Speeding is a Reckless Act
Published: Wednesday, July 03, 2024
By Randall C. Resch
Police investigators alleged a speeding carrier failed to stop for a red signal light, which was later determined to have been “red” approximately ten-seconds. According to witnesses, cameras and debris at the crash scene, “evidence” estimated the carrier was traveling at about 60-mph in a 30-mph zone when it slammed a Los Angeles, CA, metro bus, June 2013.Upon impacting the bus, the carrier’s weight and momentum, sheared a curbside hydrant and continued into the front facade of a convenience store. Based on total annihilation of the bus and carrier, “speed” was said to be the “obvious” primary factor in this horrific collision.
As the tow operator reportedly clinged to life at an area hospital, LAPD investigators continued their investigation to determine whether or not charges of vehicular manslaughter or murder would be forthcoming.
In Philadelphia, July 2022, another tow truck scenario resulted in a violent crash that killed a female motorist when the speeding tow truck T-boned her car. In May 2023, allegedly a speeding wrecker struck a 67-year-old bicyclist as he crossed one of Houston’s intersections.
First Responder Mentality
Recently, a long-time southern California wrecker driver was ticketed for driving 50-mpg in a school zone. He said, “I was a bit over the speed limit cuz’ I was heading to a crash on the highway.” He asked if he was exempt because he was a first responder? Sorry dude, tow trucks in California aren’t “authorized emergency vehicles.”
It's important towers fully understand “how” their state vehicle code defines tow trucks when it comes to towers being “first responders.” In many states, tow trucks aren’t recognized as such. What does your state’s vehicle code define?
With no authorization to display red and blue lights, or narrative to specifically describe tow trucks as first responders, towers aren’t authorized to respond in Code-3 manner (emergency lighting and sirens), or use emergency shoulders to respond. The same goes for using center divider turn-outs to make U-turns.
When towers follow internet videos, they’ll see influencers promoting Code-3 response which further complicates the issue. While Code-3 response (for tow trucks) may be authorized in some states, there’s no authorization across the board for all states.
Defined by Law
Especially true to tow trucks responding to collisions, there are three driving actions that oftentimes “go out-the-window.” 1.) Getting there “first” is a driving force of getting paid. 2.) Towers try to meet twenty or thirty-minute requirements of law enforcement contracts.3.) For responders headed to emergency calls, “Sirencide” is an emotional reaction where personnel feel a sense of power and urgency that ignores reason and prudence.
So, let’s talk basics when it comes to response. There’s no doubt that when a tow operator hears “Expedite,” or thrusts into “first responder mode,” unsafe driving behaviors are likely to occur. This is especially true to towers paid by commission or companies who monitor police frequencies. Racing to the scene isn’t an art, but a collision waiting to occur.
Getting there First
While getting “there first” is a noble thought, unsafe driving actions go against simple law. For example, California’s Vehicle Code Section, 22350, Basic Speed Law, describes, “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”
There’s nothing reasonable or prudent about driving large and heavy tow trucks at speeds too fast for conditions. Tow trucks don’t stop-on-a-dime and are far from being nimble at higher speeds.
Let this narrative serve as another reminder that a conviction for speed, reckless operation, or preventable crash could garner a total number of points against one’s driver’s license. A cumulation of too many points could make the offending operator “uninsurable” by tow company insurance providers.
Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired, veteran, California police officer, former tow business owner and industry advocate. As consultant and trainer, he authored and teaches tow truck operator safety courses approved by the California Highway Patrol. For 51-years, he has been involved in the towing and recovery industry. In 28-years, he has contributed more than 700-safety focused articles for American Towman Magazine, TowIndustryWeek.com and is a frequent seminar presenter and pageant judge at tow shows. In 2014, he was inducted to the International Towing and Recovery Industry Hall of Fame, was the 3rd recipient of the industry's "Dave Jones Leadership Award," and is a member of American Towman’s Safety Committee.
Email Randy at rreschran@gmail.com.
Summer Safety
Published: Wednesday, June 19, 2024
By Brian J Riker
We are well into summer season with minds wandering to beach trips, backyard barbeques and vacation destinations far away. While summer season means a bump in work for many towers, especially those in tourist destinations, it also means increased dangers for all roadway users.
With the warmer weather also comes more children. With school out for summer break children fill their heads with thoughts of recreation and easily lose focus on the hazards surrounding them. Perhaps you take advantage of this break in the school schedule to bring your own children along with you in the truck for some bonding time?
For the heavy-duty operators, summer also means more kids accompanying family members in big rigs and extra children in truck stops. These kids are already familiar with big trucks and may be even more curious about your tow truck, so please, use extra caution when driving through truck stop parking lots. This makes it especially important to always conduct a circle check every time you move your vehicle!
Children, and pets, have been killed because they were under a vehicle that was placed in motion without the operator knowing. I have made it a habit to approach any vehicle I am driving from the passenger side, walking a complete 360 circle around it before entering the driver seat.
No matter how you look at it, when there are children around, it is more important than ever that we be aware of what they are doing and where they are doing it. Kids love trucks and do not have fully developed danger mechanisms, so they don’t think twice about climbing in, on or under trucks that they may find interesting.
Another old slogan I recall each summer is “behind each bouncing ball comes a running child.” I recall seeing this plastered all over trucks in the northeast when I started driving, and it is true. Keep a close eye between parked vehicles for kids that may be hidden from your view and unaware that you are driving nearby.
Summer means longer days, warmer weather and perhaps some well-deserved recreation. With this change in the seasons, we must not lose focus on safety, ours as well as that of the general public. Enjoy some time off, but please stay safe since tragedy doesn’t stop just because you are on vacation.
