Watch this one to the end, REALLY

[Eric Fouquette]

I know all the light towers will comment but please. His tow truck is across 2 lanes of traffic won't fly here. Because some of us bought the Right equipment..I'm not knocking anyone out there but times change. If you don't change you get left behind.

 

 

[mooresbp]

Looks like it could have been pulled to the end of the guard rail?

[WildwoodJack]

I agree with Moore's. I stopped the video, and looked and it does appear that it could have been winched to the end of the guard rail. I am sure the wrecker itself is rated to lift that car, but what I could see happening, is if that car starts to swing around with the boom up and fully extended, leverage could take over and possibly bend something or worse cause the truck to turn over.  That is just me probably being over cautious.  By no means I am not bashing this job. It appears they got it done without any problems. I know where I am at, the police do not like to shut any lanes down unless you have no other options. The distance to the end of the guard rail is probably shorter then it appears in the picture, but maybe not. That is just my opinion.

[yoBdaBenO]

Sorta anti climatic, strangely law enforcement continue to allow these recovery actions.

 

Yeah, around here the majority after some experience say NO. Some even say Hell NO. But, this didn't happen overnight as it took a less than favorable recovery for then to reach a level of intolerance. The more this happens, the more others will react the same. To the point every one of these recoveries needs a rotator. Talk about cutting our throats.

[goodmichael]

I feel he had ample equipment to recover the vehicle. It was just wrong all the way. The statement hey, it is recovery man is not acceptable. It is not professional. That was a pretty decent vehicle from what I could see. Even if the other side was crashed, you are a professional. You do not further damage the casualty, endanger lives, including your own, or endanger property belonging to another. 

[brian991219]

Usually I try not to Monday morning quarterback jobs on a public forum, however this one shows a lack of professionalism period. There are many ways to do this job, rotator although nice, is not required. Even with just the truck he had on scene there were better options than what was chosen. I believe this may stem from a lack of care, no or little training and maybe a culture of "who cares" at his company. 

 

The risk on this one was at an unacceptable level, no control over the vehicle at all when it came over the guide rail it slammed into the back of his truck. Sorry, not going to happen if I owned the truck. Besides risking damage to the tow truck, he could have been crushed when it swung free. What would have happened if the rigging let lose or maybe the oil pan or fuel tank were punctured? I won't even harp on his lack of proper PPE as I am so tired of preaching about vests, hard hats and other protective gear.

 

I would have rather seen him teeter toter it over the rail than try to lift it free and clear in one shot. As said by others in this thread, it appears that the guide rail ends close by, it could have been winched to an opening wide enough to get it out. Also, judging by the light poles, that appears to be a on-ramp area so there may have even been options to access the vehicle from the rear without blocking traffic or putting the tow truck in a bad spot off road.

 

Even given that in most states towers are relieved of liability for secondary damages during police ordered recoveries that does not give a tower a license to intentionally inflict damage such as ripping off the rear bumper on the guide rail. We still must act with reasonable caution in our care of these vehicles.

[rreschran]

What's going on in this video Eric isn't just for light-duty drivers; these same bad behaviors happen in ALL classes of towing and recovery. All comments above are spot-on and I agree with the lack of professionalism this video depicts. I'd like to comment however about this video yet from another approach. Consider that ... when, "new to the industry", tow truck operators come to YouTube for, "arm-chair", training, these kinds of videos risk new tow operators getting the wrong idea as to how recoveries are done? One thing that Brian and I are consistent on are teaching those techniques that promote on-scene safety. In my opinion, this two-minute video shows the tower working the wrong-side (non-protective side) of the tow truck's controls, his back is to approaching traffic, he's not wearing a reflective vest and, as Brian said, he's standing precariously next to a lifted load. Perhaps the biggest demonstration of safety neglect happens at the 1:50 mark; it's obvious that the wrecker doesn't have it's Ebrake on, with no chocks or blocks in place as the casualty swings, "BLAM", into the back of the tow truck. 

 

This video is on the same level of scariness as tower's using seat-belts to lift vehicle's , or, the tower who says, "I can do a rollover recovery in two minutes", by backing up to a casualty vehicle and rolling the casualty with the stinger without ever having to get out of the tow truck. Can it be done (?) ... sure it can, but that doesn't make it safety appropriate or standard to the industry. And, because rookie cops, or cops who know nothing about towing and recovery, when they see these kinds of techniques, they're amazed by what they're seeing. Because towing and recovery isn't taught in most police academies, officers don't really know what techniques are proper or not.  I believe that these are the kinds of videos that help formulate the motoring public's opinion that we're a bunch of yahoo's in a wrecker.     R.