American Towman Magazine - July 2014

Monster AT Expo Brochure Inside...

Gone

Fishin’ Raging River Recovery AutoReturn Takes Some Heat

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First On The Scene

Since 1977

FEATURE CONTENTS

28

Gone Fishin’ Two Florida companies teamed up this spring when a Cessna made a water landing.

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

35

Departments Walkaround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 News Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Road Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Monsters in Baltimore Get all the lowdown you need on the Beast in the East, the AT Expo in Baltimore.

Beacons On! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

52

Tow Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Raging River Recovery

Tow Americana . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 AD Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

The heavy-duty Donnie winner was a race against more flooding.

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . .58

by Al Montgomery

Tow Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

64

Diversified Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Vegas Show Heats Up

Repo Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

The second annual Tow Industry Week gave towers plenty to talk about.

by Brendan Dooley

Towman’s Market . . . . . . . . . . . .78 My Baby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Low Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 On The Net . . . . . . . . . . . . .MW 88 Adventures of A.T. . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

WreckMaster conducts Rotator Recovery Training at the South Point Arena during Tow Industry Week in Las Vegas.

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 3

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Safety First First On The Scene!

by Dennie Ortiz

Dennie Ortiz

Safety first … always. I’m sure you’ve come to recognize this is an ever-present theme on which we focus.

Survival on today’s roadways requires ceaseless vigilance on the part of the tow operator and other emergency personnel on-scene.

In this issue, Randy Resch, an impassioned safety proponent, describes and commends the National Traffic Incident Management “Train the Trainer” course which he and AT field editor, Terry Abejuela, recently attended.

Statistics indicate that a tower is killed every six days in highwayrelated accidents. No matter how determined this industry is to bringing awareness of Move Over laws to motorists, the truth is bleak. These laws—enacted to protect workers on the side of the road—have not helped much (though every bit counts). So

right now we only have ourselves, and the safety practices we employ, to help avoid injury or fatality.

It is of utmost importance that towers continue to find sources to introduce new methods and ideas that help us become safer in this dangerous profession. The TIM course does just that in teaching valuable safety techniques and practices.

TIM is asking that all first responders and highway workers attend this course while looking to train all of America’s first responders. With all that’s at stake, I strongly encourage you to attend one of these courses in your area.

For further information go to www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2/Solutions/Available/L12_L32/National_ Traffic_Incident_Management_Respo nder_Training_Program.

Be safe.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

by Brendan Dooley

Being environmentally conscious, or green, is not always the easiest choice.

There are lots of ways to make your personal life greener, but sometimes it’s “more work.”

Personally, I separate the trash and recyclables. I may even start composting soon. I walk, or ride my bike, when I can. These are easy things to do, and don’t really cost much, or anything in some cases.

In business, it can be tougher. Taking on green initiatives are always easier when/if they benefit the bottom line. One of the ways towing fleets can do this is through the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.

This month, Field Editor Terry Abejuela follows up his May alt-fuels article with another installment covering propane. Some towers will find they can save money by converting to LPG, or specifying it when adding new fleet vehicles.

Saving money and reducing emissions and dependence on foreign oil at the same time seems like a great way to go.

Whether LPG, CNG, hybrid or whatever else, whenever a “green” change helps towers stay out of the red, it seems like a win-win.

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Steve Calitri Brendan Dooley Charles Duke Randall Resch Terry Abejuela Jim “Buck” Sorrenti David Kolman Bill Simmons

Publisher Editor-In-Chief Editor Senior Editor Operations Editor Field Editor, West Field Editor, Northeast Chassis Editor Safety Editor

Emily Oz

On Screen Editor

Mark Lacek

Repo Run Editor

Editorial Board Tommy Anderson Don Archer Roy Carlson Debbie Collins Belinda Harris Bill Johnson Ron Mislan Kurt Wilson

Dallas, Texas Jefferson City, Mo. St. Paul, Minn.

Las Vegas, Nev. Greensboro, N.C. South Hadley, Mass.

Warren, N.J. Creve Coeur, Ill.

American Towman Staff Ann Marie Nitti Dennie Ortiz Ellen Rosengart Norma Calitri Neila Smith Miriam Ortiz Henri Calitri Toni Vanderhorst William Burwell Peggy Calabrese Ryan Oser Emily Oz Steve Calitri

Page Layout Artist Advertising Sales Mgr. Senior Account Exec.

