Showing posts with label tow. Show all posts

Raising The Bar At The Worksite

Giving roadside safety the attention it deserves

There never seems to be any lack of danger on the road. No one knows this better than the people who work on the side of the road. Towing professionals, police, and road maintenance workers do this everyday and know all too well what they are up against.

Even with vests, flares, cones, and high tech flashing contraptions there are still fatalities. So while the prospect of no fatalities may not be likely for sometime, it is refreshing to read about efforts to raise the bar in providing even more fail safe systems to alert drivers to slow down as they approach a worksite.

One effort comes from what I have seen in the news by the Texas Department of Transportation. They currently have multiple systems in place to decrease the number of roadside incidents that threaten workers. While there is nothing that new technologically, the combination of multiple systems shows initiative to protect the roadsite.

In Texas you have three things that help the process

Portable rumble strips
Multiple electronic road signs
Uniformed officers

I applaud the effort and hope more safety systems be put in place as standard operating procedure. I think roadside safety is a process, to be constantly evaluated, improved, and augmented as new ideas and technology come along.

http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2013/5/3/Texasinitiatesuniqueworkzonewarningsystem.aspx

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Towing Parts Specials For Wreckers, Rollbacks and Towing Vehicles

Towing And Wrecker Parts Specials

Snatch Block $27.63

Winch Cable $81.29

Tie Down Strap $10.25

Limelight towlight $189.95

Tow lights $64.92

Lockout Kit               $49.95
   T hook                        $5.95
Hook cluster with S,R,T. & Grab
                                    $12.99
Warn Winch    $999.95
Strap Ratchet $12.00

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Towing Benchmark: Municipal Support In Managing The Towing Environment

There is an older story that caught my eye recently for a number of reasons. On the surface it seemed very plain. A heavy snow hit the Midwest city of Cedar Rapids making it very easy for the police to see which cars had been moved and which were giant, unmoved snow paperweights.

What happened next caught my attention. The police announced that everyone whose car was still sitting there had 48 hours to get them moved or be responsible for a $150 tow. This was a great way to handle a difficult situation.

Having the police stress the fact that they are enforcing laws takes pressure off the towers who are often sent out to a hostile public

The idea of an additional grace period instead of the immediate start of a towing blitz showed fairness and compassion to the public

Finally the $150 fee was high but was reasonable considering the cost involved to tow a vehicle.

Basically a difficult environment that towing professionals face was managed in a way that helped mitigate conflict. Towing vehicles are part of police enforcement and the public should see it this way. It is also the job of the municipal government to ensure that fees are reasonable and to take responsibility for them

The management of the situation was a terrific benchmark of cooperation between the city government, the public, and the tow professional.

http://thegazette.com/2013/03/07/cedar-rapids-to-begin-towing-street-stored-vehicles-monday/

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Towing And Wrecker Parts Specials

Snatch Block $27.63

Winch Cable $81.29

Tie Down Strap $10.25

Limelight towlight $189.95

Tow lights $64.92

Lockout Kit               $49.95
   T hook                        $5.95
Hook cluster with S,R,T. & Grab
                                    $12.99
Warn Winch    $999.95
Strap Ratchet $12.00

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City Council Working WITH The Towing Company

Tow truck (Photo credit: Salim Virji)

I saw an interesting story about a cooperative relationship between the city government and the towing companies in Cleveland. Rather than just let things go to chance or caving in when the public complains, the city council is working WITH the #towing company to decide fair rates.

Granted, the rates are not as low as the city wants or as high as a company wants BUT it keeps good contractors from walking away due to costs and protects the public. The amount of conflict and complaints this will prevent is immeasurable and would be a great model for other cities.

Cleveland Hikes Illegal Parking Towing Fees (2013 January 7) retrieved from http://fox8.com/2013/01/07/cleveland-hikes-illegal-parking-towing-fees/

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Sometimes It Is Better For the Tower To Walk Away From A Tow

Walk Away…

I have another report about a Florida towman who shot and killed a man in an altercation involving the man’s car being hooked up for a tow. I do not know all the facts, but I know this.

Walk Away..

Write down the plate, photograph it if possible, and try to collect

Later. Killing a man and putting yourself at the mercy of the general public in a jury trial is not worth the risk of prison time..and there is an excellent chance the jury will be filled with people with a negative image of towmen.

