Roadside Service Truck and Driver Struck, Rochester NY 10.24.18

[TowNews]

Action Towing Reported:

This morning one of their managers was almost seriously injured while performing a tire change on the side of 390 in Rochester.

 

 

Action Towing sated: The move over law has not gained enough traction quick enough to protect our employees and other workers performing hazardous duty’s on the roadways here in New York State.

[goodmichael]

Why are we changing tires on the side of the highway? There is absolutely no valid reason to put your staff members life in peril on the side of the road. NONE. My life is worth more than a new tire. Any tire. A law is not going to, "get traction" enough to protect your employees. No law will protect against people who are so absorbed in their own world that they do not consider the consequences their actions will have on others. It is policy, education, training, and compliance that keeps people safe.

When OSHA gets a firm grip on this industry, then there will be some positive changes towards safety. The leadership of this industry has failed to put into practice policies and standards that will save lives. Electricians do not work in the rain around hot systems. The industry leaders have recognized that it is their number one priority to ensure that policies are in place to allow their employees to survive the day and go home safe to their families and loved ones. When will the leadership of this industry step up and do the same?

[Minchar]

14 hours ago, goodmichael said:

Why are we changing tires on the side of the highway? There is absolutely no valid reason to put your staff members life in peril on the side of the road. NONE. My life is worth more than a new tire. Any tire. A law is not going to, "get traction" enough to protect your employees. No law will protect against people who are so absorbed in their own world that they do not consider the consequences their actions will have on others. It is policy, education, training, and compliance that keeps people safe.

When OSHA gets a firm grip on this industry, then there will be some positive changes towards safety. The leadership of this industry has failed to put into practice policies and standards that will save lives. Electricians do not work in the rain around hot systems. The industry leaders have recognized that it is their number one priority to ensure that policies are in place to allow their employees to survive the day and go home safe to their families and loved ones. When will the leadership of this industry step up and do the same? 

Unfortunately AAA is not a part of the tow first movement. They will happily send tire changes on the highway to battery trucks all day long, contractor or fleet.

[goodmichael]

11 hours ago, Minchar said:

Unfortunately AAA is not a part of the tow first movement. They will happily send tire changes on the highway to battery trucks all day long, contractor or fleet.

Just because you receive a call does not mean it is safe, and it puts you under no obligation to put the lives of your staff as well as your equipment at risk of harm. I personally have walked away from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper more than once when they refused to give me a lane to work a scene. My life is worth more than your set of tires and is worth more than any vehicle on the road.  You should have policies and procedures in place, and trust the judgment of your staff to make the call in the field. If something is not in a calculated, safe, controlled environment, refuse the call until it is controlled in better favor of your survival. This scene was a failure in judgment, policy, and procedure.

[Minchar]

2 minutes ago, goodmichael said:

Just because you receive a call does not mean it is safe, and it puts you under no obligation to put the lives of your staff as well as your equipment at risk of harm. I personally have walked away from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper more than once when they refused to give me a lane to work a scene. My life is worth more than your set of tires and is worth more than any vehicle on the road.  You should have policies and procedures in place, and trust the judgment of your staff to make the call in the field. If something is not in a calculated, safe, controlled environment, refuse the call until it is controlled in better favor of your survival. This scene was a failure in judgment, policy, and procedure. 

I agree with you wholeheartedly. My point wasn't that they should do the call, my point was AAA will expect them to do the call. AAA wants contractors to have battery trucks and complains if you don't. They also complain if you turn down calls and it looks bad on their end for your company.

My point is AAA needs to start thinking about member and contractor safety and institute the tow first policy. Unfortunately they haven't done so as of yet.

[goodmichael]

Brother, I was not meaning anything derogatory, but we as an industry need to push back and start demanding a safe workplace, and charge accordingly. If people started feeling the heat from their lack of maintenance hit their ass pocket, maybe they would pay more attention to the condition of their vehicle. Most people will run to the repair shop if their phone screen is cracked, but will not bother to change their oil, or address their brakes when they make a grinding noise. The big issue is industry leadership. If motor clubs want service they need to improve the standards of their expectations. That AAA tire change probably paid pennies on the dollar, but what are they going to do for that provider now? They are not going to assist in getting a new service truck. They would not have assisted in paying for the operators funeral services if things had gone terribly south.

[occupant272]

How many members on this forum live near the AAA national headquarters in Florida?

 

Anyone have access or a discount on printed banners?

 

Blow up that damaged truck photo.  Put it on a banner.  Shame them like the Unions do local companies here during collective bargaining.

