Joyride – Impound Auctions, the Smart Way (2024)

The “Upside-Down Recovery” Debate

Published: Wednesday, June 12, 2024

By Randall C. Resch

If this were your crash scene, why would it be necessary to load “upside down?” Tow forums post this “ongoing debate,” in which towers respond to recovery calls involving a casualty vehicle splayed atop its roof. Towers have likely grown tired of rehashing the same topic repeatedly.

The Tow Police fail to recognize there may be a “necessary purpose” for loading upside down. Because a percentage of towers can’t work carrier rollovers, highway patrol and law enforcement are likely to order towers to load vehicles upside down. Why? Because some towers don’t have quick clearance skills.

On-scene challenges like darkness, blocked line-of-sight, curved roadways, operators taking too much time, etc., may demand that casualty vehicles be dragged onto the carrier’s deck for safety considerations. Towers oftentimes lose sight of reasoning in which their ego and arrogant attitude forego proper thinking.

Here’s the Drill

When arriving operators step from a carrier’s cab. He or she may be met by troopers who request the tower load “upside down” to move it out of lanes quickly. To towers who understand this process, it’s called, “Quick Clearance.”

Why can’t towers understand the importance of preventing “secondary impact” intending to save responder lives? Being plowed into by a distracted motorist is the reality of our work. It’s not illegal to load upside down and it’s something that “can be done” with quick precision.

For hardheaded towers, does refusing to load upside-down violate contract stipulations? Maybe! California’s, Tow Service Agreement, Section 16, “Demeanor and Conduct, Section A and A2, asserts: “While involved in CHP rotation tow operations or related business, the tow operator and/or employee(s) shall refrain from any acts of misconduct including, but not limited to, any of the following: (2) “Lack of service, selective service, or refusal to provide service which the operator is capable of performing.”

In the best interests of safety and quick clearance, troopers expect towers to comply. To that I ask, why do egocentric towers “angrily and adamantly decline” the process? While keyboard warriors talk that hard line, they’re likely not hearing what reasons “why” they’re being asked to load upside down, nor are some towers willing to offer solutions?

Towers should expand their minds to the bigger picture of on-scene safety and quick clearance, noting it’s rare (if ever) for an upside vehicle to burst sporadically into flames. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. Sure, the potential is there, but the chance of dying during a pedestrian strike is far greater.

What’s a Recovery?

Upside transport is a “recovery process” that causes heated and repeated discussions. Perhaps towers should fully understand what constitutes “a recovery” in the eyes of the highway patrol? Because the law enforcement community experiences “first-hand” that not all operators are equally competent, an officer’s decision to load upside down could be based on an operator’s inability to work the roll.

“Recovery” as defined in the CHP’s Tow Service Agreement states: “For purposes of the TSA, recovery is defined as a vehicle which is overturned, down an embankment, or otherwise not upright on its wheels.”

In Chapter 6, “Response to Calls”, Section B, “An operator or tow truck driver shall respond with a properly equipped tow truck of the class required to tow the vehicle, perform vehicle recovery (e.g., rollover, down embankment), provide service (e.g., fuel, flat tire change), and be in possession of the appropriate class of driver’s license, applicable endorsem*nts, and permits.”

Section 9, “Tow Truck Classifications”, Subsection (B) (2), it reads, “An operator who has a car carrier is exempted from the recovery, wheel lift, and boom capability requirements. However, the car carrier must be an additional unit and shall not be used for recovery.”

CHP’s rotation contract states, “Tow truck drivers shall perform all towing and recovery operations in the safest and most expedient manner possible. 1) This includes when the operator fails to answer the phone, is unable to respond, is unable to perform the required service, refuses to respond or provide service, or is canceled due to excessive response time.”

Before refusing an officer’s request, know that contracts’ demand operators are trained and experienced. Note: Dating back to 1928, California leads the nation in on-highway fatalities perhaps because too many towers weren’t thinking “safety-first” beyond simply working the scene.