Walk Away..There will be hundreds of tows and towing jobs where you never get a scratch

To read the full article CLICK HERE

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City goes after tow-company license | 2011-12-20 | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com

IBJ Staff

Indianapolis is moving to revoke the license of a prominent local towing company that officials say has violated local ordinances and elicited more than two dozen consumer complaints.

The city’s Department of Code Enforcement on Monday issued a hearing notice to Interstate/Delaware and South Towing for license revocation or suspension.

According to the city, the company, which has locations downtown on Delaware Street and on Kitley Road on the city’s east side, has not upheld requirements to post signage and to get approval from parking lot owners or authorized agents before towing vehicles. The firm received a citation for inadequate signage in late October.

Interstate/Delaware and South’s general manager, Brian Meyer, could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

Earlier this year, the City-County Council approved regulations to prevent companies from engaging in predatory towing practices. The new rules include caps for towing and storage fees, requirements that towing companies accept cash and credit-card payments, and 24/7 access to towed vehicles.

To read the full article CLICK HERE

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Another Positive Holiday Towing Story.....

Tipsy Tow aims to stop DUIs over holidays

From HelenaIR.com

By ANGELA BRANDT Independent Record | Posted: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 11:20 pm

Local law enforcement and AAA MountainWest are working together to make sure residents who imbibe a bit too much this holiday season get home safely.

For the seventh year, Operation Tipsy Tow will offer a free ride home for revelers starting Friday and running through New Year’s Day.

“We’re not telling people they can’t drink, but if you’ve been drinking, don’t drive,” Helena Police Chief Troy McGee said during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday morning.

Impaired drivers can call AAA’s help line, (800) AAA–HELP (222-4357) and request an Operation Tipsy Tow service from Elite Towing.

To read the full article CLICK HERE

Towing Parts
Wrecker Parts
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Towing Chains
Snatch Blocks
Towing Cable
Towing binders
Wrecker lights
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Tow Trucks

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Cold shoulder: Drivers should avoid getting stuck on the side of the road

By Associated Press, Published: 2011

From The Associated Press — If you spend any time behind the wheel, you know it takes one mistake, one flat tire or one erratic driver to ruin your whole day. But if something does go wrong, experts agree: Do not stop your car on the highway unless you must.

Heavy Tow truck of Martin Cronacher, Ltd., Fel...

Image via Wikipedia
Even for a flat tire.

“It’s hard to imagine and comprehend how fast those cars are going until you’re actually standing there hearing them,” says Lt. Scott Harrington, spokesman for the Kansas Highway Patrol in Topeka. Other drivers “are not paying attention to you . they don’t even move over.”

Highway patrol officers, tow-truck company owners, the American Automobile Association - all recommend driving a disabled vehicle off the highway whenever possible. And if it isn’t possible, pull as far as you can onto the right shoulder, into the grass if you can.

To read the full article CLICK HERE

Towing Parts

Towing Straps

V Straps for Towing

Thousands of bay area drivers find their cars have been towed

From Abcactionnews.com
September 2011

By: Jackie Callaway

TAMPA - It happens to thousands of drivers all over the bay area. So far this year, more than 4,000 people in Hillsborough County returned to their parked vehicle to find it missing.

We are not talking about auto theft but towing.

Some companies are more aggressive than others in enforcing no-parking zones. Tow companies are regulated, but too often consumers who feel their wheels were removed in error don't know where to complain or who might be able to help them.

Image via WikipediaRachel Blunk is among those who claim the tow company made a mistake. "There were signs there that said 30-minute parking and it had not been 30 minutes," says Blunk. Her daughter stopped at a CVS, purchased an ice tea for which she says she has a receipt, then walked outside and sat on a bench to drink the tea. "She walked around to the side where her car was parked and the car had been towed," says Blunk.

Blunk's tow took place in Pinellas County, where tow operators don't have to obtain a license with the county, but they do have to abide by the local ordinance.

To read the full article CLICK HERE

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Cameras in Chapel Hill aid tow companies - Orange County - NewsObserver.com

Cameras in Chapel Hill aid tow companies

BY KATELYN FERRAL - Staff Writer

Newsobserver.com

CHAPEL HILL -- Chapel Hill may change its towing rules after an upward spike in complaints about predatory towing downtown.

is a camera a tower or wreckers best friend?

Companies have been using surveillance cameras to catch illegal parkers on private business lots - a tactic towing companies call innovative, but others call predatory.

