The Road Calls
Watch Your Step
Preventing FALLS
TAX TIME
Tips on
Correct Bookkeeping
Extra Cash
Flow From
Construction
Salvage Vehicles
CRANE Recovery
TowIndustryWeek.com
MARCH 2022 AmericanTowman.com
$10
Contents
March 2022
Cover Feature
Features
14
Tax Time Tips Creative bookkeeping hurts more than helps.
Volume 46 Issue 3
28
Construction Crane Recovery
Departments 8
The Walkaround
10
News Share
Dr. Hook Wins the 2021 Donnie Cruse Memorial Award from WreckMaster.
12
Road Tools
14
Tow Manager
20
Safety
Dr. Hook Towing provided this dramatic night shot of uprighting a toppled crane at a construction site.
34
Ad Index
38
Classic Wrecker
42
An American Towman
46
Tow Boss
54
Towman’s Market
56
My Baby
58
Lowdown
64
Adventures of A.T.
by Brian J. Riker
20
Watch Your Step!
Preventing Slip-and-Fall accidents can be a life-saver. by Randall C. Resch
38
At Your Service!
A Harley-Davidson trike that helped out stranded motorists. by Steve Temple
6 • March 2022 | Towman.com
First on the scene since 1977
The Walkaround Getting Down to Business
Dennie Ortiz Publisher
Tax time rolls around each year, bringing reminders to us all on how we manage our money both personally and professionally. In this issue Brian Riker reasons that being creative with your business’s bookkeeping could be a disadvantage in the long run. Keeping management top of mind, Brian also helps to uncover various ways to diversify your business. From salvage to auctions, peruse this article to find ways to help raise your bottom line. This month’s safety department has Randall Resch walking you through how to literally avoid missteps while entering and exiting your tow truck. This may seem a mundane action, but statistics show this is one of the largest causes of injury in the trucking industry. Calling all recovery enthusiasts, or for that matter anyone with eyes, check out the 100-ton crane recovery on page 28 that earned Dr. Hook Towing the 2021 Donnie Cruse Heavy Duty Recovery award. A treat for the nostalgic motor head, be sure to feast your eyes on the classic 1947 Harley Davidson service vehicles spotlighted in the “Classic Wrecker” section. You will not be disappointed. Who is the American Towman? Our newly created department, authored by Charles Duke III, dives deep into the psyche of towman, Geoff Nienstedt, and his unending advocacy of the Slow Down Move Over laws. Rounding out the issue is Crawley’s Services’ colorful and comic rollback, showcasing the characters of one of the funniest animated movies of all time. Enjoy the issue, and as always … stay safe out there!
Mac Attack
Steve Temple Editor
Sharp-eyed readers likely spotted a typo in our previous issue’s Towman’s Toy about the “Mini Mac” from Mechanics Plus. I inadvertently left the letter “k” off the brand name of their Mack tow truck, and we didn’t catch it. My bad! Our apologies, but we consoled ourselves with other funny malaprops, such as former veep Dan Quayle’s misspelling the word “potato” on the blackboard at a school function, along with a politician’s recent reference to the “gazpacho” police. One of my editorial colleagues even misspelled “America” on the cover of his magazine. So “stuff” happens, as Forrest Gump wisely noted.
8 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Dennie Ortiz Steve Calitri Steve Temple Randall Resch Terry Abejuela David Kolman John Borowski Mark Lacek Brian Riker George Nitti Henri “Doc” Calitri
Publisher Editor-In-Chief Editor Operations Editor Field Editor, West Chassis Editor Safety Editor Repo Run Editor Contributing Editor Contributing Editor Contributing Editor
Editorial Board Tommy Anderson Roy Carlson Debbie Collins Belinda Harris Bill Johnson Ron Mislan Kurt Wilson
Dallas, Texas Saint Paul, Minn. Las Vegas, Nev. Greensboro, N.C. South Hadley, Mass. Warren, N.J. Creve Coeur, Ill.
American Towman Staff Art Director Advertising Sales Mgr. Senior Account Exec. Customer Service Subscription Manager Regional Advertising Sales iMarketing Manager ATTV Producer President
Gina Johnson Dennie Ortiz Ellen Rosengart Henri Calitri Patrice Gesner Peggy Calabrese Ryan Oser Emily Oz Steve Calitri
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Copyright ©2022 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Media, Inc.
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All material published through American Towman Media (AT), to include American Towman Magazine, iTowman.com and TowIndustryWeek.com, including advertisements, editorials, articles and all other content is published in good faith. However, AT accepts no liability for any errors or omissions, and does not endorse any companies, products or services that appear. AT does not test or review products submitted for inclusion in its publications. AT does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of content, warranties or claims made or implied by its advertisers. The views expressed are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of AT. The act of mailing or delivering a letter, email or article to AT shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. AT reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted. No part of the magazine or websites may be reproduced without prior written consent of AT. AT reserves the right to not publish advertisements that disparage competitors or call into question the integrity of a competitors product or service.
News Share New Rules for CDL Training
Effective February 7, 2022, the rule requirements for entry-level CDL trainees are getting stricter. All new candidates must be registered with an approved provider listed on the Training Provider Registry (TRP) before taking a CDL skills test or for any of the endorsements. Any CDL training provider wishing to be approved for the Training Provider Registry (TRP) will have to meet FMCSA’s requirements for curriculum, facilities, instructors, state licensing, and vehicles. For information on registering as a training provider, go to tpr.fmcsa.dot. gov/Provider
Traffic Deaths on Rise in 2021
According to a recent government report, the number of U.S. traffic deaths in the first nine months of 2021 was 31,720, 12 percent higher than it was last year in 2020, and the highest nine-month figure since 2006. Also, 38 states reported an increase in fatalities. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg affirmed that over the next two years the department will offer federal guidance and billions in grants (part of the new infrastructure law) to spur changes such as lowering speed limits, embracing safer road design, providing better lighting and crosswalks, and urging the use of speed cameras, in addition to building out alternative modes of travel such as rail and public transit, safer modes of transport. “People make mistakes, but human mistakes don’t always have to be lethal,” Buttigieg pointed out. “In a well-designed system, safety measures make sure that human fallibility does not lead to human fatalities. That’s what we will be doing for America’s roads with the National Roadway Safety Strategy and the safe system approach that it embraces.” Source: postregister.com
10 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Tower John Jay Tashjian of Nick’s Towing Service rescued a driver from a burning car (inset photo).
Jersey Tower Pulls Man
from Flaming Car
As John Jay “JJ” Tashjian of Nick’s Towing Service was traveling northbound on the NJ Turnpike in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 23, 2022, he noticed a vehicle that crashed off the roadway. It came to rest in a tall grassy area approximately 50 feet into the meadows, and then began burning. The first person on scene, he immediately contacted Nick’s Towing dispatch, who in turn contacted NJ Turnpike Operations and informed them of the situation. Tashjian ran to the burning car and rescued the driver from the vehicle by pulling him out and getting him to safety inside his tow truck. Once they were clear
of the vehicle, it became fully engulfed in flames. After the fire was extinguished and the owner of the vehicle was being administered assistance by the EMS, the Nick’s Towing team recovered the vehicle back onto the roadway, where it was safely loaded onto a flatbed and transported to Nick’s Towing Service. Remarked Nicholas F. Testa, owner of Nick’s Towing: “I couldn’t be more proud of John Jay’s efforts. He is a courageous young man. In this day and age when most people would simply drive by a scenario like this, he instead jumped into action and put himself in jeopardy to save another person.”
Towers Support Canadian Truckers’ Blockade As thousands of Canadian truckers protested a vaccination mandate imposed upon them by the governments of Canada and the United States for cross-border travel, several Canadian tow companies showed support for truckers blockading the Alberta-Montana border by refusing police orders to tow them. The Alberta truck blockade is part of the larger Freedom Convoy movement that began in Vancouver and resulted in a major protest in Ottawa, where truckers descended upon Parliament Hill, the government center. Meanwhile thousands of other protesters came out in support of the truckers and against the government mandate, which was set for January 15 in Canada and January 22 in the United States. The Canadian Trucking Alliance noted that about 10 to 15 percent of truckers have not been vaccinated, with numbers ranging between 12,000
Truckers descend upon Ottawa’s Parliament Hill in protest of vaccination mandate. to 16,000, which will take them off the road. Several conservative members of Parliament who support the truckers, says it puts a burden on truckers when supply chains are strained and have blamed the new mandate for shortages of goods. Sources: lifesitenews.com washingtonpost.com breitbart.com
News Share
Two Tow Truck Thefts
in Indiana
One of two tow trucks stolen was from Workman’s Towing. In southern Indiana, two tow trucks were stolen from two different tow companies in close proximity to one another. The first occurred at Workman’s Towing in New Albany, Indiana. Security cameras captured someone walking up to the parked truck around 2:40 a.m., jumping inside and driving away with the headlights off. The tow truck was one they had for four years, a 22 foot-long flatbed truck, which Brianna Workman estimates is valued at about $50,000. She is worried the truck will
be used to tow and steal cars. “Things are going to start disappearing more often now that there’s tow trucks—they can get two at a time,” said Workman. The keys were in the cab, but in a driver’s console. She said you do not need a commercial driver’s license to drive one. Two hours later a truck was stolen just a few miles away in Clarksville from Butner Auto. Source:wdrb.com
Tractor-Trailer Takes Nosedive After a semi tractortrailer in North Carolina hit black ice and slid off a bridge, Lee’s Towing was able to retrieve the rig.
