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The Dangers of Flooding Waters 

By Randall C. Resch           

Today, amid the Kentucky floods wreaking havoc on the eastern part of the state and claiming approximately 40 lives with more than one hundred missing, towers and other first responders need to be reminded of the dangers that lurk from mother nature’s indiscriminate acts of devastation.  

A Few Stories...  

In 1942, during the great flood that hit Northern Virginia and Maryland, John Elliott Buell, a tow owner and operator from Bethesda, MD, drowned trying to rescue a partially submerged and unoccupied car.   

Buell was responding to frantic calls that a motorist was inside the vehicle. He waded into the water with tow cable in-hand. As he attached the cable, the water’s rage caused the car to spin. Buell was swept away, and his body was discovered the next day hundreds of feet downstream.  

In August of 2021, Hurricane Ida hammered the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, causing extensive damage and overwhelming a dozen states combined. News surged with broadcasts showing cars submerged in swollen roadways and streams with cars whisked away by still moving floodwaters. Tow operators were shown wading through fast-moving water to hook-up casualty vehicles. At the midst of Ida, towers worked heroically in communities hit hardest by flooding, but I’m not so sure it was the safest of activities.    

The following month, Sergeant Brian Mohl, a veteran, 26-year Connecticut State Trooper was killed when his police cruiser was swept away by floodwaters. Was there some threat or life-saving reason so great that required the trooper to enter dangerous waters?  

Heed the Warnings  

Clearly, there’s huge risk to health and safety entering rapid water as we are now witnessing in Kentucky. As a tower, it’s my opinion to let flood waters subside before recovering a car.  

As an advocate for tow operator safety, I typically err on the side of safety knowing that many acts of fearlessness turn potentially deadly when things go wrong. For better than thirty-years, I have written about industry safety only to realize one, indisputable fact: towers often act without thinking of deadly consequences.  

Perhaps some towers have not learned that tow trucks, despite their taller profile, are not submarines!     

Therefore, carefully consider the potentially deadly consequences of wading or driving into swift and swollen waters. No job is worth dying for. 

Legislative Relief is Not One Size Fits All 

By Brian J Riker 

Recently the Towing and Recovery Association of America (TRAA) held its 4th Annual Legislative “Hill” Day where towers from across the United States converged on Washington, D.C. to meet with law makers and Agency representatives in a concerted effort to bring about real relief for towing companies nationwide. What struck me was how different each lawmaker responded to our requests for relief, and even more striking was the different approaches towers from different regions took to the issues. 

This highlights to me that there is no such thing as a one size fits all solution to our industry’s problems. Towers across the country deserve to be heard, regardless of their size, financial reserves, or geographical location. What works in the big cities or on the West Coast may not be right for a small town tower on the Great Plains or one located in New England. 

As such, your individual voice needs to be heard and the best way to do this is by joining your state association and the national association then participate in the meetings! An association needs input from its membership to know which way to go. While the Board of Directors of any good association is made up of active towers, they still only understand the industry from their perspective. Therefore, your active participation is required for best results. And, yes, even if your opinion differs from the majority, it is still important to be heard. Dissent is the catalyst for change. 

You may ask, how does this really affect me? I am a local company, so the federal government has little impact. I am here to say that is simply not true! Size and weight remain mostly a federal issue as do many other motor carrier compliance issues, many of which are notable examples of how one size does not fit all. Towing is continually lumped in with trucking in D.C. and that puts a heavy burden on operations. This generalization is the cornerstone of the fight that the national association brings to the federal lawmakers. 

The same can be said about state level issues that have the potential to impact the entire industry. It is no secret that the towing industry’s billing practices have been under attack for a long time. For whatever reason, the trucking and insurance industries seem to think that tow trucks run on good will, unicorn dust or maybe just happy thoughts. They seem to have taken issue with the industry’s desire to make a reasonable profit for the risk taken and effort expended daily. This is most recently noted in the bad legislation in Maryland and Colorado restricting a tower’s rights to collect payment or hold vehicles as collateral until payment is made. 

This is where having a state association that is also a member of the national association is a huge member benefit, when used properly. Oftentimes TRAA will be asked to weigh in on state issues, offering a letter of support or opposition and access to their resources for the benefit of their state association members. This allows for model legislation to be enacted that is good for the industry while also increasing the effort to fight bad legislation. 

