A Call for Drastic Change in Tow Industry Safety

By Randall C. Resch 

In 2023, a Los Angeles tow operator arrived just before midnight to load a disabled vehicle stopped atop a highway’s gore point. Without law enforcement assistance on scene, nightly news reports alleged the tower wasn’t wearing a reflective vest and “may have been standing in a live lane when struck.” When tragedies like this occur, I can’t help but wonder whether the operator was sufficiently trained to work in highway scenarios. 

There’s far too much emphasis on SDMO and trendy apps that warn motorists of tow trucks or responders ahead. What’s needed is a shift in how tow operators themselves think about on-highway safety. The reality is, motorists don’t care about tow operators or other responders, so the “drastic need for change” has to come from within the industry. 

The opening image represents my friend who was killed while loading a car nearly two decades ago. The ghostly scene shows a makeshift marker placed weeks after he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run motorist, a silent reminder of the dangers towers face every day. 

Roadside markers like his represent the harsh reality of an industry that has seemingly failed itself. In all of 2024, as many as sixteen tow operators were killed in on-highway incidents, along with two more internationally. 

A 2023 news article reported the hit-and-run death of an Oklahoma tow operator who was struck by a semi while loading a vehicle on the white-line traffic side. The nighttime incident occurred without highway patrol assistance, just a flatbed carrier stopped on the shoulder in near-total darkness. 

KGOR Channel 4 News in Oklahoma reported, “Late Tuesday night, Oklahoma Highway Patrol said a tow operator was working along I-40 just east of Shawnee. His girlfriend, seated in the tow truck, said, ‘He had just strapped down a car onto his tow truck when he was hit by an oncoming semi-truck.’” 

An Industry That’s Failed Itself 

Dating back to 1928, I’ve archived more than 750 operators killed while working on U.S. highways in pedestrian and shoulder incidents. The number of names honored at Chattanooga’s Wall of the Fallen is just a drop in the bucket, it doesn’t reflect a problem that’s persisted for more than 108 years. 

Those U.S. fatalities don’t include the thirty operators killed on Canadian highways or the sixty-three international deaths I’ve documented. My data reflects an industry that hasn’t recognized lessons learned but instead continues to overlook the obvious steps necessary to improve operator safety and survival in on-highway environments. 

Did you know your state’s vehicle code laws can put towers in harm’s way? Existing laws require towed vehicles to have safety chains, ratchet straps, and extension lights attached, while also mandating four-point tie-downs on transported vehicles. If carriers are hauling “two up,” the same requirements apply. 

Here’s the rub: outdated and obsolete vehicle code requirements put tow operators directly in harm’s way. To remain “in compliance,” operators must walk, work, or stand on the traffic side of their trucks, often with vehicles speeding by just feet away. 

Because towed and transported vehicles must be properly restrained for safety, shouldn’t these laws be rewritten to allow “minimal tie-down exemptions,” giving operators a chance to move to safer locations? 

Like it or not, something’s got to change. Laws must evolve to prioritize tower safety and increase survival rates. Consider the following changes:  -- Require highway training for all operators responding to on-highway calls. -- Require highway training for all operators responding to on-highway calls. -- Prohibit operators with less than one year of verifiable experience from working highway incidents. -- Prohibit operators with less than one year of verifiable experience from working highway incidents. -- Mandate insurance providers to require proof of Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training. -- Mandate insurance providers to require proof of Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training. -- Recognize that current laws increase operator exposure. Full tie-down, safety chaining, and extension light requirements often force towers into traffic-side danger zones. Exemptions must be created and lobbied for. -- Recognize that current laws increase operator exposure. Full tie-down, safety chaining, and extension light requirements often force towers into traffic-side danger zones. Exemptions must be created and lobbied for. -- Adopt blue lighting for tow trucks. Amber lights don’t grab motorists’ attention, but blue lights have a stronger psychological effect. States should push for blue lighting, especially for on-highway responders. -- Adopt blue lighting for tow trucks. Amber lights don’t grab motorists’ attention, but blue lights have a stronger psychological effect. States should push for blue lighting, especially for on-highway responders. 

Deadly Repeated Practices 

Current laws haven’t kept pace with modern times, and that failure continues to endanger operators. I’m amazed this industry keeps its head buried in the sand instead of demanding meaningful change. Consider this a wake-up call. 

For tow company owners concerned about risk management and operator safety, now is the time to act. Make sure your operators are thoroughly trained in on-highway response. 

Knowing that SDMO laws don’t work, how many more towers must lose their lives unnecessarily? If stronger regulations are what it takes to stop this ongoing slaughter, then I’m all for it. It shouldn’t take 108 years to realize this industry is far behind the curve. When is enough enough? 

Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer, former tow business owner, and industry advocate. As a consultant and trainer, he authored and teaches tow operator safety courses approved by the California Highway Patrol. Over his 55 years in the towing and recovery industry, he has written more than 760 safety-focused articles for American Towman Magazine and TowIndustryWeek.com and is a frequent seminar presenter—and beauty pageant judge—at tow shows. In 2014, he was inducted into the International Towing and Recovery Industry Hall of Fame, became the third recipient of the “Dave Jones Leadership Award,” and serves on American Towman’s Safety Committee.