The Significant Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Towing Companies

By David Driskill, Senior Police Officer, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Austin (Texas) Police Department

On Jan. 16, the Austin (Texas) Police Department responded to a rollover collision involving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Multiple witnesses indicated they noticed a dump truck stopped in traffic on the service road of I-35 southbound when the dump bed began to rise. They watched the CMV turn at an intersection and subsequently strike the overhead traffic signal light with the raised bed. The impact with the signal light resulted in the CMV overturning and coming to rest on its side. The signal light was significantly damaged due to the collision, rendering it inoperable. The driver was able to escape from the CMV without injury.

I coordinated with officers on the scene to obtain photographs of the crash prior to my arrival. The Austin Police Department Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit has a robust working relationship with several towing companies in the city, which are delegated the responsibility of mitigating large-scale CMV crashes.

Once the towing company was assigned, I called the driver to discuss the recovery with him. It was evident additional equipment would be needed, so arrangements were made immediately rather than waiting for his arrival and assessment. The towing company mitigated the scene with two 50-ton wreckers and a service truck carrying a skid steer with a sweeper. What is typically a multi-hour response was reduced to approximately 45 minutes due to our existing relationship with the towing company and our ability to coordinate the response before the first wrecker arrived on scene.

No mechanical defects contributed to the collision, and it was evident that the cause was driver inattention. During my interview with the driver, I noticed that he smelled of alcohol, and once the dump truck was upright again, an open container of beer was found in its cab.

The driver submitted to field sobriety testing and a preliminary breath test for alcohol content. Although the driver was not legally

intoxicated, the driver had a positive result for alcohol in his system and was placed out of service for possession of alcohol in a CMV and having a detectable amount of alcohol in his system while on duty.

In total, a major highway artery was closed for approximately seven hours while the crash was cleared and the signal light was repaired. Although the recovery by the towing company was relatively minor and straightforward, this incident helped to highlight the importance of a strong relationship between law enforcement and towing companies. Without this relationship, we wouldn’t have been able to manage the aftermath of this CMV crash scene efficiently. After a crash, our goals are to clear the roadway, return the flow of traffic to normal, reduce congestion and reduce the odds of any secondary collisions. Engaging with your local tow companies and establishing these relationships before these incidents occur may pay dividends when the time comes to handle these scenes.