You may ask, why should I care about what happens several states away? The answer is simple: states often look to other states for examples on how they have addressed an issue and then put the same solution into place in their state. This is how bad ideas, such as the restrictions on hold vehicles for payment in Maryland, pop up in faraway states like Colorado. 

The one size fits all model of governing is here to stay. As an industry we must work together to combat these overburdensome regulations and laws before they drive us into extinction. Speak up, be active and join associations that support your industry segment. 

Bad rules begin locally and like a cancer spread into federal legislation quickly. Only with swift, coordinated, and cooperative efforts can our industry stop the spread of bad legislation.  

Dangerous Drivers Driving Dangerously 

By Randall C. Resch   

A tow truck driver, traveling twice the posted speed limit, barreled down Brooklyn, New York’s, Fourth Avenue, crashing into a family’s car. The impact killed its driver, ejected a front-seat passenger and seriously injured three young children riding in the back seat.  

Witnesses commented they observed two tow trucks driving at a high-rate of speed speculating they were drag-racing or perhaps trying to out-race the other to be first on-scene at another call? 

An ensuing accident investigation determined the twenty-nine year old tow operator’s license was suspended at the time of impact. Shockingly, the investigation showed his license was allegedly suspended as many as fifty-one times prior. Additionally, the same tow operator reportedly was involved in a different fatal collision three-year’s prior.  

There are several “industry described incidents” of the same nature where tow operators were hired and allowed to drive under the same conditions. As it’s important to understand the legal meaning of “Vicarious Liability”, I’ll ask, do tow owners have a specific responsibility to conduct pre-hire investigations to determine if an applicant has a reasonably safe driving background?  

Due-Diligence Applied 

Allowing employees to drive company vehicles (of any type) in a haphazard and reckless manner is irresponsible. To knowingly allow an employee to drive while under suspension creates extreme responsibility to the company’s owner and assets, regardless as to the good standing or the company’s legal-liability status. 

To determine whether or not an employee has prior driving violations, or if they’re under hold by the courts at the moment of hire, company management must conduct a motor vehicle background report through the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  

Demanded at the time an employee applies for work, the applicant can best prove their safe operating status by obtaining a motor vehicle report (MVR) included with their application. But, it doesn’t stop there.  

The next reasonable step (by company management) is sending the applicant’s MVR information to the company’s insurance provider for consideration. Having conducted an investigation for “Insurability,” the insurance provider has final say as to whether-or-not the applicant can be insured.  

Monitor Bad Behaviors 

There’s no-doubt finding the right operator applicant is a “Needle in a Haystack” process. But allowing a dangerous driver behind the wheel of a tow truck is risky business.  

Let’s say the applicant is approved for hire and authorized to drive, but month’s later, they recklessly wind-up being cited again, or worst yet, are involved in a crash using a company vehicle. As owner, how do you manage on-going driver behaviors? Here are three, simple suggestions that coincide with questionable driver behaviors: 

1.)  The company’s policy and procedures should completely spell out rules specific to safe driving habits, including a statement regarding insurability.  

That statement may include, “Tow operators must maintain a valid driver’s license for each (class) tow truck they drive, including all required endorsements. Unsafe, reckless, or intentional unsafe acts or violations are subject to dismissal if the employee cannot remain approved by law enforcement or the company’s insurance provider. Dismissal may occur if the operator has cumulative violations of “Plus two-points” and or a non-preventable accident indicated on the operator’s MVR.” 

2.) The company is enrolled in a state program similar to California’s “Pull Notice Program.” A Pull-Notice-Program is likened to a quarterly report card monitored by the DMV reporting citations obtained, or Notice of Suspension for driving violations, accidents, driver license suspension for child support arrears, or, other actions by the court. 

3.) Owners, get out (from behind your desk) and follow your trucks once in-a-while to ensure your drivers are driving in a manner you deem safe. Obviously, observations that need addressing revert back to the company’s PPM manual. Corporate spying may seem underhanded, but you’ll never know if you don’t see it first-handedly. 

When it comes to safe vehicle operations, there are huge expectations that tow operators drive in a safe, prudent and reasonable manner.  

Because the risk of criminal and civil liability is extremely high in today’s litigious society, make the effort to ensure your operators and company employees are operating with valid licenses free from restriction or suspension.