Let’s hope this all translates into some much-needed work without any major tragedies on our highways, after all we know tourists are often not focused on the condition of their automobile or the suitability of the route their gps navigation system suggests. AAA predicts record setting travel this summer, so I expect this will lead to some interesting adventures from the motoring public.
The “Upside-Down Recovery” Debate
Published: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
By Randall C. Resch
If this were your crash scene, why would it be necessary to load “upside down?” Tow forums post this “ongoing debate,” in which towers respond to recovery calls involving a casualty vehicle splayed atop its roof. Towers have likely grown tired of rehashing the same topic repeatedly.
The Tow Police fail to recognize there may be a “necessary purpose” for loading upside down. Because a percentage of towers can’t work carrier rollovers, highway patrol and law enforcement are likely to order towers to load vehicles upside down. Why? Because some towers don’t have quick clearance skills.
On-scene challenges like darkness, blocked line-of-sight, curved roadways, operators taking too much time, etc., may demand that casualty vehicles be dragged onto the carrier’s deck for safety considerations. Towers oftentimes lose sight of reasoning in which their ego and arrogant attitude forego proper thinking.
Here’s the Drill
When arriving operators step from a carrier’s cab. He or she may be met by troopers who request the tower load “upside down” to move it out of lanes quickly. To towers who understand this process, it’s called, “Quick Clearance.”
Why can’t towers understand the importance of preventing “secondary impact” intending to save responder lives? Being plowed into by a distracted motorist is the reality of our work. It’s not illegal to load upside down and it’s something that “can be done” with quick precision.
For hardheaded towers, does refusing to load upside-down violate contract stipulations? Maybe! California’s, Tow Service Agreement, Section 16, “Demeanor and Conduct, Section A and A2, asserts: “While involved in CHP rotation tow operations or related business, the tow operator and/or employee(s) shall refrain from any acts of misconduct including, but not limited to, any of the following: (2) “Lack of service, selective service, or refusal to provide service which the operator is capable of performing.”
In the best interests of safety and quick clearance, troopers expect towers to comply. To that I ask, why do egocentric towers “angrily and adamantly decline” the process? While keyboard warriors talk that hard line, they’re likely not hearing what reasons “why” they’re being asked to load upside down, nor are some towers willing to offer solutions?
Towers should expand their minds to the bigger picture of on-scene safety and quick clearance, noting it’s rare (if ever) for an upside vehicle to burst sporadically into flames. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. Sure, the potential is there, but the chance of dying during a pedestrian strike is far greater.
What’s a Recovery?
Upside transport is a “recovery process” that causes heated and repeated discussions. Perhaps towers should fully understand what constitutes “a recovery” in the eyes of the highway patrol? Because the law enforcement community experiences “first-hand” that not all operators are equally competent, an officer’s decision to load upside down could be based on an operator’s inability to work the roll.
“Recovery” as defined in the CHP’s Tow Service Agreement states: “For purposes of the TSA, recovery is defined as a vehicle which is overturned, down an embankment, or otherwise not upright on its wheels.”
In Chapter 6, “Response to Calls”, Section B, “An operator or tow truck driver shall respond with a properly equipped tow truck of the class required to tow the vehicle, perform vehicle recovery (e.g., rollover, down embankment), provide service (e.g., fuel, flat tire change), and be in possession of the appropriate class of driver’s license, applicable endorsem*nts, and permits.”
Section 9, “Tow Truck Classifications”, Subsection (B) (2), it reads, “An operator who has a car carrier is exempted from the recovery, wheel lift, and boom capability requirements. However, the car carrier must be an additional unit and shall not be used for recovery.”
CHP’s rotation contract states, “Tow truck drivers shall perform all towing and recovery operations in the safest and most expedient manner possible. 1) This includes when the operator fails to answer the phone, is unable to respond, is unable to perform the required service, refuses to respond or provide service, or is canceled due to excessive response time.”
Before refusing an officer’s request, know that contracts’ demand operators are trained and experienced. Note: Dating back to 1928, California leads the nation in on-highway fatalities perhaps because too many towers weren’t thinking “safety-first” beyond simply working the scene.
Push to Shove
If an officer (or Incident Commander) requests casualty vehicles be loaded upside-down due to on-scene considerations, should towers refuse to load upside-down? If a tower remains adamant, they may be ordered to leave with the officer requesting the next rotation company to respond. Rest assured, a “refusal” may initiate an officer’s aggressive follow-up complaint to the area’s tow boss.
The bottom-line? It's important tow owners understand that flatbed carriers, in most contracts, aren’t “recognized” as recovery trucks per contract wording. Showing up with a carrier (to a crash scene) may immediately be the first (contract) violation; sending an untrained operator is violation “two”; refusing an officer’s lawful request is violation “three.”
If you’re that tower refusing a lawful order or upside-down request, a refusal may cause your company to be removed from rotation. Personally, my varsity operators are instructed to do whatever’s requested by officers on-scene, even if that means load upside-down. Until such time towers convince law enforcement they’re trained in carrier operations, this topic won’t go away.
Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired, veteran, California police officer, former tow business owner and industry advocate. As consultant and trainer, he authored and teaches tow truck operator safety courses approved by the California Highway Patrol. For 51-years, he has been involved in the towing and recovery industry. In 28-years, he has contributed more than 700-safety focused articles for American Towman Magazine, TowIndustryWeek.com and is a frequent seminar presenter and beauty pageant judge at tow shows. In 2014, he was inducted to the International Towing and Recovery Industry Hall of Fame, was the 3rd recipient of the industry's "Dave Jones Leadership Award," and is a member of American Towman’s Safety Committee.
Email Randy at rreschran@gmail.com.
