rreschran

What a horrible death that sends a chilling reminder to make sure truck transmissions are in neutral and the E-Brake is set before exiting the tow truck. Christine and I send our prayers to the tower's family and the company he worked for. R&C

What a horrible death that sends a chilling reminder to make sure truck transmissions are in neutral and the E-Brake is set before exiting the tow truck. Christine and I send our prayers to the tower's family and the company he worked for. R&C

Quick investigative work in this hit n run case made an arrest for DUI and other crimes. Glad to hear that Brian will recover. R.

Randall Resch, American Towman, plus ... wrecker pageant judge looking for the best of the best. No mercy says Tommy Anderson.

I'm personally more inclined to add a large sized arrow-board to tow trucks and have available that kind of advanced emergency lighting to on-highway scenarios and inner-city streets. This looks to be a nice unit, but will require a secondary vehicle to bumper pull it to an incident. Thanks for sharing. R.

I have a written, "No idle policy" and "Take your keys policy", when drivers are away from the truck when getting fuel, going for purchase orders, getting a Big Gulp and leaving their truck running and unoccupied. A little diligence goes a long way, but, tow trucks need to power radio's, emergency lights, or during winch scenarios and service work. It's bound to happen. That said, I've archived dozens of stories reporting tow trucks were stolen dating back to 1944. Having a tow truck stolen while working a scene or on service calls is only one side of the story. Three other possibilities to theft suggests ex or disgruntled employee take trucks to "get even" with former employers. Don't rule out the fact that new tow truck costs may be beyond a tow owner's ability where repossessions occur, but are reported as being stolen. Additionally, bad-guys steal carriers to do "crash and grab" commercial burglaries, steal other cars, or, attempt to steal ATM machines. Wrekcers seem to be the ideal piece of equipment in lifting items for theft. Regardless as to the reason, here's hoping the tow company (victim) has appropriate insurance to cover theft of the tow truck, or whatever prevailing damage (or loss of life) caused by fleeing suspects in a #26,000-pound carrier. I've include a link regarding a 2018 incident in, Syracuse NY, that resulted in AAA being sued by an injured police officer alleging the AAA tow operator was negligent because he left the tow truck running while he was away from the tow truck. Link: https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2018/03/lawsuit_aaa_at_fault_for_tow_truck_heist_that_injured_4_during_wild_police_chase.html

Rest in Peace Denny. And to Deann and Stephanie, I'm proud you'll continue your father's legacy. Christine and I send your mom, your entire family and your community our prayers from Southern California. R.

Congratulations Tom on your new post. They're lucky to have your experience and professionalism. Best regards. R.

I towed a motorhome impounded by the PD and it went the way of liensale. A young married couple who came to our church were down on their luck but not down on their faith. They too were living in a small Toyota. Both had jobs, yet they couldn't manage the cost of San Diego's high-priced housing. Having discussed their situation with our pastor, I gave to the church the MH and in turn it was donated to the couple. The church arranged a place to park and they lived the for 2-years until they could get back on their feet. Every person is capable of random acts of kindness

In May, 2002, Southern California Freeway Service Patrol tower, Brian Naylor, stopped just outside of Camp Pendleton (Marines Corps base) to check on a car stopped on the highway. Unprovoked, the motorist opened fire on Brian shooting him multiple times. A marine passerby witnessed the shooting and stopped to heroically carry the wounded tower to safety. The shooter crossed highway lanes and jumped the fence onto the base. Just so happens that police officers from the Oceanside Police Department and Escondido Police Department were on-base training. They responded, located the shooter and killed him in a hail of bullets. Brian survived his injuries. The world is on-edge and even the slightest thing will set individual's off. Your road to survival is not to provoke, challenge or otherwise taunt anyone. Let your ego aside where sometimes ignoring the inciter is the best response. Don't allow yourself tom get caught-up in these camera fools who are there to bait you into a negative response ... one that is followed with a lawsuit. Once you respond to their threats or conversation, they've dragged you into something you may regret.

As read in one of California’s FSP manuals it states: “An operator is allowed to spend no more than ten minutes (10) attempting to mobilize the vehicle. If the necessary service or tire change takes longer, the operator shall tow the vehicle off-the-highway to an approved drop-off location and complete the service.” How long does it take to change a driver-side flat-tire of a new Denali Suburban, loaded with the vehicle's driver and four soccer players, all their stuff, find the spare, remove the spare, jack it up, change the tire, and then do it all in reverse? As ESC suggests, there's too many safety factors to understand when "time of the essence" is a lifesaving thing. I back his statement up having archived thirty-five towers killed changing tires on the highway ... all for the price of a service call. To me it doesn't make sense. R.

Miss Connie's letter to the News Gazette is a clear and simple reminder of the dangers tower's face no matter that police are on-scene or not. This industry drastically needs a culture in the way towers think about standing, walking and working on-scene. Sweeping and retreiving debris from traffic lanes is perhaps one of the more dangerous activities tower's conduct. But NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING, is worth being killed over. Accordingly, after 106-years since the invention of the tow truck, towers and first responders CONTINUOUSLY are repeatedly killed when working white-line scenarios when their duties place them in harm's way. Accordingly, SDMO doesn't work, so something else must be done to prevent the slaughter of tow operators and first responders. If that means routing traffic off the highway, so be it. On-scene protocol should demand traffic be stopped or diverted without hesitation. Christine and I also pray for the 16-year-old as his inexperience and tender age surely didn't make him aware or practiced in avoiding a pedestrian at speed ... especially at night. RIP Ross. R.

Thanks for sharing this "old iron" video. What a great example of an early "side puller". Here's hoping that the tow unit (at least) is found by a tow truck enthusiast and not seeing it's final days in a crusher or shreader.