VP of Accounts VP Communications Subscription Manager Customer Service Publisher’s Assistant TIW Media Director Regional Advertising Sales iMarketing Manager ATTV Producer President

American Towman Media Headquarters 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546 E-mail: Publisher: dortiz@towman.com Editor-In-Chief: scalitri@towman.com Editor: bdooley@towman.com AT’S Digital Edition: itowman.com AT’S Website: towman.com AT’S Weekly: towindustryweek.com ATTV: americantowmantv.com Copyright ©2014 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Media, Inc. Subscription: $50–1 yr; $95–2 yrs • US $65 and $105 • International Editorial Policy: the act of mailing or delivering a letter or article to American Towman Magazine, shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. American Towman Magazine reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted.American Towman Media does not test or review products submitted for inclusion in its publications. All included information, specifications and abilities are as claimed by the equipment manufacturer who is solely liable for any defects or misrepresentations in its products.

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Struck Towman Touts Move Over Towman Chad Stillwell, 21, is headed for a second foot surgery after a May 7 accident in Burlington, Vt., when an 18-year-old driver hit him while he was getting into his tow truck. The accident knocked Stillwell to the ground, where the car then ran over his foot.

“It most definitely could have been prevented,” Stillwell said. Now on the road to recovery, Stillwell wants to make sure drivers know the consequences so what happened to him does not happen again.

Stillwell was out that May night towing cars that were illegally parked due to the city’s overnight street sweeping. While out towing cars, Stillwell wears a yellow-fluorescent vest so drivers can see him better, especially at night. He also turns on amber lights on his truck as required by law.

“We’re not always paying attention to the traffic coming,” Stillwell said. “So that’s why when you see flashing lights or beacon lights on a flatbed and someone working, just go slow like you would when an officer has a person pulled over—just slow down and move over as far as you can.”

Burlington police said the driver who hit Stillwell was at fault because she did not approach the scene with caution. Source: www.wptz.com.

Site Reports Tow ‘Hot Spots’ A website in Houston, Texas, is warning drivers about towing and parking ticket hot spots, using data from the city’s Parking Management Division. The site reports: According to recent data, Texas Avenue from the Theater District to just past the BBVA Compass Stadium shows the highest concentration of parking citations with a whopping 6,400 issued each year in that area.

Houston’s towing hot spots are

IAA Donates $10k to

Lillian Street, California Street and the 2500 block of Bagby.

It’s no surprise that these streets are located in the city’s hottest bar areas.

Tickets cost $30 for an expired meter and $70 for parking in a no parking zone. If a car is towed, it costs about $200 to retrieve it in addition to a $70 ticket.

Parking officials highly advise that drivers pay close attention to posted tow away signs. Source: houston.culturemap.com.

Survivor Fund

Correction Twin Cities Wrecker Sales' contact information was misprinted on page 70 in the June issue. The correct information is: Twin Cities Wrecker Sales; 1301 Jackson St., St. Paul, MN 55117; 888488-4210. Authorized Miller Industries Distributor, providing you with a large inventory of new and used trucks, reputable and knowledgeable sales staff, wide range services for the repair of your fleet, and a parts department stocked with any brand of backend you own as well as accessories and nonOEM parts. www.tcwreckersales.com 8 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

From left: Frank Ennis, Donna Brock Mesaros, Randy Olson, Kevin Fox, Jeffrey Godwin, Tom Tedford, Pat Nahoum and Kelly Ingersoll.

On May 17, during Tow Industry Week at the American Towman ShowPlace-Las Vegas, Insurance Auto Auctions donated $10,000 to the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum’s Survivor Fund.

IAA, a business unit of KAR Auction Services, said the funds will provide financial support to families of those lost in the line of service.

“On behalf of the Museum and the Survivor Fund, we would like to thank IAA for their generous support and donation,” said Tom Tedford, ITRHFM board member. “Corporate support such as this will continue to help us reach our goal of $1 million invested for the future and allow us to raise the disbursement and support we give to the families in need.”

. . . flames spread to the back of the tow truck . . .

Better Customer Service Needed?

For one tow company in Denver, Colo., some training on active listening may be in order. For a year-anda-half, a Conifer man received towing-related calls on his cellphone, but couldn’t get the problem fixed when he called the company until a local TV station stepped in.

