Here’s the story from www.tricities.com:

MARION, Va. – Everything changed for tow truck operators six years ago.

The industry used to be a relatively unregulated process of hook ‘em up and haul ‘em out. But that began to unravel the night a Northern Virginia lawyer’s car was towed from a private lot with a warning sign obscured by tall bushes.

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Angered, he pored through state law to find that nothing covered hidden signs, or much else. So, he fired off a letter of disgust and legal insight to a state senator.

“It turns out … it’s a hot topic with a lot of people,” former senator Jay O’Brien, of Clifton, said of the furor that followed.

For the two years after he received the letter, O’Brien’s life was a mosaic of research, public meetings and rewording state code.

Now, tow truck operators throughout Virginia must have a license to haul cars from accidents, private lots or breakdowns. Simply put, if the tow operator gets paid for the haul, then he needs to be licensed. Additionally, individual drivers must obtain tow truck driver authorization documents.

The tow truck operator also must put a licensing sticker on every truck.

Those regulations, and the operations of tow companies, are governed by a new state body, the Board of Towing and Recovery Operators. Created in 2006, the board is tasked with dispensing the operator’s licenses, tow driver’s authorizations and truck stickers; testing operators on the laws of the profession, a requirement for all new drivers; rummaging through criminal backgrounds; and fielding customer complaints.

“It’s an innocent thing that turned into something much bigger than I thought,” O’Brien said.

Like it or leave it

Roger Blevins, of Rogers Towing in Marion, needed a minute to think when asked how the new licensing laws have affected his profession. He hemmed and hawed as he weighed the drawbacks against the benefits.

On the negative side, he said, the licenses are pricey enough to bankrupt small companies.

“There was a couple of people … that it could put them under in time,” Blevins said of the licensing requirement, which began July 1, 2009.

That first year, the board authorized 1,474 operator’s licenses, approved 4,548 tow driver’s authorizations, and affixed decals to 4,275 trucks, according to the board’s 2009 annual report.

The operator’s licenses must be bought annually and run from $250 to $500 a company, depending on the number of trucks owned and their weight.

The individual tow driver’s authorizations cost $87 a year. The application comes with a $37 fee for a criminal background check. Additionally, every truck must sport a new licensing decal each year, costing $10 each. An extra $50 is added if the business owns three or more trucks, depending on the vehicle’s weight.

In its first year, the application and decal fees generated $1.12 million in revenue, according to the board’s 2009 annual report.

Before the licensing laws kicked in, wrecker companies only had to register their trucks each year with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

That’s still necessary, on top of the licensing.

Annual registration fees run from $80 to $1,328 a truck, depending on the weight of the tow truck and the average estimated weight of vehicles towed. There also is an annual $10 a truck bulk carrier fee going to the Virginia Operating Authority, which allows the truck to haul in the state.

Blevins also saw a silver lining in the expense incurred on his company by the new towing board – he had to expand his business to cover the fees.

“If anything, it probably helped my business because it convinced me to get on the state police [emergency dispatch] list and to join motor clubs,” Blevins said.

Not every tow operator could envision a positive spin.

Retired tow operator Dave Thomas, of auto repair company Marion Frame and Alignment, quit the wrecker business two weeks after the licensing law began.

“If you’ve been doing something for 26 years, and have been doing things the same way, would you want someone to come along and say you’ve got to have a license?” he said.

Thomas tried to tow wrecked cars without a license, but the towing board ordered him to stop, and had the sheriff’s department remove his company from the 911 rotation list.

Shock over the licensing requirements also erupted from the industry’s sidelines, where retired tow operators are voicing an opinion.

David Pickle, of David’s Auto Repair in Rural Retreat, misses the new faces he met and adventures he enjoyed during his nearly 20 years as a tow operator before retiring in 2003.

He’d consider jumping back in but, like Thomas, fears it’s a case of an old dog learning new tricks.

“I think it would be too much regulations to comply with,” Pickle said.

Still off the radar

Public safety tows, where vehicles are pulled from wrecks or other incidents involving police, are among the few areas left untouched by both the towing board and state law.

The issue is still left to local laws and police policies.

Smyth County, for example, doles the tow calls to wrecker companies based on a rotation list regulated by sheriff’s department policy.

In nearby Wytheville, the rotation list is controlled by a recently enacted ordinance that offers public safety calls to companies inside the town limits before looking to companies in the surrounding county.

