One of the best investments you can make to help with safe driving is the purchase of good quality tires which you inspect regularly, maintain with the proper air pressure, and replace when they are old and/or worn. Doing some research and seeking advice at some reputable tire stores about the best quality tires for your vehicle and the driving conditions is very practical. Look at tread patterns, tire width, and hardness ratings which are appropriate for your area. During winter in Alaska, roads are often covered with hard ice, so tire studs and snipping are worth considering for winter driving.
Consider purchasing an extra set of wheels for your vehicle and have the winter tires mounted on those wheels. Then switching between summer and winter tires is an easier task and the amount of wear and potential damage to the bead of the tire is reduced.
Do not assume that four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (AWD) is going to keep your vehicle from losing traction and sliding, perhaps into the ditch. A vehicle with 4x4 or AWD has little advantage when braking and can still lose traction if the vehicle has bad tires. Good quality tires, even on a two-wheel drive vehicle, can provide better traction on icy roads than poor quality tires on a four-wheel drive vehicle. Evidence of this is the many vehicles pulled out of the ditch during the winter which are 4x4 or AWD.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Getting pulled out of the ditch
It may seem like it is not worth paying a tow truck to come pull you out of the ditch when the next guy with a strap can do it for you, but there are some reasons for having a professional do the job rather than an amateur.
The stories of secondary accidents; damage, injury, and death from flying ropes, chains, or straps; extensive damage done to vehicles during the pull; and exorbitant amounts of money being charged by people stopping to provide “help” are all well documented. Parks Highway Service & Towing recently towed a vehicle which had had the steering rod yanked completely off by a person who stopped to “help;” what would have probably been a relatively inexpensive winch-out turned into the winch-out and tow of a vehicle which might have been damaged beyond repair. The vehicle owner was covered by insurance and the winch-out would not have cost her any money. Another recent job was done after an amateur had already ripped the bumper off the car. Recently a man was killed when the strap he was pulling on came loose and snapped the hook through the back window of his truck, killing him while his young daughter sat beside him. http://pharostribune.com/local/x910010541/Man-killed-by-flying-tow-strap-while-helping-stranded-motorist
If you slide off the road and someone stops to offer help, consider strongly asking them to recommend a professional towing service which you can call rather than letting them hook a rope, strap, or chain to your vehicle and yanking on it.
- Towing companies have insurance to protect not only themselves while they are working by the side of road, but also, in the unlikely case that it does happen, to cover any damage which might be done to your vehicle. Not only is an amateur more likely to damage your vehicle, but he/she will probably not compensate you if damage is done.
- If an amateur or Good Samaritan is using a strap, chain, or rope, they pulling by driving their vehicle away from yours, usually jerking on the strap, chain, or rope. Not only can your vehicle be damaged by the sudden amount of force from the jerk, but if the strap, chain, or rope fails or comes disconnected, it can fly through the air with a great deal of force and possibly damage something or even injury or kill a person. A professional towing operator is using a winch to gently pull your vehicle and is using secure attachments.
- An amateur is often going to need to pull perpendicular to the road, so they are in the road and can possibly cause a secondary accident in which vehicle(s) can be damaged and/or someone can be injured or killed. A tow truck has winches and snatch blocks so that the pull can be done from a position parallel to the road and safely out of traffic.
- A tow truck has lights and beacons as well as flares and cones to be able to warn on-coming traffic of the work being done by the side of the road. A tow truck operator has been trained to work safely and carefully wearing reflective clothing for visibility. A professional can manage the scene to keep everyone, including you, and everything there as safe as possible.
- A tow truck operator knows where and how to attach to your car to avoid damaging the part to which the winch line is attached and any parts of the vehicle which may come in contact with the winch line, straps, or chains. Nylon straps and special hooks can be used to attach the winch line. Manuals are available to towing operators to show them the attachment points for different makes, models, and years of vehicles. Sophisticated methods such as the use of a Cruse Loop can sometimes be used. An amateur may hook bumpers or steering, brake, or suspension components and then, when pulling on them, bent, damaged, or yanked off the components.
- Your vehicle’s insurance may include emergency roadside assistance which may fully or partially reimburse or pay for the expense of having a professional pull you out of ditch, but will not pay or reimburse you for anything which the amateur may charge you.
- It is not unusual for a vehicle to be damaged as it travels through snow, bushes, trees, rocks, etc. when it went off the road. Hoses can be damaged. Steering, suspension, and brake components may have been bent or damaged. A towing operator knows what to examine to be sure that a vehicle is safe to drive after it is pulled out of the ditch. If the vehicle is not drivable, the tower is prepared to tow the vehicle to a repair facility, body shop, or garage. If the vehicle has full coverage insurance, this is all covered by the insurance. It is possible for so much snow to be packed around the brakes, wheels, suspension, steering, fan, or other components that they can not function properly. For you to have another accident farther down the road because of damage done when you slide off the road would be very unfortunate.