 

[goodmichael]

AAA is not the problem. AAA does not force a company to run a call that puts life as well as equipment in danger. Just as important, owners do not force operators to change tires on the side of the road. You can always get a different job, but how is your family going to survive if you are killed or significantly impaired in a preventable incident? We can no longer blame AAA. People need to make better decisions to not place themselves in harm's way.

[Minchar]

AAA is not the problem. AAA does not force a company to run a call that puts life as well as equipment in danger. Just as important, owners do not force operators to change tires on the side of the road. You can always get a different job, but how is your family going to survive if you are killed or significantly impaired in a preventable incident? We can no longer blame AAA. People need to make better decisions to not place themselves in harm's way.

It is true that owners have to make such a decision. That said AAA is definitely part of the problem for even putting owners and drivers in that situation. AAA refuses to properly compensate for tow first and as previously stated won't send a tire change on the highway to a tow truck, instead sending it to a service truck forcing them to hurt their call acceptance rate by declining it.

A struggling company may put call acceptance over safety and AAA shouldn't be putting them in that position.

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

[goodmichael]

If a company is struggling and suffers a fatality, and or loss of use of equipment, how much more of a struggle will they be in? If I have a flat on the side of the road, I will drive the tire on the rim to a safe spot. I will not change a tire on the side of a highway. There is no excuse to put anything over safety, ever. If that decision is made, then the owner or manager should be the ones on the side of the road changing tires, not staff.  There is no excuse to not make safety your first priority, ever.

[Minchar]

15 minutes ago, goodmichael said:

If a company is struggling and suffers a fatality, and or loss of use of equipment, how much more of a struggle will they be in? If I have a flat on the side of the road, I will drive the tire on the rim to a safe spot. I will not change a tire on the side of a highway. There is no excuse to put anything over safety, ever. If that decision is made, then the owner or manager should be the ones on the side of the road changing tires, not staff.  There is no excuse to not make safety your first priority, ever. 

As I said, I agree with you. Companies must make that decision. My issue was with you saying AAA is not the problem. AAA is the core of the problem. They are a multi-national corporation that claims to put safety above all else and then refuse to compensate companies appropriately for choosing the safer option.

[rreschran]

... so ... can anyone identify WHO the leaders of this industry are? 

[goodmichael]

6 hours ago, Minchar said:

As I said, I agree with you. Companies must make that decision. My issue was with you saying AAA is not the problem. AAA is the core of the problem. They are a multi-national corporation that claims to put safety above all else and then refuse to compensate companies appropriately for choosing the safer option.

I understand, it is that attitude that has to change. I am not being ugly towards you personally, actually I thank you for bringing that issue to the surface. So many people who are operators feel that they have to risk their lives in the daily operations of this industry, but it is not the case. If an operator does not feel that a scene is safe, they should have the autonomy as well as their employers faith in their judgement to refuse a call. I can count the calls that I have refused over the years on both hands. I refused to pull a vehicle out of the bar ditch a few years back that skidded out of control due to the drivers failure to control speed. There was no one present to block traffic. As we stood by at a safe haven another vehicle slid across the ice and slammed into the man's car. Had I been engaged in the recovery I would most likely have been struck, as well as the equipment being damaged. Was the guy mad. yes, he was livid. He was not shy about sharing his dissatisfaction either. Finally I told him that I was not the stupid SOB that slid off the road. Moments later, the secondary crash occurred. I looked at him, shrugged my shoulders, and stepped into the warm cab and my cup of coffee. I was able to work the remainder of the day. You do not get paid to sit in the ER as you get patched up, and your equipment does not make you as an operator or as an owner any money if it sits in a body shop. But the payments are still due. Another time a woman was screaming for me to hook up and winch her Mazda off of a railroad track as a train was approaching. She had driven down a railroad track and become stuck.

 

If I can get the job done, and be safe, I will complete the task. But rest assured, I am going home each and every day if I can help it. I may very well get hit or have something catastrophic occur, but I will have done everything within my power to ensure that the adverse situation was prevented.  

[goodmichael]

7 hours ago, rreschran said:

... so ... can anyone identify WHO the leaders of this industry are? 

I believe that the industry leaders are the companies that have a proactive safety policy in place, the insurance companies, the automotive industry to include engineers as well as warranty representatives, motor clubs management, law enforcement, as well as city, county, and state government. These entities all have a say in policy that effects this industry. Ultimately it is the operator who is in the field risking his health and safety, many times with no benefits other than a paycheck that might not be all that predictable.