Town officials created the new ordinance as an attempt to provide priority status to its in-town businesses while also whittling away at the time spent waiting for a wrecker.

“To have an officer on the side of the road waiting for 20 minutes was just too long,” Town Manager Wayne Sutherland said.

Initially, O’Brien’s state legislation mandated that the towing board decide which companies could answer 911 requests. Regulations were to be based mainly on the equipment in a company’s inventory.

But tow operators argued that the need for costly equipment could differ according to geography, population or whether the wreck is on a mountain road or in a big city.

“There was a view held by many that this particular regulation would be very onerous … to the mom-and-pops and the one- and two-truck businesses,” board Executive Director Marc Copeland said.

In 2009, O’Brien’s law was changed to prohibit the board from regulating public safety calls.

O’Brien, who left the Virginia General Assembly in 2007, did not know his provision on the public safety tow had been repealed until told by a reporter.

Still, he said, the connection between tow operators and emergency calls is a strong one.

“People often think of the first responder [as] the police, and the rescue squads,” O’Brien said. “But the tow operator sees it all, and has nightmares from it.”

Mandatory fees

To operate a tow truck business, the state requires:

* Tow operator’s business license: $250-$500.
* Tow truck driver authorization (each driver): $87.
* Criminal background check (each driver): $37.
* Authorization stickers (each truck): $10, with an extra $50 for an operator with three or more trucks.
* Motor vehicle registration (each truck): $80 to $1,328.
* Bulk carrier fee (each truck): $10.

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web
(www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

The post Critics: VA Licensing Fees Can Drive Smaller Tow Companies Out Of Business appeared first on .

Round of applause to WI State Trooper Craig Larson and tow boss Pat Brauner of Brauner’s Towing in Black River Falls for their quick actions! Here’s the story from the Leader-Telegram:

BLACK RIVER FALLS — Three young children and two adult women are lucky to be alive after nearly being overcome by carbon monoxide Sunday night after their car went into the ditch on Interstate 94 near Black River Falls.

According to a press release from the State Patrol, the incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. when the car went into the median ditch while on the way from Minnesota to Chicago. When State Trooper Craig Larson responded, all five people in the car appeared to be in good condition.

However, after the tow truck arrived and the operator began to remove the vehicle, the driver became unresponsive. Larson then realized all five people in the car were unresponsive.

Larson and tow truck operator Pat Brauner of Brauner’s Towing in Black River Falls quickly removed the five from the car. At Larson’s request, Brauner began chest compressions on the female driver and Larson performed CPR on the three children, ages 2, 4 and 6, until they became responsive. The female passenger was breathing and was not as seriously overcome as the others.

After removing the vehicle from the median, it was discovered that the exhaust pipe broke off, causing carbon monoxide fumes to enter the car.

The family has asked not to be identified. They were treated at Black River Falls Memorial Hospital and released.

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web
(www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

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We hope Matt Stuart of Retriever Towing recovers quickly! Here’s the story from KGW.com:

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web
(www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

The post OR Tow Operator Injured appeared first on .

Our condolences to the family and acquaintances of Chico Schewirey, 46, who died on 12/28. Schewirey was a tow truck operator and manager for Wertz Towing of Canfield, OH, and he had worked there since he was 14.

Mark “Chico” Schewirey – SalemNews.net | News, Sports, Jobs, Ohio, Community Information
The Salem News:

“CANFIELD-Mark “Chico” Schewirey, 46, of Canfield died of a massive heart attack Wednesday afternoon.

Born June 12, 1965 in Salem, he was the son of Fredrick and Loretta Feicht Schewirey.

Mr. Schewirey was a tow truck operator and manager of Wertz Towing. He had worked for Wertz Towing since he was 14.

In addition to his mother, Loretta Schewirey of Canfield, he leaves his wife, the former Cathy Coy whom he married July 4, 1987; his daughter, Rachel and his son Curtis, both at home; and his brother, David Schewirey of Canfield.

Friends may call from 2 to 5 p.m Monday at Lane Funeral Home, Canfield Chapel. Private services will be at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Schewirey Family for Curtis and Rachel’s education.

Family and friends may view this obituary and send condolences at www.lanefuneralhomes.com.”

