“Tow truck operators should place portable emergency warning devices such as reflective triangles on the roadway shoulder to alert oncoming traffic.” Example 3: Massachusetts Source: www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/ stateface/ma/04ma005.html “Ensure that employees use portable emergency warning devices to help alert approaching motorists of the stopped emergency vehicles ahead.” Example 4: Michigan Source: www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/ stateface/mi/18MI002.html “Visibility of operation; no hivis vest worn, pickup on truck bed obscured tow truck overhead lights, no portable emergency warning devices placed.”
20 • January 2022 | Towman.com
THE TAKEAWAY
Instead of adding more blinking lights and strobes, why not invest in equipment that doesn’t blind, and gives clear indication that your truck is parked on the shoulder? A well-placed arrow board is best situated atop the headache rack or strobe mount. This should be a standard requirement for tow trucks serving highways to better communicate “Slow Down, Move Over” (SDMO) warnings. Overhead strobes and rotor lights, especially on carriers, don’t provide sufficient lighting to rearward approach as vehicles are loaded onto a carrier’s deck. As a vehicle is winched onto a tilted deck, a loaded vehicle’s size partially blocks the effectiveness of emergency strobes and rotors. The larger the size of vehicle being loaded—SUV, minivan, or full-