Walkaround

The ‘Spirit’ of Towing

Guiding Your Year

by Dennie Ortiz

As a parent one of our strongest instincts is to protect our young. There have been far too many mothers and fathers that have lost a son or daughter to the dangers of the towing profession. It’s also fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and dear friends that have been taken prematurely by accidents on the roadway.

The reality is that motorists could prevent many incidents by driving more carefully and respectfully, and Slowing Down and Moving Over for emergency vehicles and workers on the side of the road.

Most within the industry recognize the danger of working the side of the road, understanding all too well the fatal risk. The biggest problem is that the general motoring public is not aware of the dangers or the laws enacted to protect our first responders.

The challenge, for our industry, has been to raise awareness of the laws and the reasons behind them. There have been several measures to bring awareness of the Move Over laws, some more successful than others.

The struggle is all too real. Any type of education will always be an ongoing process and we must continue to bring this important law to the attention of the masses.

Editor-in-Chief Steve Calitri announced American Towman’s “Move Over Across America” initiative in our last issue. The initiative’s highlight, named “The Spirit Ride,” is designed to bring mass publicity of this critical law to the motoring public.

The concept is a distinctly styled coffin that will be transported by towers from the West Coast to the East Coast. The dramatic visual of the coffin will draw strong attention from the public and the media. The start of the trek is planned to commence next year.

We need your assistance and support to make this initiative far-reaching and impactful.

For more information on this program and how you may help, check out ATSpiritRide.com.

by Brendan Dooley

No matter the weather, there are some tools that help you all year-round. You’re holding one such item in your hands right now: the annual Directory issue of American Towman magazine. This comprehensive guide of the towing and recovery industry’s suppliers is one to keep handy throughout the coming months as a quick resource when you need trucks, tools and supplies. Across dozens of categories on 32 pages, the hundreds of vendors listed in this issue want to compete for your business to keep you going.

Whether you’re reading this in print or online, it is the main source you need to have handy when you need to find something for the job at hand.

First On The Scene!

Dennie Ortiz Steve Calitri Brendan Dooley Charles Duke Randall Resch Terry Abejuela Jim “Buck” Sorrenti David Kolman Bill Simmons Emily Oz Mark Lacek

Publisher

Editor-In-Chief

Editor

Senior Editor

Operations Editor

Field Editor, West

Field Editor, Northeast

Chassis Editor

Safety Editor

On Screen Editor

Repo Run Editor

Editorial Board

Tommy Anderson Don Archer Roy Carlson Debbie Collins Belinda Harris Bill Johnson Ron Mislan Kurt Wilson

Dallas, Texas Jefferson City, Mo. St. Paul, Minn. Las Vegas, Nev. Greensboro, N.C. South Hadley, Mass. Warren, N.J. Creve Coeur, Ill.

American Towman Staff

Ann Marie Nitti Dennie Ortiz Ellen Rosengart Norma Calitri Jimmy Santos Miriam Ortiz Henri Calitri Toni Vanderhorst William Burwell Peggy Calabrese Ryan Oser Helen Gutfreund Emily Oz Steve Calitri

Page Layout Artist Advertising Sales Mgr. Senior Account Exec. VP of Accounts General Manager Subscription Manager Customer Service Publisher’s Assistant TIW Media Director Regional Advertising Sales iMarketing Manager Communications Mgr. ATTV Producer President

American Towman Media Headquarters 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546

E-mail: Publisher: dortiz@towman.com Editor-In-Chief: scalitri@towman.com Editor: bdooley@towman.com

AT’S Digital Edition: itowman.com AT’S Website: americantowman.com AT’S Weekly: towindustryweek.com ATTV: americantowmantv.com

Copyright ©2016 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Media, Inc.

Subscription: $50–1 yr; $95–2 yrs • US $65 and $105 • International

Editorial Policy: the act of mailing or delivering a letter or article to American Towman Magazine, shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. American Towman Magazine reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted.American Towman Media does not test or review products submitted for inclusion in its publications. All included information, specifications and abilities are as claimed by the equipment manufacturer who is solely liable for any defects or misrepresentations in its products.