What would you do "Safety Discussion 48"

[TowZone]

Tow truck gets stuck

A tow truck driver attempts to take a hill that is too steep for his load.

 

 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Where to start?? Lol. I can feel his pain because we have a TON of steep, hilly intersections just like that. I would surmise that like here, there are alternate routes he could have taken to avoid such an intersection. 

Now onto all the problems I see. I cant tell for certain, but there appears to be no tag lights on the towed car. When he ran into his issue and had to stop in traffic, the First thing he should have done was activate his warning lights and or 4-ways. He then jumps out of his truck in what looks like a fine work uniform ( insert sarcasm here ), No reflective vest or safety gear of any sort. He had all sorts of vehicles whipping by him on BOTH sides as he struggled to get the rig out of the dip. He is lucky he didnt get run over. 

Maybe it is just me because I deal with them all the time, But come on, He couldnt see that incline when He stopped at the sign?? This guy shoulda known he was not going to make that. Another case of poor training maybe?? Part of driving these trucks is a GOOD understanding how and what reactions you get from different yaws, pitches and angles. Is int it? Or is it just me that thinks of that crap all the time? 

[rreschran]

To me, it looks as though the tower has safety gear, an eight-point tie-down and extension lights applied (extension light cord centered across the roof).  I can see the safety chains but it look's like there are ratchet and straps applied to the towed vehicle's rear tire. I agree with Grump that reading angle's is part of learning to drive a commercial vehicle and far-different that that of the average size car. That approach is a hard-angle to read and perhaps the better, alternate route would have been ... "Right turn Clyde." This is one of those instances where recognizing GOAL might have decided that going straight was the incorrect choice. Because left turn was blocked or under construction right turn was the better choice. But, I could image that, if the tower went that way before with the carrier loaded with only a single vehicle on the deck with ease, perhaps the mentality of, "no problem", came to mind. For this tow scenario, the heavier SUV up-top and a somewhat low-to-the-ground Acura added to the weight and tow-ability, the combined weight could have changed the level of clearance, especially causing the carrier's underside foot and the nose of the towed car to drag. The tower was able to adjust and correct his clearance problem and powered through, but I  have two queestions, 1. how much damage was done to the nose of the carrier and 2. Did he report the damage to the company or the towed car's owner?  Reading streets like this one isn't something that is learned from a textbook using professional semi-truck trailer drivers who get stuck on low-clearance roadways all the time, especially when a semit railer is loaded with product. Schitt happens right?           R.

Edited September 25, 2020 by rreschran