Push to Shove

If an officer (or Incident Commander) requests casualty vehicles be loaded upside-down due to on-scene considerations, should towers refuse to load upside-down? If a tower remains adamant, they may be ordered to leave with the officer requesting the next rotation company to respond. Rest assured, a “refusal” may initiate an officer’s aggressive follow-up complaint to the area’s tow boss.

The bottom-line? It's important tow owners understand that flatbed carriers, in most contracts, aren’t “recognized” as recovery trucks per contract wording. Showing up with a carrier (to a crash scene) may immediately be the first (contract) violation; sending an untrained operator is violation “two”; refusing an officer’s lawful request is violation “three.”

If you’re that tower refusing a lawful order or upside-down request, a refusal may cause your company to be removed from rotation. Personally, my varsity operators are instructed to do whatever’s requested by officers on-scene, even if that means load upside-down. Until such time towers convince law enforcement they’re trained in carrier operations, this topic won’t go away.

Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired, veteran, California police officer, former tow business owner and industry advocate. As consultant and trainer, he authored and teaches tow truck operator safety courses approved by the California Highway Patrol. For 51-years, he has been involved in the towing and recovery industry. In 28-years, he has contributed more than 700-safety focused articles for American Towman Magazine, TowIndustryWeek.com and is a frequent seminar presenter and beauty pageant judge at tow shows. In 2014, he was inducted to the International Towing and Recovery Industry Hall of Fame, was the 3rd recipient of the industry's "Dave Jones Leadership Award," and is a member of American Towman’s Safety Committee.

Email Randy at rreschran@gmail.com.

Hydration – Not Just for Athletes

Published: Thursday, June 06, 2024

By Brian J Riker

While the heatwave facing most of the Western and Southern U.S. was the genesis of this article it is important to note that hydration is critical regardless of the extreme temperatures, even in winter months. According to a report by the Associated Press, analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2,300 people died in 2023 from heat related illness, the highest in 45 years of records. Sadly, the true death toll is likely much higher.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a map that predicts above average temperatures for most of the United States this summer. Combine this with their prediction for an above average active hurricane season and we are in for a wild ride this summer!

Back to hydration, what should you do? As an employer, OSHA requires you to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards, including weather related hazards like high heat. OSHA takes this mission seriously, so seriously that they ask for details of your workplace hydration plan during every routine visit and incident investigation -even when hydration did not, nor could have, played any contributing factor in the injury or death such as struck-by or crushed-by incidents.

OSHA standards require you to provide clean, potable water for your workforce to drink as proper hydration is essential to prevent heat related illness. For short jobs, those less than two hours in duration, simple water is sufficient. For jobs longer than two hours OSHA recommends providing electrolyte containing beverages such as sports drinks due to the fact that workers lose salt and other electrolytes when they sweat. Substantial loss of electrolytes can lead to muscle cramping and other dangerous health problems.

Do not wait until you are feeling thirsty to drink, instead workers should drink at least 8 ounces of water every twenty minutes, and it is the duty of the employer to remind employees to drink on a regular basis. When heat stress is high employers should require workers to take regular breaks with the length and frequency of these breaks increasing as the risk of heat stress rises. Keep in mind that some personal protective equipment (PPE) can add to the risk of heat related illness; however that is not an excuse not to wear required or recommended PPE.

Besides the Federal OSHA standards on heat exposure, at least five individual states have their own heat standards that are more restrictive or detailed than the Federal standard. Those states include California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.

For guidance on creating your own heat standards the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published criteria (Publication 2016-105) that includes recommendations for how employers should prevent heat related illness.

In summary, towers are encouraged to always have a supply of drinking water in their trucks and at job sites. This water, especially if in individual bottles, should be protected from exposure to direct sunlight and high heat as these conditions can break down the plastic bottles and pollute the water with microplastics and other harmful chemicals. I suggest keeping bottled water in a cooler chest in a side compartment or under the seat and replenishing often. Carrying a few bottles of low/no sugar added Gatorade, or similar sports drink, in the same cooler chest will ensure availability of adequate electrolyte replenishment when you are caught with an emergency job that lasts longer than expected.