Jim Drake has received dozens of calls, some more nasty than others, regarding cars towed by Wyatt's Towing. One driver who contacted Drake ended up sending him the proof he needed to realize the problem.

"I've been hung up on. I've been blown off," said Drake. "I said, 'Well, I was really trying to avoid calling Channel 7,' and she said, 'Don't threaten me,' click."

When he showed up with Channel 7, a clerk printed out a sample receipt from a credit card machine which had the phone number for Lone Star Towing across the top.

Wyatt's and Lone Star Towing do business from the same location.

The clerk then printed a sample receipt from a second credit card machine which had Drake's phone number printed across the top.

The clerk had him wait while she went to get the owner.

"First, let me start by apologizing," said Wyatt's Towing owner Troy Porras. "People call us with all kinds of craziness, so I apologize for that."

Porras said that he would contact the credit card processing company and have the phone number removed; until then he promised to black out the number each time it appears on the printout. He said that the problem went on so long because, “it never got to anybody who could do anything about it.” said Porras. Source: www.thedenverchannel.com.

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

Charles Duke Rejoins American Towman American Towman has announced the hiring of Charles Duke in an editorial and conferencebuilding capacity. Duke scored ten years of experience with American Towman beginning with the company in 1988, first in advertising sales, then crossing over to be the magazine’s editor and publisher in the mid-1990s, before leaving to pursue his own business interests.

“Charles’ first term with American Towman was marked by his popularity and professionalism,” said American Towman Media President Steve Calitri. “He was with us in that watershed year when we created the first American Towman Exposition in 1989. In his decade with us he directed the magazine to the leadership position it still holds today.”

Duke comes on board as the Editor of Tow Industry Week (teaming with Managing Editor Brendan Dooley) and Sr. Editor of American Towman. He also takes on the title of Conference Manager for the American Towman shows and will commandeer all seminar programs and

other conferences designed to serve the towing industry while helping to build show attendance in Baltimore, San Antonio, and Las Vegas.

“Having an editor involved with seminars and conferences is very synergistic for both our publications and live events,” said AT Publisher Dennie Ortiz. “Charles will add to AT and TIW editorially while working to take our conference content to the most dynamic level possible.”

Charles Duke may be contacted at 845-986-4546, x210 and emailed cduke@towman.com.

Towed Car Catches Fire A car became engulfed in flames after it caught fire while being towed in Swansea, Mass.

Traffic was backed up on the highway after the flames sparked just before Massachusetts State Police troopers and Rehoboth firefighters responded to the scene.

According to an eyewitness, a car was being pulled by a tow truck when it caught fire and the flames continued to spread to the back of the tow truck.

The fire caused traffic to back up in the area. Westbound motorists could see flames and black smoke billowing from the right shoulder of the highway. No injuries were reported. Source: WPRI.

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New Low-Deck; E-Nitro Equalizers

Check Out What’s NEW and HOT! Collapsing Dolly for Service Vehicles Steveco Manufacturing’s Collaps-a-Tow quickly assembles around the vehicle’s front tires to go back to the shop when roadside repair isn’t possible. The company said its collapsible dolly easily fits in an SUV or pickup and was designed to allow one man to make tows from a high rise parking garage. It also has a motorcycle attachment.

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Talbert’s 55SA-LD features a deck that’s 2” lower than the standard unit (above). Talbert’s E-Nitro Series equalizers (right) add versatility to run in 3+1, 3+2 and 3+3 spread-axle configurations.

Re-usable Absorbent QuiKleen absorbent is an inert, eco-friendly, non-toxic blend of minerals. It works by a means of “silica encapsulation” to optimize absorption. The company said approximately 1.5 lbs. of QuiKleen will absorb a quart of oil. They claim the product will absorb many liquids such as gas, oil, synthetics, paint and more, and in many cases is re-useable.

www.quikleen.com

T

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Rupture Seal Stops Leaks

Rupture Seal is designed to plug fluid leaks from punctured tanks and limit the amount of harmful chemicals that may leak into the environment. The company said its “pin and pull” technology is easy for towers to deploy on the roadside. To operate, towers insert the pin inside the puncture and then gently pull the handle back to create the seal.

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he 55-ton Spread-Axle Low-Deck trailer, No. 55SALD, from Talbert Manufacturing features an 18” deck height (2” lower than the standard 55SA unit) and an E1Nitro the company says makes it possible to run with three axles, four axles close-coupled, or as a 3+1 spread-axle. The versatile trailer offers the flexibility of a low deck height and with a variety of configurations.