With a storm hitting North Carolina on Sunday, Jan 16, 2022, and black ice creating slick roads, a tractor-trailer took a nosedive off a bridge, where it dangled for 90 minutes. It was eventually delivered safely to the ground. At the scene was Lee’s 24-Hour Towing who supplied three heavyduty rotators. Lee’s positioned one on the bridge to secure the top of the trailer, one on the ground to pull it, and another to remove the cab from the guardrail. “What we had to do first was secure it and get it to where we could control it while we pulled it from under the bridge,” Gardner said. The trailer was
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
back in a horizontal position and towed away right around 9:00 p.m. The truck, owned by HAGOS Trucking LLC out of Texas, was contracted for Amazon deliveries and headed to a warehouse Sunday around 5:30 p.m., when the driver lost control and slid off the bridge, plunging 22 feet from N.C. 147 onto 15-501. The cab of the truck appeared to land upright, while the trailer was vertical, leaning from bridge to road. The driver was taken to a local hospital, where a spokesman for the company reported that he appeared to have broken his back. Source: wral.com
Improved Business Conditions for Towers
Results from a nationwide survey of 582 towing and roadside providers indicates that tow providers are feeling the effects of motorists returning to the roadways as public health measures have loosened. This survey was done by HONK Technologies, a digital roadside assistance and vehicle transport platform company. More than 1 in 5 (22 percent) towers report having to turn down work, and the additional volume is driving almost half (46 percent) to consider buying new trucks and hiring additional employees. The survey also indicated that tow providers want towing and roadside jobs that are closer to their available operators and trucks. Matt Bijur, Chief Operating Officer at HONK, points out that, “Tow providers prefer to take the closest jobs because that creates quicker ETAs, happier customers, more jobs per truck per day, and lower overhead costs.”
Pending Laws on Blue Lights
Two Washington State Representatives, Rep. Ed Orcutt (R) and Rep. Jeff Wilson (R) introduced a bill allowing tow truck drivers to use rear-facing blue lights, along with the traditional red lights while at the scene of an accident. Last year, two tow truck drivers from their districts were killed while responding to crashes. Should the bill pass the House vote, another version of the bill will move on to the Senate for approval. Orcutt said, “I am trying to give drivers more warning and I think a blue light will do a good job. People know to slow down and pull over when they see those lights from law enforcement.” The bill passed through a public hearing and was amended after a public hearing on January 14 that takes into consideration the concern police officers have about causing confusion if tow trucks used the lights while driving to a scene of an accident, instead of just at the response. Source: kpvi.com
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 11
Road Tools Goin’ Mobile in Payment Processing
EMSCorporate.com
Electronic Merchant Systems lets you turn your phone into a payment processing solution. The firm’s EMSmobile is a simple yet powerful payment-acceptance option for any business looking to get paid on the go. It is compatible with iOS and Android devices, offering a card reader that connects to your device via Bluetooth. With this solution, you can handle a number of actions, starting with dipping, tapping or swiping credit cards. It can also create itemized or simple transactions, accept tips and manage cash payments. In addition, this product can track and control inventory, and process multiple users at the same time.
For Your Protection Keep your essential PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) items within easy reach with this convenient kit from AW Direct. The handy, zippered 4x6-inch bag contains a pair of disposable gloves, a disposable face mask and a packet of hand sanitizer. For those occasions when precaution is desired, whether at work, school or shopping, this kit will increase the level of comfort and protection for yourself and others.
Zips.com
Light ‘Em Up! Lumileds has just introduced the new line of Philips Xperion 6000 LED work lights for the automotive industry. Designed for working professionals, these lights include advanced features that make them more useful to technicians. All five lights have 6000K daylight-intensity color temperature, along with exceptional resistance to impact, water, and solvents, plus best-in-class lithium battery life. The Xperion Multi Dock Station is a compatible accessory, serving as both a cordless charging station and a convenient storage point. An LED indicator blinks while charging and turns green when the devices are fully charged. A USB charging cable and adaptor are included, and a single charge via the USB Type-C socket gives the high-capacity battery sufficient power to last the working day in any mode.
12 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Lumileds.com
Tow Manager
Creative Bookkeeping It Hurts More Than It Helps By Brian J. Riker
Brian J. Riker is a third-generation towman, with 26 years of experience in the ditch as a tow operator, and president of Fleet Compliance Solutions. He specializes in helping navigate the complex world of federal and state transportation regulatory compliance. He can be reached at brian.riker@fleetcompliancesolutions.net
N
obody likes paying more in taxes than n e c e s s a r y, especially with how wasteful the government can be, but those creative ways you account for income or expenses could be doing more harm to your business than you might imagine. It is easy to justify having your company pay for things like your cell phone, personal vehicle, and even “working vacations,”— all of which can be legitimate expenses and deductions. But how do these, and many other less than legit deductions hurt, rather than help, your company? In a recent conversation with George Metos of Principle with Business By George, which specializes in brokering the sale of towing and auto recycling companies nationwide, we discussed the troubles towers have when they decide it is time to sell their company and retire, or even simply move on in a different direction. He shared some key points to keep in mind. “Businesses are valued in a few different ways,” Metos explained. “Usually some combination of the value of the physical assets, like property and trucks, plus proven income and profit.” Along with a bit of “blue sky” added it to account for the name recognition and good will between a current business owner and their customers.
WHAT’S YOUR TRUE VALUE?
Here’s the rub, however: If your books do not accurately reflect all your income and actual business expenses, a potential buyer will have to presume your 14 • March 2022 | Towman.com
company is worth less than you may think it is worth. You don’t want to be in an undervalued position when it is time to sell, especially if the buyer is an absentee owner like a consolidation company or investment firm. That’s because they will need to make sure the company makes enough profit to pay a professional manager and still return a profit for their shareholders. Metos then pointed out a common problem. “Often I see owners commingle their personal and business funds, using company money to pay for personal expenses, instead of taking it out of the company as payroll or a dividend, which results in an inaccurate balance sheet when appraising their company,” Metos observed. “These skewed financials can be very difficult to explain or correct if a quick sale is of the essence, resulting in a greatly reduced sale price.”
HIGHER INTEREST RATES ON LOANS
On the same subject of misleading financial reports, Dave Gellinger, Vice President of Sales with Worldwide Equipment Sales, commented on how difficult it can be for some successful businesses to prove they can actually
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afford the new truck or other piece of equipment they want to purchase. “If you are trying to buy a $700,000 rotator or even a $90,000 carrier, but your books only show a fraction of that in annual income nobody is going to finance you,” Gellinger noted. “And [even] if they do, the interest rate will be very high. This has caused some very hard-working folks to miss out on new equipment because of poor bookkeeping practices.”
TIPS ON ACCURATE ACCOUNTING
So, what can you do to prevent this? Begin with an accurate accounting of all business income and keep those funds separate from your personal funds. Commingling funds between your business and personal life is the equivalent of embezzling from yourself. Even sole proprietors should have, at a minimum, two separate checking accounts for their business and personal funds.
When you need to transfer money from your business to yourself, do it with a paper trail, don’t just take cash out of the till. Yes, this might have a tax implication depending on how your business is structured, but it will provide the most accurate accounting of the health of your company when it comes time to buy or sell. Keep your personal expenses personal. Just as with the income, you should also keep the outgoing money separate. It might cost a few more dollars, but in the long run it will be better to not have things like your kids’ cell phone on the business account. The same holds true for other things like your personal vehicles, property and more. Again, legally with a sole proprietor there isn’t a distinction, but for those that approve loans or are looking to buy a business, these are important distinctions to make.
REDUCING YOUR DEBT LOAD
Credit is a tool many use to grow their business. Some even use it to operate daily or maybe survive an unexpected event. While I personally do not like debt, I’m not saying that is how you should live, but there is something to be said for understanding your debt load and properly managing it. Start with your credit cards. Do you have separate cards for your personal and business use? If you do, that’s great, as you are ahead of most folks. Even more important, do you have the self-discipline to keep those cards exclusively for actual business or personal expenses—or do you occasionally use the wrong card? This practice might seem insignificant, but it goes back to the purity and accuracy of your books. Reviewing all your lines of credit, cards, loans and other notes to make sure they accurately reflect their intended purpose.
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16 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 17
THIEVING MATTERS
Stop stealing from yourself! We do this without even realizing it. Have you ever put a quart of oil from the shop in your personal car or used a truck without creating an invoice to move your daughter’s car? As owners we all have, and never thought twice about it. We likely even allow our employees to do the same occasionally as a perk for their extra efforts and the hard work they do. What about paying for cable, internet, cell phones, laptop computer and other items that could be used for both business and pleasure? If the company purchases these things, but they are not used exclusively for business purposes, then an accounting and reconciliation of these expenses should be made. Although such items might sound like trivial things, and they really are, it is the discipline of accounting for every transaction properly that is important. Even if the tow ticket for your kid’s car is a non-revenue ticket, it will justify the use of the equipment and help you have a truer picture of actual cost of ownership for the business. The same holds true for putting your spouse or children on the payroll. Again, there may be tax advantages to this strategy— especially around 401k and other retirement investing—but ask yourself how it affects the picture of your business’s financial health? Does it make your payroll seem high as a percentage of revenue? Does your spouse or extended family do any actual work to benefit the company? If you answered “no” to the last question, then you need to remove them from the payroll immediately. There might be better, and more lawful ways, to transfer funds from the business to your family, either in 18 • March 2022 | Towman.com
the form of dividends (if they have an ownership position) or into your name first then to the family. Your tax and investment professionals are best suited to help you with these complex issues.
Using the
wrong credit card goes back to the purity and accuracy of your books.
