What would you do "Safety Discussion 24"

[TowZone]

[carl4tow]

See this all the time from the AAA drivers around here

[Towmanjc]

You`re fired!!

[BlackAutoload]

This is why towing company insurance rates are thru the roof!

[jp245]

Popular tie-down method with salvage "experts"

[towman2]

Yank him out of the truck, fire him, then beat his a**!!!!

[goodmichael]

Yes, this is why insurance is through the roof, but it also signifies an owner or management team that is not on the ball. Why is it acceptable to have people who do not care  or take pride in their work? I do not blame this driver for his shortcomings, I place 100% of the blame on the manager or owner of this company.

[occupant272]

From a former driver's perspective (but I did apply to be a driver again and first interview tomorrow), this is what boils my blood about towing in a competitive market.

 

Those of us who tow vehicles correctly are the ones who get screwed.  Those of us who perform damage free towing, don't drag stuff, don't throw chains through wheels.  We utilize four or more points of tie down and no, the bridle does NOT count.  We take the time to make sure nothing scrapes and nothing is loose and nothing will fly off and hit an adjacent vehicle.  We're mindful of the vehicles around one's self and one's truck and one's towed vehicle.  We are the ones following speed limits, stopping for red lights and stop signs, and driving defensively.  The "good" driver doesn't ride the clutch or the brakes and inspects his truck daily to make sure everything works properly so his truck works as designed when it is needed most.

 

All of these things mean NOTHING to the bottom line if the company owner doesn't care, and we struggle to make ends meet.

 

It's the drivers who take risks, who damage vehicles and don't take responsibility and whose company owners don't hold them to their actions, they are the guys who make money,  They cut corners, don't think about safety, and stay on the bleeding edge of dangerous.  They make the big money.  They do the impounds with their lights off, no straps, no tail lights.  They go down the road with the bridle tight as a pickle jar and a single chain on the back and if you're lucky, it's in a hole designed for continuous loads.  Their ratchet straps are rusting in the tool boxes.  The last time they checked their engine oil level was when the oil pressure light came on at idle.  Dumped a quart in for good measure but it needed three.  Thank goodness that was a pre-emission truck, right?  Cheaper to throw another used engine in it and get him back to work, right?

 

That's the way the cookie crumbles.  And when us good guys are two months behind on their car payment, eating spaghetti three times a week, drinking only the finest municipal tap water, and fending off collections calls, when we give up and go back to waiting tables, or driving Ubers, or stocking shelves at Kroger, that's when the towing industry loses something good.  And insurance goes up.

 

I'm still trying to start my own company.  Insurance is the largest cost for a startup in my opinion.  I can find a cheap truck in good condition and buy the right equipment for it.  I already have the business.  My wife's phone rings daily with 3 to 5 towing calls and even more for roadside.  We pick the ones we have time to do and send the rest to other local companies.  They don't pay us anything for it, but when they STOP getting those calls, they'll be sad I'm sure.