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Tow Wars???
Who here operates with the private towing companies racing to the accident scene to see who can beat the "other guy" like what I just watched on a TV show in Philly?
Complete madness... I know where I work, the police dispatcher makes the call for the officer or the victim, unless the car owner has called on their cellphone before the PD arrive. When the PD call ABC Towing, the vehicle is assigned by license plate to said company and nobody slides in and snakes a job.
Seems to me the way it is being done on that show is sketchy, and potentially leads to fist fights and the last thing the emergency responders need is to worry about Johnnys Towing Service fighting with Jimmies Towing Service.
Crazy
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Just Plain Craig Moyer on
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I think...no I pray that only stupid Philly allows this to happen. In Delaware its still a racket to be towed by the police. They have contracts but its outrages. I had the sad experience of being towed and it cost $150 and $45 a day for storage. The tow was less then a mile. When I called the guy to see how much it was and he found out it was a police tow I swear I could hear him getting a hard on. Legalized theft.
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Permalink Reply by Davin Eshelman on
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I love that show. It's pretty much just people who are apart of towing companies looking for wrekcs or vehicles that need to be towed just so they can get money to survive in America's tough economy.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Interesting concept... so the price gouging is because of all the backs that need to be scratched.
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Permalink Reply by John Gillelan on
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I always get a laugh at the tow guys that show up to our highway calls and fight over who gets the hook. They're like a bunch of vultures, and always on scene before the cops are
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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I don't know about the rest of the Country, but here in Victoria (Australia), the Metropolitan area is under a towing allocation system- no tow truck can turn up on scene or be within a certain distance of a scene without an allocated tow number in the system. (Police can, will and have issued on the spot fines to loads of operators for breaching the rules) Here's a bit of info: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Moreinfoandservices/TowTrucks/A...
In rural areas though, it's basically first in, first served.
Whilst I have heard of ugly scenes in years gone by (physical confrontations between tow operators), I don't believe it is as bad as it used to be. I certainly have never seen a confrontation take place on scene- ever!
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Tow trucks racing to the accident scene? I don't believe it. (he says with a sarcastic tone)
There are usually more tow truck operators on scene than fire, EMS, and LE combined. There is almost always a call on a couple speeding and possibily running someone off the road. Every once in a while someone will report a specific company or LP, and the offender is told to leave the scene.
As far as who gets the hook, all drivers have a metal chip with a number which they put into a hat. The chip or chips drawn get the tow. The county limits the tow charge to $65 dollars. If it's an owner request, the charge goes waaaay up. Most are affiliated with a body shop, so they get a cut if their shop does the repairs.
We do enjoy the "comedy hour" when it comes time for them to hook up. Some of these guys aren't smart enough to pour piss out of a boot with the instructions on the bottom, and watching them trying to snatch one out of a ditch, or roll one back upright is just down right hiliarious.
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Permalink Reply by James Hawk on
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does this apply if the tow operator was in the area on another job?
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Permalink Reply by Capt. Chris W. Button on
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In my city, the police keeps a rotation roster of tow companies called "next in line." At an MVA, if the driver doesn't request or is unable to request a specific tow company, the police officer requests the dispatcher to call the next in line. They call whatever company is at the top of the list. If they don't respond in a reasonable time or can't respond that particular time, they go to the bottom of the list. Also to be on the list, they must carry X amount of oil dri, etc. It costs more than requesting your own, but the system works pretty well. No racing to the scene, no fist fights, etc.
The only problem I have is that the police are the Keepers of the Sacred List. If we respond to a car fire where police were not needed, we have to get an officer to the scene to request the next in line because we aren't allowed to request from the Sacred List!
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James, if they're on another job, they won't get allocated.
There's also a difference between break down trucks and smash trucks. A break down truck is not allowed to tow a smash.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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Thank goodness we use the "rotation" system. Three companies contracted with the county rotate to tow calls unless the owner of the vehicle has a specific request. That would make a boring tv show, wouldn't it?
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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We don't call for tow trucks, the Police do. They ask the motorist if they have a preference for a specific towing company, if not it's a no preference tow. They work off a list of towing companies.
On a side note, I've seen that show "Tow Wars" or whatever it's called. I can't believe that Philly allows that to go on.
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