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web (www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

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Here’s the story from www.abc27.com:

LEMOYNE, Pa. (WHTM) –
A tow truck operator was struck and killed along Route 581 in Cumberland County early Wednesday while assisting the driver of a disabled vehicle.
Andrew Smith, 23, of Landisburg, was hit by a westbound tractor-trailer and died at the scene, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Matthew Stoner.
State police said Smith was in the right shoulder and was attempting to load a disabled Dodge pickup truck onto the flatbed.
He was operating the toggle switch on the driver’s side of the tow truck when he was struck in the area of mile post 7.4 in Lemoyne.
The driver of the pickup truck, Adam Knox of Mechanicsburg, was standing on the shoulder near the guardrail and was not hurt.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, identified by police as 63-year-old John Rosenberger Jr. from Newark, N.Y., was also not injured.
No charges have been filed.

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web (www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

The post Sad News From PA appeared first on .

Unbelievable… another report of a tow truck operator being struck on the side of the road. Please watch out, people, and MOVE OVER! We hope that Austin Pruitt of Southside Towing makes a fast and full recovery!
Here’s the story from www.wktv.com:

SHARON, N.Y. (WKTV) – A tow driver from Utica was injured and a Cooperstown woman ticketed after an accident in Schoharie County on Wednesday [1/4/12] night.
According to Schoharie County Sheriff Tony Desmond, the driver, from Southside Towing on Whitesboro Street in Utica, was loading another vehicle onto his flatbed on Route 20 in the Town of Sharon, just outside of the village.
Sheriff Desmond said that the car being loaded onto the flatbed was then struck by, Elizabeth A. Salerno, 73, of Cooperstown. That car being loaded on the flatbed then struck the tow truck driver, Austin Pruitt, of Southside Towing in Utica. Salerno is then accused of leaving the scene.
Pruitt was taken to Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown via the Sharon Springs Rescue Squad, and was released from the hospital overnight.
Thursday afternoon, Pruitt’s co-workers at Southside Towing said he was “all right, but in a neck brace and in a lot of pain.”
According to Sheriff Desmond, Salerno was ticketed with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, as well as for not moving over for a tow truck – a new law that took effect in the new year.
Salerno is scheduled to answer those charges in Sharon Town Court on January 18.

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web (www.thetowblog.com)
Posted by Cyndi Kight, Associate Editor of Towing and Recovery Footnotes

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The shots of the flattened flatbed are unbelievable… The first wrecker driver threw himself out of the truck just seconds before it was crushed by a jackknifed semi!
Here’s the story from NBC15.com:

Dangerous roads and questionable driving cause two crashes that come mere inches from killing tow truck drivers.
Tonight they say if other drivers don’t learn their lesson, someone is going to die.
The pictures make it tough to believe anyone could walk away alive.
A flat bed tow truck, crushed like an aluminum can.
Bossert Auto Body owner Ed Bossert says, “My wrecker driver looked out of the window just in time to jump.”
Friday afternoon on Highway 151, just outside of Mineral Point, a semi driver loses control, jackknifes and goes sliding straight for a wrecker parked on the side of the road.
The tow truck driver, in the cab at the time, sees the semi coming and dives out of the truck into the ditch a second before impact. The semi slides up the wrecker’s ramp, shears off the top of the cab and pushes the wrecker 300 feet down the road.
Bossert says, “You know, I can replace the wrecker. I couldn’t have replaced the guy. I don’t know what I would have told his wife or the family. It’s one of those things. People have to slow down.”
In 30 years Bossert has never seen anything like it, and the dangerous weekend was just beginning.
On highway 151 alone there were two close calls and with fractions of a second difference, they could have been far worse.
A tow driver working for Greenwood Auto in Dodgeville says he thought he was dead.
Around 2 o’clock this morning he was pulling a car out of the ditch on 151, just 7 miles down the road from Friday’s crash. He says a semi slid into his wrecker, throwing him 10 feet into the ditch.
In both crashes everyone escaped serious injury.
Bossert says, “It’s just totally unbelievable that no one was killed.”
Tonight both incidents prompt the same message.
Bossert says, “People have to learn to slow down.”
Employees at both of these towing companies say they’ve seen their share of close calls over the years and many of them have been too close for comfort.
But they say these crashes are about as scary as it gets.

From Footnotes TowBlog: Towing News Around The Web (www.thetowblog.com)

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