ADVANTAGES OF A SALARY
While on the subject of payroll, how do you pay yourself? Do you just keep whatever is left over or do you draw a reasonable salary for your efforts? The latter is the way to go. Drawing a reasonable salary will help justify that the business is profitable and sustainable should something happen, and if you had to hire a manager to replace you to keep the company operating. Anything above a reasonable and customary salary can be taken out of the company in the form of a draw, which helps better define the health of the company financials. Check with your tax professional for more information as this article is general in nature, and your specific situation may differ. Nobody wants to think about their own mortality, but like it or not, we all have a limited number of days to walk this earth. Getting your books in order is not only good for your business, but also critical for those you will inevitably
leave behind. When you are gone, your spouse, children or others will need to either continue operating your company or sell it off. Either way, don’t you want to leave them in the best possible position to thrive? This situation can be with a properly valued company that they can sell for more than just the wholesale price of the assets. Surely you don’t want to see all your hard work go to the highest bidder at an estate auction when you’re gone!
TAXING TIME
With April 15th just around the corner, now is a great time to think about revamping your bookkeeping and accounting practices, as well as auditing your assets. All to ensure they are properly accounted for and allocated to the business, or you personally, as appropriate. With recent changes in real estate and truck values, it is also an excellent time to reassess your declared value of these assets, to make sure they are properly insured and have been correctly amortized for deprecation and other accounting functions. The bottom line is a good accountant and tax professional can still minimize your tax liability without resorting to the gray areas of creative bookkeeping. Between capital investments, charitable contributions and other shelters, you can have highly accurate books with a healthy balance sheet without fear of the IRS or State reaching too deeply into your pocket. At the end of the day truly accurate books might just surprise you, and allow you to tweak your business just a little bit and afford that fancy new piece of equipment you’ve been wanting. Or allow you to exit and retire comfortably— and maybe open your eyes to some serious problems before they become fatal to your business.
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 19
Safety
Watch Your Step!
Avoiding Truck Entry and Exit Incidents By Randall C. Resch
Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer and veteran tow business owner, manager, consultant and trainer. He writes for TowIndustryWeek. com and American Towman, is a member of the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and recipient of the Dave Jones Leadership Award. Email Randy at rreschran@gmail.com.
“Three Points of Contact” is a necessary work guideline for tow operators, regardless as to the size wrecker or carrier assigned.
W
hat’s the common theme of the following three accidents? A Midwest tow company trainee rode as an assistant on a call. When both the tower and his newbie partner returned to the company’s facility, the trainee allegedly didn’t have good footing and fell from the tow truck’s seat. Due to the truck’s cab height, his fall resulted in fatal injuries. When I was seventeen, I responded to a police accident request. In my haste to “get ta’ work,” I misstepped getting out of the wrecker and face-planted smack in the middle of the boulevard. The cops laughed, pulled me from traffic lanes and pushed my split-lip and a hanging tooth back into my face. In a similar scenario last year, another operator misstepped his exit, fell and broke
20 • March 2022 | Towman.com
his ankle. He was out of work for seven months. A broken ankle, especially one requiring surgery and pins, takes time to heal and rehabilitate. As indicated by all of these accidents, there’s a clear reality to note here: a fall from a tow truck’s cab can be dangerous, even fatal, but it’s preventable and requires three easy steps. First, though, just how common is this type of incident?
SOMBER STATS
According to Canada’s, Infrastructure Health & Safety Association, “Slip and fall potential is reportedly the biggest cause of nearly 50 percent of all critical injuries in the trucking industry.” In 2019 alone, the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reported that, “… falls, slips, and tripping incidents increased as
much as 11 percent.” And, “Nearly one out of every five fatally injured workers was employed as a driver/sales worker or truck driver.”
POTENTIAL FINES FOR TOW BUSINESSES
The good news is that tow operators don’t have to attend a formal tow course to learn how not to fall out of tow trucks. I learned the hard way. When the above scenarios are present, it’s reasonable to question if tow companies provide operator training regarding entering and exiting company vehicles. If a company doesn’t have topicspecific training and an injury or death occurs, a lack of training makes management accountable and subject to being fined. In the old days it didn’t matter. Nowadays it’s important to provide slip-and-fall training. Entering and exiting truck cab’s is dangerous business. If you’ve ever experienced a misstep or fall while climbing in or out of a wrecker or carrier, that unexpected action is often followed by a painful, full-body fall.
you’ve done it a bazillion times. Although the last entry and exit was completed with precision, the next mis-step could lead to a debilitating fall. • Use solid-mounted hand or grab rails as part of three points of contact—never just the seat or door jamb. • Hand’s Free Entry: True to tall-cab carriers and tow trucks, carrying a handful of items lessens the “grab-
ability” necessary for climbing actions. The physical act of climbing in and out requires that nothing be carried in the driver’s hands. Strive to be items-free. • Alcohol and Drugs: Intoxication impairs fine motor-skills, which can lead to slips and falls. • Improper Footwear: Improper footwear doesn’t help maintain solid footing. Unlike wearing tennis shoes, boots
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SOURCE OF HAZARDS
How can the simple act of entering and exiting a tow truck’s cab be dangerous? Consider 12 basic reasons why slip and fall accidents occur—and how to avoid them: • Inattention: Reportedly the number-one cause for slips and falls. This routine practice demands focus. Don’t be pre-occupied where safety is ignored. • Complacency: This repeatable activity happens every day; it’s easy to intentionally bypass precautions, especially when Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 21
provide support to prevent “ankle roll.” When wearing bulky (and wet) rain boots, the potential for slip and fall increases. • Weather Conditions: Snow, ice, rain and muck creates slippery surfaces. Kick, stomp or wipe excess crud from boots prior to entering the cab. • Don’t Bail-Out: Jumping from the cab is a common cause of operator injuries. Unless you’re physically on fire, there’s no reason to leap from a truck’s cab. Always know there’s a solid landing-zone.
If a company
doesn’t provide training and an injury or death occurs, this lack makes
management accountable and subject to being fined.
• Surface Landing: Stepping onto solid pavement is far safer than rocky, uneven and potholed surfaces. For environments other than dry, smooth concrete or asphalt, step with caution, being careful to not roll your ankle. • Look for objects that might be in your “landing zone.” • Fatigue: Like all activities, climbing into truck cabs is physically exhausting towards the end of long shifts. Treat entry and exit as if it were the first. Exhausted or not, an accidental slip and fall is always dangerous. • Broken Steps and Brackets: Step components take a beating over time and are subject to breaking without notice. Conduct periodic inspections of all tread components and report broken parts or questionable components.
A TRIO TO PREVENT TROUBLES
As defined by OSHA, slip-and-fall training is called, “Three-Point Contact,” where three of the driver’s four limbs are in contact with the truck at all times.” That is, two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand. Using a three-point contact method helps operators to maintain maximum stability and bodily support,
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22 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 23
thus reducing slips and falls. Three points of contact are typically achieved by holding the truck’s steering wheel and grab rails while one foot is solidly positioned on the step. Maintain three points until you are either securely seated or standing firmly on the ground. When exiting, use careful “step positioning” as snow, ice and water-flow may have created subsurface potholes and uneven surfaces not easily seen.
UNSEEN DANGERS
One of the most dangerous safety practices tow operators ignore is returning to the truck’s cab walking with one’s back to traffic. Danger—you can’t react with what you can’t see! Some carrier operators approach the truck’s cab while walking atop the white-line. With their back to traffic, they’ll hook one elbow atop
24 • March 2022 | Towman.com
the top-side rail where they can feel the truck’s bed while walking towards the truck’s cab. This is a deadly technique. As taught by TIMs, a technique called, “Peek-a-Boo”, situates the tower for re-entry by first walking up the non-traffic side and then cautiously positioning at the driver’s side corner of the truck’s nose. Using the bulk of the truck’s cab to provide some protection, “peek” around to watch approaching traffic, and move quickly and directly to the driver’s door when safe to do so.
SIZE MATTERS
Being sensitive to tow operators of larger stature, here’s another topic seldom approached in safety meetings. One of my operators was a big, big man. While his physical size didn’t complicate how he worked the
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job, he had difficulty climbing in and out of his truck. Even though he best served the company working a carrier, he broke the carrier’s step brackets twice, and the tread platform once. On one occasion, he misstepped on exit, falling onto the truck’s lower step. With the truck’s factory step made of extruded aluminum, its crisscrossed surface peeled the full-length of his calves like a potato-grater. He was out of work for nearly three months. When he wanted to return to carrier work, I reassigned him to a wheel-lift truck that wasn’t tall. The change of truck eliminated future incidents. Some drivers exit a truck’s cab by simply “bailing out” or stepping down and out with their backs to dangerous approaching traffic. A wise exit from the seated position demands that operators depart only when safe to do so. Never exit the truck without first selecting the exact opportunity that offers time and room to initiate “three-point contact” for safe motions. Also, don’t forget to pull your truck’s mirrors “in” if possible. Doing so may save your truck’s mirror from being swept away by a passing semi.