The Ergonomics of Pulling Cable

Published: Thursday, May 30, 2024

By Randall C. Resch

It happened day-two of a CHP Tow Operator’s Safety Course. Participants were deep in reality-based training as we were setting up a snatch block and cable to work a typical rollover recovery situated down an embankment.

This scenario required sixty-feet of cable. In preparing for that process, one “experienced tower” activated the wrecker’s “free spool” while another experienced young buck took hold of the winch cable. When free spool was released and with a single cable in the tower’s right hand, the tower turned his larger-than-most sized body at the waist and gave a sizeable “jerk.”

Using over-aggressive core strength to pull cable, his upper body didn’t align in the direction he wanted to go versus where cable was to unspool. His upper body was turned a full quarter and wasn’t aligned with his neck.

At the moment he heaved a mighty tug, a muscle snapped in the right-side of his neck. Based on the look of his face, pain was immediate causing him to stop dead in his tracks. We discovered that the winch’s cable was stuck between strands.

A Little Too Late

I’ve watched the industry make leaps and bounds through the years. I’ve learned to know that this industry is definitely “young person’s work,” in which the years of activity have taken its toll on my physical state. Pulling cable is an easy and painless process, but only if the process is understood.

Because this industry is physically demanding, some lessons are learned in a timely manner. “Cable Ergonomics” isn’t one of them. If you’ve never experienced a pulled neck muscle, pain is immediate and extremely hard to deal with. Sometimes, neck pulls or strains take weeks for pain to subside, even longer to get back into the full swing of fluid motion.

Because this work is physically challenging, it’s tough on one’s physique. So, let this narrative focus on the art of pulling (winch) cable hoping you’ll avoid an upper torso injury in the future. While it might not seem a big deal to the young and restless, there comes a moment in every tower’s career when they’re injured by the simple task of pulling cable, be it to the neck, shoulder, elbows, or to one’s back. It’s important to know what proper techniques help to stay injury free.

It Went “Twang”

A pulled neck muscle can deliver immediate, debilitating pain. As explained by, Dr. Rahul Shah,MD, a board-certified orthopedic spine and neck surgeon at Premier Orthopedic Spine Associates in Vineland, New Jersey, the two most common muscle pulls (commonly called, “Strains”, are to the neck’s, “Trapezius,” and or the,“Levator Scapulae,”muscles.

Dr. Shah says, “Typically, they can occur when working past fatigue, overuse, or simply pulling beyond the muscle’s capabilities. Oftentimes, it is an innocuous movement that follows a series of heavy movements, which tends to push the muscle past its limits.”

Regarding a pulled neck muscle, most persons, male or female, don’t typically have weak neck muscles. Neck muscles work hard to keep that “bowling ball on a stick” upright to one’s body. But, for weight lifters, over reachers who turn too fast, or “straining” during physical activities, neck pull or strain is possible.

Protect the Pull

When it comes to “neck injuries”, they’re oftentimes caused by the (poorly wrapped) condition of the tow truck’s winch cable, or a winch that’s doesn’t free spool easily. Cable that’s “bird nested” tends to wrap over itself, or cable gets jammed between strands of wrapped cable.

For unsuspecting tow operators, when it’s time to pull cable, the mass of one’s body weight likely goes one direction while cable stays stuck and unable to roll freely. That’s about the time a painful “neck twang” takes place.

Notably, from a risk management standpoint, it makes good sense to discuss the simple task of pulling cable during training sessions.

Operations EditorRandallC.Reschis a retired, veteran, California police officer, former tow business owner and industry advocate. As consultant and trainer, he authored and teaches tow truck operator safety courses approved by the California Highway Patrol. For 51-years, he has been involved in the towing and recovery industry. In 28-years, he has contributed more than 700-safety focused articles for American Towman Magazine, TowIndustryWeek.com and is a frequent seminar presenter and beauty pageant judge at tow shows. In 2014, he was inducted to the International Towing and Recovery Industry Hall of Fame, was the 3rd recipient of the industry's "Dave Jones Leadership Award," and is a member of American Towman’s Safety Committee.

EmailRandyatrreschran@gmail.com.