The stories of secondary accidents; damage, injury, and death from flying ropes, chains, or straps; extensive damage done to vehicles during the pull; and exorbitant amounts of money being charged by people stopping to provide “help” are all well documented. Parks Highway Service & Towing recently towed a vehicle which had had the steering rod yanked completely off by a person who stopped to “help;” what would have probably been a relatively inexpensive winch-out turned into the winch-out and tow of a vehicle which might have been damaged beyond repair. The vehicle owner was covered by insurance and the winch-out would not have cost her any money. Another recent job was done after an amateur had already ripped the bumper off the car. Recently a man was killed when the strap he was pulling on came loose and snapped the hook through the back window of his truck, killing him while his young daughter sat beside him. http://pharostribune.com/local/x910010541/Man-killed-by-flying-tow-strap-while-helping-stranded-motorist
If you slide off the road and someone stops to offer help, consider strongly asking them to recommend a professional towing service which you can call rather than letting them hook a rope, strap, or chain to your vehicle and yanking on it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
“Oh I bet you love this bad weather.” “No. I don’t.”
My objection to statements about the profits made by towers during bad weather is that people are only looking at the revenue paid to the towing company with little consideration for the very difficult work, long hours, excessive wear and tear on the trucks, higher risk of damage or accident and the resulting down-time, and many other expenses.
People are always saying, “Oh I bet you love this bad weather.” No, I do not. Sometimes the revenue generated does not seem to compensate for the much higher risk to life and equipment, the terrible working conditions, and the long, exhausting hours which the operators must endure. Yes, towing companies may earn more money during bad weather, but they work very, very, very hard for that money. In some cases, it actually might make more sense to not do the work than to attempt to do it with the extremely slow, strenuous working conditions and the extremely high risk involved. But if the work is done, it needs appropriate compensation.
Many are upset when they are asked to pay more than the amount of a “normal” service even though, under bad conditions, the job takes longer, the risks are greater, and the work is more difficult; then the tower is accused of gouging and/or taking advantage of the customer. I am sorry, but the difficulty, time involved, and risk dictate the price, not a desire to take advantage of a customer in a bad situation.
Under bad conditions, not only does each job take longer, but there may be an avalanche of work, causing the tower to have to work many, many long hours often without breaks for food, warmth, or rest.
Another factor of which many people are unaware is that towing companies are only paid for the jobs which they do. They receive no compensation from the state, the Troopers, any local government, motor clubs, or insurance companies for being on call, for going to look for vehicles which are gone by the time the tow truck arrives, or for the jobs involving abandoned and/or impounded vehicles which are not claimed by the owner. Yet towing companies are on call 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. Though there may be only 20–40 hours of work in a week, there is no telling when that work will be. The work can rarely be scheduled. Professional fire fighters and police officers are paid for being on-call and for going on calls regardless of the outcome or revenue generated by the call. Volunteers often belong to a group of people so that any one individual is not constantly on call. With a small, family owned and run towing business, there is no one else to cover. A driver and a truck need to be ready to roll at any time and the phones must be covered at all times.
The towing operator must always be available which often means no vacations, no time off, no drinking and partying, and interrupted sleep. The tow truck must always be ready to roll which means being maintained and repaired at the highest level so that it does not break down when needed; always been warm in cold weather even if this requires that it is always plugged in and in very cold weather that auxiliary heaters or idling of the engine are used; and having a back-up truck for those times when the truck does need to be down for repairs and maintenance.
The main consideration is that it is not about getting rich through the misfortunes of others, it is about providing a needed service and being adequately compensated for the hard work.
People are always saying, “Oh I bet you love this bad weather.” No, I do not. Sometimes the revenue generated does not seem to compensate for the much higher risk to life and equipment, the terrible working conditions, and the long, exhausting hours which the operators must endure. Yes, towing companies may earn more money during bad weather, but they work very, very, very hard for that money. In some cases, it actually might make more sense to not do the work than to attempt to do it with the extremely slow, strenuous working conditions and the extremely high risk involved. But if the work is done, it needs appropriate compensation.
Many are upset when they are asked to pay more than the amount of a “normal” service even though, under bad conditions, the job takes longer, the risks are greater, and the work is more difficult; then the tower is accused of gouging and/or taking advantage of the customer. I am sorry, but the difficulty, time involved, and risk dictate the price, not a desire to take advantage of a customer in a bad situation.
Under bad conditions, not only does each job take longer, but there may be an avalanche of work, causing the tower to have to work many, many long hours often without breaks for food, warmth, or rest.
Another factor of which many people are unaware is that towing companies are only paid for the jobs which they do. They receive no compensation from the state, the Troopers, any local government, motor clubs, or insurance companies for being on call, for going to look for vehicles which are gone by the time the tow truck arrives, or for the jobs involving abandoned and/or impounded vehicles which are not claimed by the owner. Yet towing companies are on call 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. Though there may be only 20–40 hours of work in a week, there is no telling when that work will be. The work can rarely be scheduled. Professional fire fighters and police officers are paid for being on-call and for going on calls regardless of the outcome or revenue generated by the call. Volunteers often belong to a group of people so that any one individual is not constantly on call. With a small, family owned and run towing business, there is no one else to cover. A driver and a truck need to be ready to roll at any time and the phones must be covered at all times.
The towing operator must always be available which often means no vacations, no time off, no drinking and partying, and interrupted sleep. The tow truck must always be ready to roll which means being maintained and repaired at the highest level so that it does not break down when needed; always been warm in cold weather even if this requires that it is always plugged in and in very cold weather that auxiliary heaters or idling of the engine are used; and having a back-up truck for those times when the truck does need to be down for repairs and maintenance.
The main consideration is that it is not about getting rich through the misfortunes of others, it is about providing a needed service and being adequately compensated for the hard work.
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