MEMORY JOGGING
“Three-Point Contact” should be a topic during periodic driver safety meetings. If a company makes risk management a high priority, this technique and requirement can reduce short and long-term medical conditions or even prevent an accidental death. Proper step-in, step-out mechanics can help limit long-term impact damage to knees, hips, ankles and knees. Because tow employees often require repeated reminders, apply 3x3 safety stickers made of durable, long-lasting 3M material, on the inner-face of the truck’s door jamb—open the door and there they are. Stickers are available via the Internet at Mysafetysign.com, five stickers for $12, plus shipping and handling. The Internet is also full of add-on grab rails available for all sizes of trucks. Depending on type of rail accessory being added, prices can go as high as $400, depending on quality and design. Although tow owners typically don’t consider grab rails as safety equipment, there’s no comparison in providing the added safety that rails provide. Towers, if you’re assigned to a tow truck that’s different than what you’re used to, get familiar with the truck’s steps and inside outside grab-handles. It only takes a single, slip-and-fall incident to result in a serious injury or worse. Using three points of contact will help avoid that unwanted incident. After all, lying flat-faced in traffic lanes is not only a humiliating experience, but also clearly life-threatening. 26 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Whopping Crane Courtesy of WreckMaster and Dr. Hook Towing
Dr. Hook Towing Turns Over Toppled Construction Equipment
2021 Donnie Cruse
Recovery Award
Presented by American Towman Magazine and WreckMaster
ALL Recovery Specialists Qualify:
Choose the most challenging recovery your company has performed with excellence. Send in your photos or video of the recovery along with your name, company, address, phone # and email, and you may be contacted for further details. Recovery must have been performed between 2001 and 2021. Send submissions to stemple@towman.com.
28 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Donnie Cruse Memorial Award
2021
Winner:
Dr. Hook Towing
Co-Sponsored by:
&
H
oisting pre-cast, concrete tilt-walls is no easy task, as they sometimes require a 100-ton crane to put them in place. And when such a massive crane tips over, recovering it is no easy task either.
So when a contractor’s crane overturned at a housing project in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Dr. Hook Towing first sent a team in for a preworksite visit to make sure all safety protocols and procedures would be followed, and to ensure approval for performing the recovery. Once this prelim was done, site control was then turned over to the Dr. Hook Safety & Compliance team which would oversee the difficult operation from start to finish. Two rotators (a Century 1075 and NRC’s 60/80SR Heavy Incident Manager) were then moved into place, and once they were staged, the recovery crew was able to move in with an aerial boom lift. The lift allowed team members to gain access to the crane’s outriggers and
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
attach 1-1/2” wire rope slings. The riggers also used the boom lift to connect the second lines from the rotators to the crane mast. Advanced riggers selected grade 70, 3/8” chain and rigged it in a continuous loop around the counter weight and the outriggers. Once tensioned with a chain binder, this sling prevented the mast from rotating during operations. The rotators’ winches were then engaged and the crane chassis
was held in a neutral position. With the tension now removed from the boom, the upper cylinder mounts were cut away. Next, the cylinders were lowered onto a pallet used as dunnage.
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AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 29
ON THE HOOK WITH DR. HOOK Nick Roscoe has been involved in the towing industry for 40 years. He has owned and operated Dr. Hook Towing with his wife Julie Roscoe since 1982. In addition, Kyle Gauthier is the company’s director of emergency spill response operations. Five years ago he started out as a recovery assistant/rigger, and is now WreckMaster Certified at Levels 2/3/4/5/6/7, along with many other certifications. The company has grown from a start of a half-dozen trucks and 10 employees to nearly 100 fleet vehicles and 125 employees. Nick oversees the day-to-day operations, and Julie heads up the Administration and Accounting offices. Together they have at least 80 years of experience between them in the towing industry, not to mention that this business operates 24/7/365. As such, the firm responds to more than 110,000 service requests each year. This firm relies on the talent and teamwork of over 100 highly qualified tow operators to respond to these service requests. Computerized dispatching of well-equipped tow vehicles ensures that Dr. Hook is a mainstay service provider in the city of Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba. Ongoing driver training certifies that each service is delivered by a competent and experienced operator. In addition to longdistance towing and recoveries, Dr. Hook also provides its services to Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and R.C.M.P, along with several thousand other automotive, equipment rental and transportation-related businesses.
30 • March 2022 | Towman.com
With the tension removed from the boom, the upper cylinder mounts were cut away.
This prevented damage to the precast concrete structure below it. Dr. Hook’s tower positioned a heavy wrecker as a control vehicle in preparation for uprighting the crane. This precaution was taken in order to eliminate any shock load to the rigging and control the cranes’ descent to the ground. Once all the wreckers were in place, Dr. Hook’s recovery team began to upright the casualty. Keeping a close eye on the cylinders, they proceeded to lift with the high lines, while creating slack on the lines connected to the outriggers. Both rotators continued lifting
until the crane was upright. Once the crane was safely on the ground, the rotators lifted the boom out of the job site and placed it inline with the crane. At this point, Dr. Hook’s recovery team completed their job. The crane contractor was scheduled to perform boom removal and outrigger retraction the following morning. Because this recovery team worked efficiently together, communicated effectively, and executed the recovery in a professional manner, WreckMaster presented the 2021 Heavy Duty Donnie Cruse Memorial Recovery Award to Dr. Hook Towing.
RESPONDING EQUIPMENT 2018 Kenworth T880 5 Axle equipped with a NRC 60/80SR Heavy Incident Manager 2009 Kenworth T800 5 Axle Equipped with a Century 1075 2020 Kenworth T880 3 Axle Equipped with a NRC 40CS 2 winch 3- 25t shackle load cells Z40 Genie Lift Ford F-450 Welding Truck
Supplier Scoop Jerr-Dan Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Jerr-Dan will celebrate the milestone of their 50th anniversary throughout 2022 with activities planned for team members, distributors, and customers. Founded in 1972, Jerr-Dan initially built carriers and trailers, and introduced the first aluminum carrier in 1977. Over the past 50 years, Jerr-Dan has become recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of light, medium, and heavy-duty wreckers, carriers, and rotators. Jerr-Dan has earned several patents for its products. These include the vehicle transporter, removable/ replaceable wear pads, underlift assembly, independent wheel-lift, and underlift control. Bob Nelson, vice president and general manager of Jerr-Dan. notes: “As a company, we are proud of our 50-year legacy of innovation and performance, and our team is proud to provide the highest quality products every day to the operators that rely on our trucks to get the job done. Our mission isn’t just to build the most reliable equipment in the industry. It’s also to empower the men and women who make sacrifices every day to help others in need. And we are looking to develop innovative products for the next 50 years so we can continue to do just that.” For more information, go to www.jerrdan.com
32 • March 2022 | Towman.com
AD INDEX
March 2022
Akins Body & Carrier Sales.........................45
Jerr-Dan......................................................2
Santander Bank.........................................68
All American Jerr-Dan.............. N, S 59, M 61
Landoll Corp...............................................67
Sea Crest Insurance Agency...................W 59
American Towman Expositions...........S, W 62
Len Zermenos..........................................4, 5
Sepson......................................................19
Atlanta Wrecker Sales................................40
McMahon Truck Center..........................M 59
ServiCase..................................................51
Austin Insurance.................................... S 63
Metrocom..................................................40
Smyrna Truck & Cargo...............................51
Auto Data Direct........................................44
Mid America’s Tow Show................... N, M 62
Specialty Vehicle & Equip. Funding.............13
B/A Products................................................3
Miller Industries...........................................9
Towbook Management Software...................7
Captain Recovery................................... S 61
Mobile Control Systems..............................32
Tow Brokers Insurance...........................W 63
Chevron Commercial..................................24
Mobile Video Computing Solutions..............25
Tow Industries.......................................W 61
Crouch’s Wrecker & Equip. Sales................27
North American Bancard............................33
TowMate....................................................23
Custer Products.........................................47
NRC Industries...........................................31
TowTract....................................................26
Dri-Dek......................................................47
OMG Tow Marketing...................................23
TowXpo Fort Worth............................... 35-37
Dual-Tech Wreckers & Carriers...................17
Pacific General Insurance.......................M 60
Trail King Industries...................................41
East Coast Truck & Trailer....................... N 61
PeakPTT....................................................24
Traxero......................................................49
Edgetec.................................................W 60
Peak Wrecker Sales...............................W 59
Utility Trailer Sales of S.E. TX..................W 61
Elizabeth Truck Center................................34
Progressive Commerical.............................19
West End Service.......................................41
Enzo’s Cleaning Solutions.................. N, M 60
PWOF...................................................52, 53
Winches Inc...........................................W 60
ESTRA.................................................... N 63
Recovery Billing Unlimited..........................22
XINSURANCE.......................................... S 61
FCar Tech USA...........................................17
RimSling....................................................26
Zacklift International..................................32
G. Stone Commerical.............................. N 63
SafeAll Products.........................................21
Zip’s / AW Direct..................................15, 16
ITI..............................................................22
34 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Classic Wrecker
At Your Service! The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car Was an Early Tow Vehicle By Steve Temple
Vintage photos courtesy Automobile Club of Southern California Archives and Harley-Davidson Archives
W
hile many volumes of articles and books have been written about Harley-Davidson, not much attention has been devoted to the Servi-Car. Made from 1932 to 1973, this three-wheeled rig actually lived up to its name by capably handling a variety of duties. These ranged from parking enforcement to roadside mechanical work, and for the Service Patrol of the Automobile Club of Southern California as well. And even an occasional tow, using a vertical bar on the right side of the rider. For traffic cops, the storage box in the rear was also useful for an accident investigation officer, which held his
38 • March 2022 | Towman.com
equipment and a first-aid kit. One police department even modified the box to carry a police dog, so it became a small K-9 unit. One of our regular writers, Randall Resch, who is a retired police officer and former tower, recalls seeing Harley ServiCars as a youngster in the mid-1960s. The San Diego Police Department used Harley trikes for writing parking tickets to support meter maids. One in particular stands out in his memory. “At the location where Mom ‘n Dad’s tow-truck business was located, officer George would come by and visit, riding an all-white, PD Harley,” Randall recalled. “I was just a skinny kid and got to sit in
the single wide, buttshaped seat mounted atop a bunch of chrome springs. George would ride through downtown to the beach areas to mark vehicle tires for parking violations.” He used an elongated stick with a bag of “dusting chalk” attached to the stick’s end. Here’s the funny part: since Officer George was right-handed, he would hold the marking stick in his righthand to mark tires, leaning to the far right to reach the vehicle’s tire to apply the mark. To keep the Harley moving forward, Officer George would work the bike’s accelerator by reaching over with his left-hand to throttle the right-side accelerator. As dumb luck would have it, Officer George reached too far to the right and hooked the car’s tire with the stick. As he got dragged off the motorcycle, instead of letting go of the stick, he held onto it and aggressively accelerated the now-empty Servi-Car across the street into a parked car. “Officer George wasn’t hurt too badly, but I recall that threewheeled Harleys disappeared from the duties of parking control not too long afterwards,” Randall said. “And of course, Dad never let George forget that he was the only cop who couldn’t stay atop a tricycle.” The throttle on the handlebars of police Servi-Cars was later relocated to the left side to help avoid hapless incidents like this one. For mechanical work, the ServiCar’s rear bin could hold a fair amount of repair tools and an air tank. And the sides were often lettered with the name and number Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
A vertical bar served as a rudimentary tow hitch for recovering disabled vehicles.