"It's a very negative experience for people," Town Manager Roger Stancil said

current town rules, passed in 2008, require tow companies to post clear, large signs about towing rules on the lot, submit a report to police 30 minutes after a car is towed and cap fees at $100.

There are no rules against using cameras on private lots.

To read the full article click here

Towing lights and electrical

Clearance & Markers
Stealth Tow Lights
Towing Lightbars
Magnetic Tow Lights

Municipalities should move on establishing towing rules | islandpacket.com

From Theislandpacket.com of The Beaufort Gazette

Municipalities should move on establishing towing rules

Published July 2011

Hilton Head Island and other Beaufort County municipalities should follow the county's lead on towing regulations.

In June, the county finalized reasonable rules for towing vehicles from private property without the owner's consent.

The county's ordinance sets limits on how much a tow operator charges and makes it easier and less punitively expensive for owners to get back their vehicles after they've been towed.

The push for towing regulations came from a deadly confrontation in December between a tow-truck driver and a man whose vehicle had been immobilized because it was parked on a street in Edgefield, a community that doesn't allow on-street parking because of its narrow roads.

Hilton Head officials are preparing to take up the issue, perhaps as soon as next month. Like the county, town officials should involve tow operators in the process of drafting an ordinance.

The rules should take into account operating costs for tow truck operators, but it should not allow them to exploit a captive market. When a vehicle is gone, the owner must pay up -- no matter how unreasonable the fee -- or he won't get back his vehicle.

We like the county's lower charges if an owner shows up before the vehicle is hooked up to a tow truck ($75) or before the vehicle is hauled away ($100).

And we like its prohibition against immobilizing a vehicle. Booting a vehicle does nothing to keep private streets and parking lots free of illegally parked vehicles.

To read the full article click HERE

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towing parts: Straps

Towing Straps: Cargo 2" Strap with Narrow Hook
Towing Straps: Cargo 30' x 4" Strap with Flat Hook
Towing Straps: Cargo 27' x 4" Strap with Flat Hook

David Frankel

It's good news for parking ticket scofflaws.

A little-noticed bill now headed for Gov. Paterson's desk would let people who fail to pay their fines park on city streets without fear of their cars being towed.

The measure could cost city taxpayers $50 million a year, Mayor Bloomberg says, and seriously harm public safety as more drivers boldly flout parking laws.

"Once it becomes common knowledge that most vehicles will be completely exempt from scofflaw towing, collection rates will drop," Bloomberg wrote Paterson last week, urging him to veto the bill.

"With the loss of towing as a deterrent, the change is also likely to increase illegal parking, endangering public safety."

The possible parking free-for-all comes from a bill sponsored in the Senate by Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat.

The bill aims to protect people in bankruptcy or financial crisis from losing their last dollar to creditors, putting items out of creditors' reach like homes worth less than $150,000 and wedding rings worth less than $1,000.

The measure drew scant attention when it passed the Assembly and Senate by large majorities several weeks ago.

When city lawyers reviewed the bill, they discovered it would also bar creditors - including cities - from seizing vehicles worth $4,000 or less.

That's $4,000 after outstanding loans, so even luxury cars - Lamborghinis and BMWs - would be protected from towing if they're heavily financed.

City officials say the rules would virtually end their practice of towing cars whose drivers have racked up more than $350 in parking tickets.

"It is impossible to expect marshals and sheriffs in the field - even if they had a Kelley Blue Book - to be able to determine the value of a car after loans and other liens are considered," said a furious David Frankel, the city's finance commissioner.

"This bill tells New Yorkers it is okay to break the law. They can obstruct traffic and hinder public safety."

The mayor's office says it's working with Schneiderman to alter the bill, but the senator defended it yesterday.
"This legislation will ensure that, in these tough economic times, low-income working families who go into debt do not become destitute and entirely dependent on state aid," said Justin Berhaupt, Schneiderman's legislative director.

Gov. Paterson will receive the bill for consideration in the next few weeks. His spokesman said he will review it when it arrives

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Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/26/2010-07-26_no_tow_no_dough_no_go_bill_to_ban_towing_of_ticket_scofflaws_cars_would_cost_cit.html#ixzz0un9dVYN4

Raising The Bar At The Worksite

Towing Parts Specials For Wreckers, Rollbacks and Towing Vehicles

Towing Benchmark: Municipal Support In Managing The Towing Environment