J Dave passed away nearly 5-years ago. Just wondering if anyone practices Tow First anymore? R.

Once again another DUI drifts onto the shoulder and into the tow truck. Because the tow truck was reportedly parked behind the flat tire car, it being positioned there likely saved the operator's life. I pray for his full recovery. R.

Hi Shana ... welcome to the neighborhood and congratulations on being an owner. There are plenty of great people on this site who contribute great advice. Enjoy your weekend. R.

Christine and I send our prayers to your dad hoping for continued endurance and a positive spirit in the days to come.

Each biz mentioned is a biz where employees are exposed to moving traffic including forklifts. Requiring vests is a smart practice ... ask your Workers Comp rep what's in-store should an employee (without a vest) get run over, injured or killed? Providing a reflective uniform shirt with reflective sewn in eliminate drivers who forget it won't wear them.

There's too many operators killed with operators not getting the message of survival. I'm sure you've all grown tired of the repeated numbers of operator fatalities to where you're numb. Are the lessons being learned getting passed down to towers, or what's being learned isn't being practised? Any ideas? In a recent operator fatality, one 5 o’clock news reporter stated his opinion during a live segment. Without ever have worked as a tow operator himself, he commented, “Probably, it was a matter if inches and seconds that separated this tragedy from the mundane this morning. The tow truck driver … on the shoulder of the road … had he been in-front of his truck or the other side … then there would have been no story!” How much clearer can his statement be? Towers take note … even a news reporter has an idea as to what the obvious is. R.

Feedback would be welcome ... if only the link worked. They even used the word, "Nefarious.: Thirty-years as a technical writer ... I've never used the word. Try this Link: https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/showAttachment.do?postingId=41091&attachmentId=53577 R.

Thanks Ron for your words to live by ... they apply to whatvever type of truck one operates. Being afraid and being aware run close to parallel. Towers tend to fear being cited versus being struck and killed. It doesn't make sense! Getting the message out there is problematic when small tow companies from rural America don't have or don't take an opportunity to get formally trainined, or even read tow related media. But, even if towers have training, the still walk, work and stand with backs to traffic, work white-line controls, stand between vehicles, or step into traffic lanes. Forgive me for saying, an approaching motorist can't control a tow operator's actions any more than towers can control a distracted drivers actions. Perhaps it's the lack of safety that's somewhat inset in most tower's minds; evident in new reports, YouTube Videos or simply watching towers work. Perhaps its engrained in a tower's DNA to look beyond potential danger like cops, fire fighters, even jet pilots? As far as age and experience goes, there are far too many recorded incidents where experienced and seasoned tow operators, even owners were struck while working on-highway events. I firmly believe that sometimes with experience comes complacency. Like you mentioned, I haven't come to any conclusion ... only an increased level of frustration. R.

Great safety discussion Ron where this speaks to a long list of operators killed working the white-line side of the highway. To me, shoulder strikes (like this) is a strike none-the-less regardless where it's parked. Even if the car was moved ten-feet to the right, there's still potential of a deadly strike. I stay off the white-line side so not have to dodge traffic getting in or out. That's an unnecessary step. For on-highway calls, my drivers are trained to have the winch-line positioned and locked-in at the passenger-side rear corner (like the pic). It puts the operator on the non-traffic side. If this is an arrest, keys are generally in the car or with the officer. To limit my time spent on-scene, I attach both J-s (of a loading bridle) to the passenger side suspension and winch it onto the deck without entering the car. I don't worry about insessant complaints and cable side-stacking is minimal and not to any point where cable gets damaged. This way the car stays in-gear and E-brake is on. All of this is done from the non-traffic side and behind protection of the carrier's mass. If the load location is as dangerous as the video shows, I attach only the non-traffic side ratchet straps and take the vehicle off the first ramp to complete four-point. Like all tow situations, I quickly discuss my plan with the officer and let them know what I'm doing. I ask the officer to follow behind me with red and blue light's "on" until I get up-to-speed. This is what I practice ... this is what I teach! My company practice is; we don't send wheel-lifts to on-highway calls unless a winch/recovery-truck is requested. But, then again, isn't a rollover a recovery? My guys are trained in not working the white-line side and we don't send new operators to on-hghway calls. Shoulder work is a game of speed and one that needs constant refining and practice. R.

... thanks Moose. No need for apologies as it's still OK to hold Jake's passing in high regards. Christine and I send our prayers to his family. So sad. R.

Having a young son who's a fire fighter paramedic, this hits close to home. It's such a tragedy to lose another tower and an upcoming fire fighter as well. I question what kind of on-scene management (existed at this crash) whether or not LE was aware young Ross was working in harm's way? Did the PD provide any on-scene protection or traffic control as he worked to clear debris in lanes? Because part of a tower's on-scene respnsibility is after-crash clean-up, blocking for him, or stopping traffic should have been a priority, or, was the on-scene officer sitting inside the patrol car because it was raining? And, I'm thinking those barricades came AFTER Ross was struck. I agree that Mr. Hookrite; is 110-percent correct to say that roads should be shut-down while crash scenes are active. One thing remains ... even with over-head lights on, cops on-scene, fire department positioned, a reflective vest is worn, or, motorists hear audible warnings of an "incident ahead", these ALL lead to a false sense of security. Fact: Stepping into the roadway or highway lanes becomes an activity where pedestrian strike is always danger close. Tower's shouldn't go into lanes until some level of protection is in place. Chances are that teen motorist didn't know about SDMO. Christine and I pray for Ross's familiy, Tatman's Towing and the community Ross served. R.

Nice to hear that fellow tow companies have rallied to help Mr. Martinez. I hope for his full and speedy recovery. R.