of a garage to promote its services. The front wheel of the Servi-Car was sometimes fitted with a tow bar so it could be trailered behind a car being delivered to a customer. Then the delivery person would unhitch the Servi-Car and ride it back to the shop or dealership. In other situations, a disabled car could be towed using a vertical bar located on the right front side of the three-wheeler. If the car was movable, the tower used this mount to attach a tow line to the bumper of the car, in order to bring it back to the garage. The Servi-Car had other ingenious features. Designed for the rough road conditions of the day, it had a rigid rear axle with a differential and a width of 42 inches, about the same as most cars
back then, so it could follow in the same tracks. Several upgrades were made over the years to the brakes, suspension and engine. Most ServiCars had a flathead that was a mere 45 cubic inches in size, and rated at 21 horsepower, which served faithfully until 1974. This particular Servi-Car shown here, a 1947 model (just before two-way radios were added), is on display in the lobby of the Auto Club’s facility in Tustin, California. The photo behind it shows the Auto Club Service Patrol, which used Servi-Cars for delivering maps and assisting stranded motorists, along with supporting local police in traffic control and security during special events, parade duty, or funeral escorts. The popularity for the
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AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 39
Talk about personal attention! Here a mechanic rides a Servi-Car to work on a disabled car.
Servi-Car began to wane when gas stations would no longer go to their customers anymore. As for the Auto Club, its roadside service later switched to larger vehicles such as WWII-era Jeeps, among several others—some of which we plan to feature in later issues. Today, the Servi-Car provides a nostalgic window to the past, recalling the days when mechanics provided more personal attention, and even when a light tow was needed.
40 • March 2022 | Towman.com
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AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 41
An American Towman
A Passion for Safety Geoff Nienstedt, Owner, Roadrunner Towing Service; Schertz, Texas By Charles Duke
American Towman Magazine Senior Editor Charles Duke has written and served as editor for trade, music and nonprofit publications. He also serves as the editor for AT’s online sister publications Tow Industry Week and Tow Industry Today.
G
eoff Nienstedt, wears his passion for roadside safety throughout his very can-do, will-do spirit. As the owner of Roadrunner Towing Service, this attitude goes deeper than “on his sleeve.” His passion has led him to become an outspoken advocate of Texas’ “Slow Down, Move Over law,” and a prime mover for raising awareness of it throughout the state. In 2015 his son Joshua Jones handled heavy-duty towing for Roadrunner at the time, went to the scene of a tractor-trailer that had suffered a blowout and went into a median. Joshua got off onto the shoulder as much as possible and activated his emergency lights. While talking to the driver of the tractor-trailer, his truck was struck by a heavy-duty crude tanker and totaled the heavy-duty. A sheriff’s department deputy arrived shortly thereafter, assessed the scene–and stated that his son was at fault.
WHO’S REALLY AT FAULT?
Since the accident involved two commercial vehicles, it required a state trooper to arrive on the scene. The trooper corrected the deputy, saying that Jones followed the correct procedures, had his lights on, and that it was apparent that the driver of the tanker did not follow Move Over law protocols in causing the secondary accident. How did Geoff react? “Right then I told myself,” he said,”that if we have law enforcement officers that didn’t understand the Move Over law, then we’ve got a huge problem.” Realizing that social media was rather limited in its ability to get the message across to a wide audience, Nienstedt began working with Southwest Tow Operators. It was through working with the association that he realized that utilizing legislation 42 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Geoff Nienstedt’s can-do, will-do spirit has led him to become an outspoken advocate of Texas’ Slow Down, Move Over law, and a primary force behind raising awareness of it throughout the state.
and getting laws passed was going to be the most effective way to go. “We’ve watched fatalities go up every year,” Nienstedt pointed out, “and I guess one of the only ways we’re going to change it—and this is extremely difficult—is to change drivers’ behavior. We need more enforcement. We need stiffer penalties.”
BIGGER FINES AND POINTS
He noted that there are states out there that have only a $35 fine for a Move Over violation. It needs to be treated like a school
DAD’S ADVICE ON TRYING TIMES After working for two other towing companies, Geoff Nienstedt decided that he had a different vision for a towing company. This vision led him to start Roadrunner Towing a little over 20 years ago. He started out with a 1998 International 4700 with a Century 612 Daytona bed from Applewhite Towing in San Antonio, and then a flatbed he purchased about a month later. Recalling the early days, “There wasn’t much sleep,” Nienstedt said. “I was literally jumping from truck-to-truck every day. When my start-up was complete, I was left with $350 to operate. It was tough for a bit, but I persevered.” Today, Roadrunner Towing runs a fleet of 11 trucks, including light duty, medium duty, heavy duty, and a Landoll. “There have been trying times in the last 21 years,” he admitted. “I was told by my dad it builds character. I am truly blessed with a family and crew of operators that have backed me for years. I am very excited.” bus traffic ticket. “You need to add points to the driver’s license,” he continued. “There needs to be a mandatory four-hour or eight-hour safety course that [violating drivers] are going to have to take to understand the Move Over law.” Nienstedt has personally invested in pushing forth the message of the Move Over law by spending thousands of dollars on producing PSAs, including one that features U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Unfortunately, he has had a hard time getting the media in his area to air them due to the expense and lack of interest in the matter. Nienstedt has even appealed to high-powered attorneys and legislators in the area, pointing out how the Move Over law impacts the latter’s constituents and the area they serve. But most of his efforts have fallen on deaf ears. However, Nienstedt said you can’t stop when 60-plus first responders, including police, firefighters and towmen, have perished on the road in 2021. “Until we can get enforcement, it’s going to be tough,” he admits. Unfortunately, most of the police Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
This is Roadrunner Towing’s heavy-duty that Geoff Nienstedt’s son, Joshua Jones, was in that was hit by the tanker in the 2015 accident.
departments don’t get into that enforcement—until one of their own is hit.”
FEDERAL FUNDING
Nienstedt feels that one of the things hindering the enforcement of the Move Over law is the lack of data regarding the number of incidents, as well as the recent spate of staffing shortages brought on by the pandemic. He noted that the recently passed infrastructure bill signed by President Biden contained $750 million earmarked for wildwood firefighters, first responders and for Slow Down, Move Over enforcement. Based on this funding, what is his plan going forward? “We’ve been trying to circulate a form letter to send out to legislators,” Nienstedt said. “We need to let them know that money is there, and what it needs to be used for, because we don’t have good numbers.” What’s lacking? He stated that we can tell you how many people die every year; but we cannot tell you how many people are hit every year—and not killed. We cannot tell you how many people are hit every year— and don’t return to the job.
“Until we have these good numbers,” Nienstedt continued, “it’s kind of hard to present it to the legislators and show them exactly how bad it is. We need some federal entity that is going to be in charge of collecting this data and getting [the towing industry] those numbers that we need to have.” Nienstedt praised the efforts of the Southwest Tow Operators association, which “has really gotten behind me.” He stated it was “pretty cool” to see H.B. 617 be enacted in 2019. This bill, that Nienstedt had a huge role in getting passed, allows tow trucks in Texas to use rear-facing blue lights.
FIRST RESPONDER TAG
Nienstedt felt that one thing the towing industry needs is how to figure out is some way to answer whether towmen are first responders. He said this is particularly important for those towmen who do incident management. “Without that first responder tag,” Nienstedt said, “there are things not afforded us. At a minimum in the state of Texas, we wanted to make it to where if you’re an incident management
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AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 43
operator, you’re going to be covered under that first responder [status].” To hold this status, there’s continuing education every year, there’s training. Before you get your license, you have to take a certification test. Nienstedt stresses the need for training. He sees the need to get more towers into TIMs courses and SHARPS 2 training, because, “There are a lot of (towmen) who don’t understand an emergency scene,” he stated. “Training is key. Training is knowledge, and knowledge is power. It’s really cool to get into some of these training classes and you got some of the younger guys coming up. It’s really cool when one of them comes up to you and asks, ‘Why do you want us to do this?’ You get that opportunity to explain to them—and you see that light go off. That’s our next generation.”
