Work Away from Traffic—or Pay the Price

By Randall Resch If you’re not familiar with law enforcement “Ten-Codes,” a mention of “11-44” indicates a fatality or death has occurred. When the Reaper is looking for its next victim, what precautions do you take to avoid becoming the next pedestrian strike?

Towers, are you totally aware of what’s required of you when working on-highway scenarios, or are you clueless when it comes to situational awareness?

An operator friend from Ohio recently called and shared that two towers were struck on the highway near Painesville. Although details were limited, my first thought was, “Not again—are you freakin’ kidding me?” By the next morning, multiple news accounts detailed the crash.

In the early morning hours of January 15, 2026, the Ohio Highway Patrol was on scene investigating an earlier crash on Interstate 90. As responders and towers worked that incident, a Dodge Charger lost control and skidded into two tow operators and a patrol car.

Both towers “dodged a deathly bullet,” reportedly standing at the traffic-side door of a trooper’s parked patrol vehicle. It seems far less dangerous to have been standing elsewhere—other than the traffic side. I wasn’t there; I don’t know.

No Routine Call

Let’s consider simple facts and pre-existing dangers: darkness, icy conditions, an earlier crash ahead, speed not appropriate for conditions, and traffic stacking rearward—prime conditions for a secondary collision. The Ohio Highway Patrol stated that a marked patrol car was parked on the berm, outside of the traffic lanes, with emergency lights activated. The Charger struck the patrol car while two troopers were inside.

At the time of impact, “two tow truck operators were wearing reflective gear and standing at the trooper’s driver-side door when they were struck.” Towers, do you remember the definition of insanity? Einstein famously stated, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This incident describes that same insanity.

In one article, the opening headline read, “Your latest reminder to slow down when you see workers roadside.” While that reminder is directed at the motoring public, a far better reminder for tow and recovery personnel would be: Towers, you should be standing, working, and positioning away from dangerous approaching traffic. These words aren’t new. They are “words to live by” and have been at the industry’s forefront for more than 108 years.

News flash: Slow Down, Move Over has not proven effective in any state. If you’re servicing high-speed highways, working the non-traffic side couldn’t be more obvious. Standing at traffic-side doors of any tow truck, police vehicle, or customer car is a potential position of no return.

Don’t Expect Prevention

For more than thirty-five years, I’ve repeated this same safety message, hoping towers learn it, practice it, and preach it. So why aren’t towers heeding the message? In a nutshell, consider these factors: -- Tow operators are often their own worst enemies -- Cops, cones, flares, traffic direction, and SDMO laws aren’t effective barriers -- Amber and strobe lights don’t evoke proper motorist response -- Adding blue lights is a Band-Aid to a much bigger problem -- Wearing ANSI-III vests doesn’t provide bodily protection -- Standing traffic-side of approaching vehicles doesn’t prevent pedestrian strikes -- Walking, working, standing, or sweeping debris doesn’t prevent pedestrian strikes -- The motoring public doesn’t care about towers working active scenes

Directed specifically to owners: You set the tone of safety. Mandating on-highway safety training for your personnel is essential. That means requiring towers to attend a four-hour Traffic Incident Management (TIM) course to understand the dangers and best practices necessary for highway response. TIM training is free—why not? Safety training must include traffic-side awareness and reinforce its meaning and purpose.

For towers: recognize the dangers associated with on-highway calls. Nothing—I repeat, nothing—is routine. Seeing two operators struck while standing at the trooper’s driver-side door infuriates me, knowing their injuries were totally preventable. If troopers are giving instructions, get them on the non-traffic side.

When will towers learn just how dangerous traffic-side exposure really is? In past fatality accounts, I’ve read reports stating, “He was doing everything right when he was struck.” In incidents like this one, standing at the traffic-side door was completely improper.

Enough Said

To the industry as a whole: going home to your family every night should be your priority. Not to impugn the actions of towers and first responders previously struck on the traffic side; they were intent on getting the job done. But intent does not negate exposure to traffic.

I salute all towers and their willingness to serve, but your safety must take priority over every other task. Especially with traffic-side pedestrian strikes, positioning yourself near live traffic is a sure and consistent way to be injured or killed.

Simply put: Work away from traffic. Anything else is gambling with your life.