after a driver on U.S. 59 slammed into a tow truck in Humble. Officers responding to an earlier freeway wreck around 3:45 a.m. blocked off the far right lane of the road, according to Humble police. A tow truck driver arriving at the scene pulled up behind the patrol car and parked in the lane to help give police extra cover, according to Humble investigator Dustin Thompson. A white Nissan failed to change lanes in time to go around the wreckage, and instead slammed into the tow truck. The Nissan driver died, and the driver and passenger in the tow truck were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer was not hurt.” Question: I fully support the tow operator’s actions and ask ... would you have stopped and blocked in the same manner? Perhaps this scenario is the perfect example where the Texas Towing Association should lobby hard for red and blue emergency lighting on tow trucks … not that it would have totally helped in this crash. R. Source: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/houston-texas/article/1-dead-after-car-slams-into-tow-truck-in-Humble-12605314.php

We too send our prayer and condolences the Jason's family. I can only ask ... "What's going on?"

Dave Lambert created Tow First for this very reason. But, some states with highway programs, including DOT, Hero, Ranger and FSP, still provide tire changes regardless as to what tire is flat. So, these programs lend to potential operator fatality. It makes perfect sense to me to get off the highway to make the tire change in a place of safety. There are all great responses from a lot of smart tow owners, operators and industry trainers where saving life is far more valued than the price of a service call or the time it takes to change the tire. The fatality numbers for white-line fatalities is staggering, especially for those experienced operators who were working in their normal routine and were hit by some distracted or DUI motorist that came into their work site. The difference between changing a tire on the white-line side and loading a vehicle first is, working from the non-traffic side eliminates much of the driver exposure to approaching traffic. Plus, a carrier or tow truck provides some level of metal protection to take the brunt of impact. Note: The picture at the beginning of this topic shows two persons working the white-line side with NO eyes on approaching traffic ...ya' can't respond to what you don't see and the service truck provides no blocking protection. I believe in Tow First and support its intent.

I believe that savvy tow owners monitor their own drivers long before the insurance company has to. That means taking the appropriate measures to hire smart by checking an applicant's MVR before drivers are hired. And, once they're hired, driver behaviors can easily be monitored by simply watching driver speed on dispatch programs or getting out from behind the desk a following their trucks. Programs like California's, "Pull Notice Program", helps to monitor and sometimes eliminate drivers with poor driving history. Owners should be proactive in reducing overall risk through active supervision and on-going training in order to lessen or eliminate costly driver inflicted property damages. But, unfortunately, for every one owner that makes the concentrated effort to protect his risk, too many others don't make an effort until it's too late and their forced to pay higher premiums or be forced out of their market. R.