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MAKIN’ WHIPPED CREAM? Nienstedt recalled one of the strangest jobs during his long and varied career that took place early one morning in the pre-dawn hours. “I had a tanker rollover—4,800 gallons of heavy cream,” he said. “It took us about six hours, because we had to offload the cream into another tanker. It took us forever to offload it because we had to use a food-grade pump, and every ten to fifteen minutes we had to stop, because it was making whipped cream and it was clogging up the pump.” What caused the accident? The driver of the tanker had gotten into a fight with his wife. He proceeded to take his truck and trailer, bought some beer and got drunk. He was coming off the highway, when he ran into a ditch and laid the vehicle over. When Nienstedt arrived on the scene, the cops were performing a field sobriety test on the driver. They initially told Nienstedt that the tanker was empty. “I looked at the tanker and there was nothing leaking—but this is what you get for listening to the cops,” Nienstedt stated. “We go to lift this thing up out of the ditch to roll it over, and as soon as I lifted it up, I knew it wasn’t empty. Right about then, the cop walks up to me and said, ‘I just talked to the office: there’s 4,800 gallons of heavy cream in it.’” At that point, the crew couldn’t set it back down because the whole thing would roll completely over. What did they end up doing then? “So we had to hold the thing through the whole process,” he said. “That’s probably one of the weirdest jobs I ever had to do.”
Tow Boss
Other sources of revenue could include recycling any of the unclaimed vehicles in your yard, along with parts such as catalytic converters, batteries, and key fobs.
Even More Diversification
Additional Ways to Enhance Your Revenue Streams By Brian J. Riker
A
fter we addressed the subject of ways to diversify your towing business in our December issue, it became obvious to us that we only scratched the surface. Especially after seeing all the ancillary businesses exhibiting at the AT Expo in Baltimore. So we posed a probing question for towers: For 2022, will it be a repeat of 2019 and 2020, or will this be the year you breakout and have explosive growth? Of course we don’t have a crystal ball, and no idea what this year will 46 • March 2022 | Towman.com
throw at us, but we do know it’s best to be prepared. And one way of preparing for an uncertain future is to consider a variety of ways to diversify. The old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is a timeless truth.
PARALLEL PURSUITS
How does a towing company successfully diversify? First, you can consider obvious actions like growing or expanding your customer base. That is, adding more motor clubs, fleet accounts, law enforcement agencies, parking
lots, or whatever your segment focuses on. But a truly successful towing company will offer parallel services. Some of these parallels may be obvious—battery boosts can lead to battery replacement sales, roadside repairs can lead to work for your inhouse shop (if you have one), and idle trucks can make decent money transporting stuff other than cars as a scheduled service instead of a priority “tow.” Let’s discuss a few more that you might not have considered. For many towers, vehicle
auctions are a way of life, often viewed as a necessary evil that always seems to interrupt your day and cost your company money. But consider changing your thinking on auctions. See them as a source of several reliable revenue streams.
LITE-IT UP WITH
CUSTER PRODUCTS
AUCTION ITEMS
•V ehicle sales—While this may not be applicable in every state, given THAT some limit the tower to only recovering their actual unpaid charges, you should look into segregating your auction vehicles and using a premium- service firm to manage the sale. It is a proven fact that a professional auction company will increase your average per-bid return, which is like getting a raise without any other enhancements. Add some enhancements, such as selective marketing of potentially higher value vehicles, and you may see a significant increase in revenue on abandoned or unclaimed vehicles. •T ow-out or lot fees—In today’s litigious society it is very risky to allow outsiders into your tow lot, even other professionals. Add a tow-out or lot fee to each vehicle sold, if permitted by local law, and you will increase revenue while using otherwise dormant assets and drivers that are on standby (or maximize a lot attendant’s value). •L oading Service—Another good revenue stream to offer the buyers from your on-site auction. Not only will this reduce exposure to injury by untrained folks trying to load their recently purchased vehicle, it could even help justify the expense of having a full-time lot attendant. • Transports—Auctions are a great source of transport work, even your own in-house sale. Often the local buyer will want the vehicles they bid on to be delivered, and a smart tower
www.custerproducts.com • 800-490-3158
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AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 47
Here’s what both the DPF and DOC systems look like on a 2022 Peterbilt 567 with a Cummins diesel engine, which is nearly identical to what’s used on most other heavy-duty diesel trucks. Keeping these emissions components clean is essential for reliable operation of a tow truck, so providing this type of service can be a lucrative opportunity.
will offer this service as nonemergency work scheduled at their convenience around other jobs. Why should your truck leave your lot empty after dropping off a tow? Why not load a wholesale vehicle outbound and drop it off at the buyer’s facility? This practice holds true for outside auctions as well. If you are properly licensed, you can offer wholesale transport services to move vehicles in your lot to the salvage auction, or even contract for inbound and outbound wholesale auto auction work, servicing your local car dealers.
PARTS AND PIECES
What other sources of revenue might the average tower be overlooking? Have you thought about recycling any of the unclaimed vehicles in your yard yourself? Again, some states limit how a tower can process and dispose of unclaimed vehicles, and many have restrictions on dismantling or recycling of vehicles, but it is worth looking into. Modern vehicles have plenty of parts worth more individually than a scrap processor will usually offer for the entire vehicle. Here are 48 • March 2022 | Towman.com
a few lucrative examples: • Catalytic converters have a very high value for recycling. Most of our readers are likely familiar with the increased theft and vandalism happening to exhaust systems nationwide. Thieves are risking injury, death and jail time to cut catalytic converters off vehicles for recycling. Why not remove these parts yourself, if you are legally permitted to do so? Especially if you are unhappy with your current returns from other disposal methods. • Batteries are another hot commodity, often fetching $10 or more each, for almost no effort to remove and
palletize. Just be sure you are storing them safely by using a non-conductive material to separate the layers as you stack them. Also, wrap them to prevent shifting or falling, and be aware of the potential for short circuits that could cause a fire or acid leaks that might damage other items nearby. • Key fobs are another often overlooked part that is in high demand. If you have extra keys laying around that you no longer have the vehicle for, or are sending a vehicle to the crusher, perhaps you may want to look into selling the key fobs separately. • Speaking of key fobs, what about offering vehicle locksmith services? There are a few national chains that will provide all the equipment and training you need and even leads on customers. Even if you decide to go it on your own, there are plenty of sources for locksmith accounts within the clients you already service, especially if you tow into dealerships, or get involved in auto auction or repossession work. Think about offering a spare key at a discounted rate to each lockout call you receive. Simple but effective, right?
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The exhaust tip has vents to reduce heat of the expelled gasses during a regen cycle, which could be activated by a mobile technician for extra revenue.
For servicing a diesel particulate filter as a side business, Enviromotive offers an EvacuBlast DPF cleaner that forces concentrated air through the top of the filter, along with strong suction, to pull exhaust particulates down and out of the bottom of the filter. This process usually takes on average 20 to 30 minutes and is needed when the DPF has gone through a typical service cycle and needs a standard cleaning.
FILL-IN
JOBS
Another high-demand service that many towers are already equipped to perform is mobile repairs. We’re not talking about your typical breakdown call on the roadside, or a battery sale for a motor club—although both are good sources of revenue. Scheduled services for large fleets have become very popular. If you already have mobile service technicians, look into offering truck and trailer repairs at your customer’s yard during their downtime schedule. Perhaps even send a technician nightly to look over the vehicles and automatically fix simple defects that are discovered, or even perform their routine preventative maintenance services. Along the same lines, offer diesel emission-system repairs. One of the most common failures today is a plugged or ineffective diesel particulate filter (covered in our previous issue, “DPF Dilemmas.”) These filters require routine service and changing or cleaning just like any other filter on a machine. Since you likely already have DPF-equipped vehicles in your fleet why not look into adding 50 • March 2022 | Towman.com
the equipment to clean and service these systems and offer those services to your fleet customers as well? (Besides collecting fees for cleaning a DPF, as often as not additional work and parts are required as well.)
Some states limit how a tower can process and dispose of unclaimed vehicles. CODE BREAKING
In conjunction with your heavyduty towing and road-service operations, a progressive tower can offer computer diagnostic services, including the after-treatment systems on modern diesel engines. It may be just as profitable, if not more so—once you factor in the lower risk—to dispatch a mobile technician and perform a code clearing and forced regeneration or other exhaust-system related service on-site, rather than first towing the truck (assuming the truck is in a safe location to do so). Even if the mobile mechanic can’t repair the truck on site,
RESOURCES FOR UNCLAIMED VEHICLES* Auto Data Direct
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See Ad Page 44
*Display Advertiser in this issue
your shop can still offer these services, usually quicker and more efficiently than the local dealership, which makes your service worth a premium price. DPF cleaning and servicing is a fairly simple process once you have the technical training and equipment.
MORE FOR THE BOTTOM LINE
Once you begin to think creatively, there are numerous other services you can offer—all while remaining true to your core business as a professional towing service. Adding rental car or truck services, storage of boats, RVs and other large items, and even general trucking services, all fit nicely with towing, and help to make better use of your real estate, staff, equipment and expertise. Roll-off container service, environmental services and even temporary labor services have proven to be excellent sources of additional revenue, and customer base for towers. Ask yourself, what does my community really need and how can I serve them by offering such services? The answers might just be cleverly hidden in plain view.
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 51
Towman’s Market SPECIALTY VEHICLE
& EQUIPMENT FUNDING GROUP Craig R. Nadolny
646.723.6393
CNadolny@easternfunding.com
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To Advertise In Towman’s Market CALL
800-732-3869 Ellen Rosengart x 203 erosengart@towman.com
54 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Supplier Scoop
STRONG ARM YOUR AUTO-LOADER…
SLEEVE IT!!
The L-Arm Protector Sleeve • The only product designed to protect L-Arms of self-loaders. • No upgradable L-Arms available for sale or even manufactured. • Available in a variety of *colors-custom and hi-vis. • Patented, trademarked and manufactured in USA. • L-Arm Protector Sleeves made of A500 steel.
Anything stronger, and it would be armor plating. jrproducts2021@gmail.com
682-321-6227
*Custom colored sleeves require additional fee and delivery time.
Specialty Vehicle Funding’s 10th Anniversary
In March 2012, Eastern Funding brought together a seasoned group of finance professionals with years in tow industry and lending expertise to form Specialty Vehicle & Equipment Funding Group. Led by the late Peter Ferrara, Sr., the company made a significant impression on the tow industry with financing solutions designed specifically for tow businesses. Now 10 years later, Specialty Vehicle has grown tremendously and is “The Favorite Finance Team” of many tow and recovery, package delivery, and other business owners. Notes Peter Ferrara Jr., Vice President of Sales: “Our mission from inception is to offer our customers financing that helps them grow their business. We combine the resources of a big bank with the personalized small-business service. That means taking time to understand their individual business needs.” The Specialty Vehicle team would like to thank its customers, vendors and other partners for their support over the last 10 years.
Trail King Adds Corrosion-Resistant Zinc Primer
Trail King Industries, Inc. the leading North American trailer manufacturer of open-deck and materials-hauling trailers serving a wide variety of markets, now includes zinc-rich primer as standard on each and every piece of equipment. This upgrade provides maximum corrosion protection and resistance on steel surfaces. Trail King has invested many hours of research and testing to determine the best finishes to perform as the industry leader.This coating is formulated to be a high-performance primer with excellent adhesion and outstanding solvent and chemical resistance. It’s designed to extend the productivity and useful life of a Trail King trailer while increasing its future resale value. The company claims that its zinc-coated parts resist cracking, peeling, and marring during handling and normal service use.
Peterbilt Showcases Model 579 with Aurora Driver
410-784-7029
Peterbilt unveiled the future of trucking with the first Model 579 equipped with the Aurora Driver, a Level 4 advanced autonomous system. This technology delivers the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and at large scale. Aurora has incorporated the New Model 579 into its heavy-duty test fleet which is hauling freight for customers today. “As an industry leader in safety and technology, Peterbilt has a rich history of delivering customers trucks outfitted with the very highest level of safety systems and technologic advancements,” said Jason Skoog, Peterbilt General Manager and PACCAR Vice President. “The New Model 579 with Aurora’s technology is a perfect representation of the continuation of this history.” Peterbilt.com An array of innovations are included in the new Peterbilt 579, including an advanced autonomous system.
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 55
My Baby
Toon Time Tower
When a Monster Isn’t Scary to Customers By Steve Temple
W
ho can forget the colorful characters from the animated movie Monsters Inc.? Sulley, Mike and Boo have warmed the hearts of kids everywhere—and adults, too! Good reason to use them to promote Crawley’s Services, which runs a fleet of Peterbilts, with three rollbacks and one hauler with a Landoll lowboy setup. This company, located in Sugar Land, Texas, specializes in handling low-clearance specialty cars, and has won trophies at American Towman’s show pageants for its lively presentation. “All of my trucks in the fleet are painted with cartoon characters,” notes Joe Crawley. “I like them to be kid oriented and make little ones point up to the truck and smile.” But Joe went the extra mile in the graphic treatment of his 2021 Peterbilt 337 Ultra Cab, fitted with a 22-foot Century 16 LCG flatbed. Rather than using a wrap, he had custom artwork painted and airbrushed by Patrick Maxwell of Spring, Texas, and the bed, wheel
56 • March 2022 | Towman.com
lift and toolbox drawer, pinstriped by Julian Dodd of Unionville Virginia. Why go to so much extra effort? Family tradition, from when his dad Shawn started the business in the late 1980s. “My dad had characters painted
on his trucks way back in the day,” Joe explains. “And I wanted to do the same for mine. It’s a dying trend that isn’t seen much anymore, due to many trucks being wrapped with vinyl these days.” In addition to the cartoon characters, a lot of thought went into the color scheme as well. Joe wanted not only “Mike” and “Boo” included, but also their colors, which brought the lime green and pink graphics into the paint job, along with the teal of Sully’s fur.
“Pat went to town with his paint brush and made it pop!” Joe relates. How have Joe’s clients responded? “Many customers like the themed trucks. And when sometimes their child has to ride into the shop or dealership with them, they’re always smiling and in a good mood.” This reaction is just what Joe hopes for in his business operations. “One of our everyday goals with our team is service with a smile— we never try to disappoint,” he says. “We’ve had many returning customers just because of the way we carry ourselves, with the way our trucks look, and how well drivers take care of their vehicle.” Just as Monsters, Inc.’s Mike Wazowski wisely noted, “There’s more to life than scaring.”
TECH HIGHLIGHTS Chassis: 2021 Peterbilt 337 Ultra Cab, custom built by Zips Wrecker Body: 22ft Century 16 series LCG Engine: 300hp Paccar 6.7L Trans: Allison 2500RDS 6-speed auto Equipment: 20 inch drop bumper, red & blue Beacon lights with Atomic Flasher, painted E Track Tie Down System, 15,000lb winch Design & Graphics: Custom artwork handpainted by Patrick Maxwell of Spring,Texas; bed and wheel lift pinstriped by Julian Dodd of Unionville Virginia; inside of cab pinstriped and painted by John & Shannon Fitzgerald Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • 57
Lowdown
The Last Spontaneous Actors By Steve Calitri
T
he year is 2120. Students entered the classroom one by one, first the women, then the men. Reader, you would be amazed by the orderly way the class filled. When the last student took a seat, the professor walked in and began his lecture. There was no blackboard, just a flat digital screen stretching across the front wall. It illuminated to show a panoramic picture of a great pileup of cars and trucks on a freeway, the kind you are familiar with—but not so the students in this class. The professor picked up a long stick and pointed to the top of the image. “These were all vehicles driven by humans like yourself, believe it or not. You can see that this mess stretches way back up the freeway.” “What in God’s name happened?” a male student in the front row blurted out. “The devil! Don’t ever call out again. Get back in digital mode.” “Vehicles skidded on ice and banged into each other, causing a chain reaction behind them. What you see was called a ‘pileup’ one hundred years ago.” The professor’s cell buzzed and he tapped it twice with his forefinger. A female student one row back raised her hand. “Yes, KY1700.9910?” the professor smiled at the girl. “Sir, how was it humans were allowed to drive vehicles on roads?” “It was the way back then.” 58 • March 2022 | Towman.com
The students gazed up to the screen, totally dumbfounded. Another picture flashed onto the big panoramic screen. Same drone picture, but with wreckers on the scene. “What you see here,” the professor explained, “are what was known as wreckers being operated by humans. These were the legendary masters of chaos.” The professor snapped his fingers and the image changed again. Same scene, but showing some progress in the clearing of the pile-up. “You’ll notice that the wreckers are gradually clearing the mess. Without them society back then would have shut down.” The professor’s cell buzzed gain. He tapped it. “What kind of humans were these operators?” KY1700.9910 asked. “The likes we will never see again,” said the professor. “What happened to them once the autonomous vehicles came in and digital-behavoral-modification was instituted into the culture?” she asked. “Well,” the professor said, “it was a rather abrupt change back in 2040. Try to imagine the times. These wrecker operators were like superheroes. Then there was no need for them and the Master called for them to be liquidated.” “Liquidated?” asked the same boy who had called out earlier. “One more time 008888, etc. and you’ve got demerits on your digital profile. I’ll answer for the
class. Yes liquidated, but not before they were given one last special charge. The Master thought they could be employed one last time in the service of progress, namely the extinction of all spontaneity.” The students again had a blank, dumb expression on their faces. “You see, towmen, another name for the wrecker operators, were masters of spontaneity and this was why they were so well suited to be the masters of chaos. “So dozens of the most illustrious towmen were called to a national conference to discuss ideas on how the world once and for all could extinguish all forms of spontaneity. You see, towing and recovery was the most spontaneous of operations. So the towmen were asked to discuss how their work, and their nature to work in such a spontaneous fashion, could be subjugated. “What happened next was the last great rebellion. Realizing that the conference was suicidal for them, they walked out. Of course, they soon became obsolete anyway.” Take a breath. It’s still 2022. You may be interested to know that in Fort Worth, Texas and in Cleveland, Ohio this June and July, the great pileup will be on the classroom screen at the American Towman Academy, and James Bennet Jr. will be dissecting that road-clearance operation, discussing how many towing companies and wreckers were the masters of chaos. Towers present will relish the moment of feeling and being relevant.
News Flash
Unlicensed Tow Owner Arrested
A tower from Miami is facing charges for illegally operating a tow business without a license since August 2020, according to a police report. Carlo Guerrier, owner of A&G Towing, was arrested on January 12 on one count of grand theft and 246 counts each of towing without a license and towing manifest violation. The charges were touched off when a man complained to police that his car was towed for no reason. Upon further investigation of company records, necessary information was missing from towing records. The report said it wasn’t until a man had his car towed in Miami Beach for no reason that investigators discovered the business was unlicensed, including the driver’s name, the type of vehicle, and whether the driver had consented
to the tow or not, the report said. The report said that, “..out of 242 tows carried out by A&G Towing, 222 of them were found to be after the date of August 29, 2020, when Mr. Guerrier had no Miami-Dade County license and was not authorized to carry out the tows.” Guerrier was arrested and booked into jail, where he was being held on $15,500 bond.
Councilman Sentenced for Tow Scheme Bribery
Ex-Detroit Councilman Andre Spivey was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in September to accepting nearly $36,000 in bribes, most of which came from a businessman seeking political favors for towing contracts. The businessman was working undercover for the FBI. Although Spivey expressed remorse and shame for taking bribes and sought probation, federal judge
North 60 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Victoria Roberts said she couldn’t let him slide for the crimes. “This wasn’t a mild case of corruption, this wasn’t a single lapse in judgment, but a pattern of corruption.” Spivey said he was embarrassed and ashamed by his behavior. “I broke the law and i was wrong,” Spivey said, but added: “I still believe in reclamation and second chances and when I look in the mirror, I still believe in myself. I ask this court to believe in me, too.” Source:deadlinedetroit.com
Towers’ Tribute to Alabama Operator
Dozens of tow trucks drivers came together in Mobile, Alabama with their trucks to remember Jonathan Neesmith of Semmes Towing. In mid-December, Neesmith was on the side of I-65 helping a woman tow her car when he was hit by a distracted driver, losing his life. Jonathan’s wife, Rebecca
◀
News Flash Neesmith, said about her husband: “He was a great man and would have given you the shirt off his back. And walked home without a shirt on.” Having utmost respect for the tow truck community, she added: “They have been amazing and great. Even if they don’t know me, I know I can personally pick up the phone and call any one of these guys out here.” Like many of the processions across the country dedicated to the life of towers lost due to roadside fatality, this procession also was about bringing awareness to “Slow Down/Move Over,” with towers expressing concern about drivers not slowing down. Rodney Shrimpshire, who was Jonathan’s manager at Semmes Towing said, “They don’t slow down. They don’t pay us any attention, but most of the time we are standing right on the side of the white line. All it takes is you to look down and swerve a little bit and we’re hit.” Source:fox10tv.com
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • North 63
Episode 11
Copyright©2021 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Supplier Scoop
Vehicle breakdowns and accidents on freeways pose risks for disabled motorists.
More Drivers Die Outside Disabled Vehicles in TX
According to a report from the AAA, Texas ranks first in the nation among deaths that occur outside of disabled vehicles. From
2015 to 2019, 263 people died on Texas roads after their vehicle became disabled. Data cited in that report found California had the second-highest total with 248. The report, released in December 2021,
South 60 • March 2022 | Towman.com
gathered the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. David Fink, a transportation manager with the Tow and Go program in Texas, which offers free tows to people in their service area with stalled vehicles or those with mechanical failure, said people should stay in their vehicles and call them. Depending on where they are, a tow truck would be dispatched to remove their vehicle. “But unless they’re in a location where they can safely exit the vehicle,” Fink notes, “they should stay inside the vehicle and actually have their seatbelt on,” he said. For those involved in a minor crash, Fink advised drivers to go to the nearest exit and find a safe area, such as a parking lot, or to get the vehicle over to the shoulder of the road. “Do not get out and have a meeting in the middle of a freeway with
cars flying by at, you know, sometimes 50 to 70 miles an hour,” Fink added. Joshua Shideler, a Houston TranStar spokesperson, also noted the importance of having proper vehicle maintenance, including making sure tires and vehicle fluids are in check, to avoid a vehicle breakdown that could leave a driver stuck on a busy freeway. Source:theeagle.com
Detroit Councilman Sentenced for Bribery over Tow Scheme
Ex-Detroit Councilman Andre Spivey was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in September to accepting nearly $36,000 in bribes, most of which came from a businessman seeking political favors for towing contracts. The businessman was working undercover for the FBI. Although Spivey expressed remorse and shame for taking bribes and sought probation, federal judge Victoria Roberts said she couldn’t let him slide for the
◀
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • South 61
Supplier Scoop crimes. “This wasn’t a mild case of corruption, this wasn’t a single lapse in judgment, but a pattern of corruption.” Spivey said he was embarrassed and ashamed by his behavior. “I broke the law and i was wrong,” Spivey said, but added: “I still believe in reclamation and second chances and when I look in the mirror, I still believe in myself. I ask this court to believe in me, too.” After sentencing, Detroit U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison issued a statement: “Public corruption undermines the faith of the people in their leaders. Public officials who take bribes will be punished, and I am determined to take every action to root out corruption within the City of Detroit or anywhere else in this district where we find it.” Source:deadlinedetroit.com
Unlicensed Tow Owner Arrested
A tower from Miami is facing charges for illegally operating a tow business without a license since August 2020, according to a police report. Carlo Guerrier, owner of A&G Towing, was arrested on January 12 on one count of grand theft and 246 counts each of towing without a license and towing manifest violation. The charges were touched off when a man complained to police that his car was towed for no reason. Upon further investigation of company records, necessary information was missing from towing records. The report said it wasn’t until a man had his car towed in Miami Beach for no reason that investigators discovered the business was unlicensed, including the driver’s name, the type of vehicle, and whether the driver had consented to the tow or not, the report said. The report said that, “..out of 242 tows carried out by A&G Towing, 222 of them were found to be after the date of August 29, 2020, when Mr. Guerrier had no Miami-Dade County license and was not authorized to carry out the tows.” Guerrier was arrested and booked into jail, where he was being held on $15,500 bond. Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
Towers’ Tribute to Alabama Operator
Dozens of tow trucks drivers came together in Mobile, Alabama with their trucks to remember Jonathan Neesmith of Semmes Towing. In mid-December, Neesmith was on the side of I-65 helping a woman tow her car when he was hit by a distracted driver, losing his life. Jonathan’s wife, Rebecca Neesmith, said about her husband: “He was a great man and would have given you the shirt off his back. And walked home without a shirt on.” Having utmost respect for the tow truck community, she added: “They have been amazing and great. Even if they don’t know me, I know I can personally pick up the phone and call any one of these guys out here.”
Like many of the processions across the country dedicated to the life of towers lost due to roadside fatality, this procession also was about bringing awareness to “Slow Down/Move Over,” with towers expressing concern about drivers not slowing down. Rodney Shrimpshire, who was Jonathan’s manager at Semmes Towing said, “They don’t slow down. They don’t pay us any attention, but most of the time we are standing right on the side of the white line. All it takes is you to look down and swerve a little bit and we’re hit.” Source:fox10tv.com
Find us on Facebook Read more towing news at towman.com
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • South 63
Episode 11
Copyright©2021 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
News Flash
Unlicensed Tower Arrested
A tower from Miami is facing charges for illegally operating a tow business without a license since August 2020, according to a police report. Carlo Guerrier, owner of A&G Towing, was arrested on January 12 on one count of grand theft and 246 counts each of towing without a license and towing manifest violation. The charges were touched off when a man complained to police that his car was towed for no reason. Upon further investigation of company records, necessary information was missing from towing records. The report said it wasn’t until a man had his car towed in Miami Beach for no reason that investigators discovered the business was unlicensed, including the driver’s name, the type of vehicle, and whether the driver had consented to the tow or not, the report said. The report said that, “..out of 242 tows carried out by A&G Towing, 222 of them were found to be after the date of August 29, 2020, when Mr. Guerrier had no Miami-Dade County license and was not authorized to carry out the tows.” Guerrier was arrested and booked into jail, where he was being held on $15,500 bond.
Midwest 60 • March 2022 | Towman.com
Episode 11
Copyright©2021 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • West 59
West 60 • March 2022 | Towman.com
News Flash
Towers’ Tribute to Alabama Operator
Dozens of tow trucks drivers came together in Mobile, Alabama with their trucks to remember Jonathan Neesmith of Semmes Towing. In mid-December, Neesmith was on the side of I-65 helping a woman tow her car when he was hit by a distracted driver, losing his life. Jonathan’s wife, Rebecca Neesmith, said about her husband: “He was a great man and would have given you the shirt off his back. And walked home without a shirt on.” Having utmost respect for the tow truck community, she added: “They have been amazing and great. Even if they don’t know me, I know I can personally pick up the phone and call any one of these guys out here.” Like many of the processions across the country dedicated to the life of towers lost due to roadside fatality, this procession also was about bringing awareness to “Slow Down/Move Over,” with towers expressing concern about drivers
◀
Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • West 61
News Flash
Tow trucks rolled into Mobile in honor of a driver killed on the job.
not slowing down. Rodney Shrimpshire, who was Jonathan’s manager at Semmes Towing said, “They don’t slow down. They don’t pay us any attention, but most of the time we are standing right on the side of the white line. All it takes is you to look down and swerve a little bit and we’re hit.” Source:fox10tv.com
For those involved in a minor crash, Fink advised drivers to go to the nearest exit and find a safe area, such as a parking lot, or to get the vehicle over to the shoulder of the road. “Do not get out and have a meeting in the middle of a freeway with cars flying by at, you know, sometimes 50 to 70 miles an
hour,” Fink added. Joshua Shideler, a Houston TranStar spokesperson, also noted the importance of having proper vehicle maintenance, including making sure tires and vehicle fluids are in check, to avoid a vehicle breakdown that could leave a driver stuck on a busy freeway. Source:theeagle.com
More Drivers Die Outside Disabled Vehicles in TX
According to a report from the AAA, Texas ranks first in the nation among deaths that occur outside of disabled vehicles. From 2015 to 2019, 263 people died on Texas roads after their vehicle became disabled. Data cited in that report found California had the second-highest total with 248. The report, released in December 2021, gathered the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. David Fink, a transportation manager with the Tow and Go program in Texas, which offers free tows to people in their service area with stalled vehicles or those with mechanical failure, said people should stay in their vehicles and call them. Depending on where they are, a tow truck would be dispatched to remove their vehicle. “But unless they’re in a location where they can safely exit the vehicle,” Fink notes, “they should stay inside the vehicle and actually have their seatbelt on,” he said. Work the non-traffic side - Stay Safe!
AmericanTowman.com | March 2022 • West 63
Episode 11
Copyright©2021 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990
Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 2 Overlook Dr #5, Warwick NY 10990