The standard Talbert 55SA-LD features a nonground-bearing hydraulic gooseneck design with a 108” swing radius. The trailer’s 24” flip gooseneck extension results in a 132” swing radius that allows haulers to transfer additional load from the drive axles to the steer axle of the tractor.

The four-beam trailer is constructed with 12” T-1 main beams and 2” of apitong decking. It also features 12” swinging, removable outriggers for wider loads and a 25’, 6” cleared deck length.

Talbert’s new E-Nitro equalizing system provides versatility for haulers with East Coast trailers who need to run in 3+1, 3+2, or 3+3 spread-axle configurations. The E-Nitro systems feature a nitrogen accu-

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

mulator and oscillate around central self-tracking pivot points to provide proportionate weight distribution in each axle grouping.

With the E-Nitro series, the company said it’s able to build trailers with capacities beyond what can be achieved with mechanical or rigid axle extensions. The E3Nitro is designed for trailers with capacities of up to 85 tons and can carry 74,100 lbs. (24,700 lbs. per axle) in its 3+3 configuration. An E2Nitro, for trailers with up to 65-ton capacities, can support 49,400 lbs. (24,700 lbs. per axle) in a 3+2 formation. The E1Nitro is designed for trailers with up to 55-ton capacities and can carry 24,700 lbs. in its 3+1 configuration.

The E-Nitro Series adds self-tracking articulation up and down, as well as left and right. The flexibility of the ENitro spreader makes it a valuable asset in all terrain applications. The company says the series provides haulers the flexibility to travel into states that require the fourth axle to be at least 14’, 1” from the third axle.

www.talbertmfg.com Number 203 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 11

Wheel Chocking and Blocking

by Randall C. Resch

B

y following industry news, you know that towers have been injured or killed when their truck’s emergency brakes failed, when their tow truck moved unexpectedly, or that towers themselves failed to use emergency brakes to their complete advantage. An unused, or poorly set, e-brake commonly results in tow trucks rolling away unpredictably.

In May 2014, a New York tower was off-loading a vehicle when the tow truck began to roll. A police investigation indicated the tower chased the truck and attempted to jump into the cab to stop it.

The door struck a telephone pole and knocked the tower to the pavement. He fell under the tow truck’s rear wheels and was killed.

“At no time should you be the hero that chases a runaway truck.”

In November 2009, an Illinois tow operator was run over by his truck and killed. According to an investigation, “The (driver) was unloading a vehicle from his tow truck when the tow truck slipped out of gear and rolled over him.”

In the 1990s, a California tower was killed when he parked his tow truck at an impound scene and it let go. Witnesses described hearing a tell-tale “clunk,” then saw the tow truck rolling downhill with the tower in pursuit. As he attempted to jump into the runaway truck, it steered across the street and smashed him between several parked cars before it stopped.

Two questions are obvious. One, could these fatalities have been avoided if the tow truck’s tires were chocked or blocked? Second, would two of the drivers still be alive if they hadn’t 12 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Zahid Shah, owner of Jim’s Fillmore Towing in Fillmore, Calif., demonstrates the proper safe foot positioning during extreme winching scenarios.

attempted to jump back into their runaway trucks? (Though, if the tow truck’s emergency brakes were set and did fail, to me, their actions were nothing less than heroic.)

During park and load recovery activities, tow trucks sometimes move rearward unexpectedly. When a tow truck takes flight, I believe the first thing in the tower’s mind is they feel obligated to chase after the truck. Drivers, ask yourselves, “Should I chock or block my tow trucks tires on a regular basis?”

Runaway vehicles have been the

nemesis of fleet companies throughout history. Some companies (regardless of industry) have established procedures where drivers are required to use the vehicle’s emergency brake and then place tire chocks or wheel blocks every time they park their vehicle. PepsiCo and AT&T have written policies requiring personnel to place wheel blocks every time a vehicle gets parked. Some companies go one step further to mandate personnel place an orange traffic cone at the traffic-side of the truck’s rear corner.

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MICO and Scotch

Scotch blocks are used under the rear tires and offer an extra safety measure against unwanted movement during winching.

As an additional means of safety, towers should place one foot on top of the truck’s rear rims in the center. Doing so gives the tower the ability to first feel what the tow truck is doing or how it’s moving, and be able to push away from the truck should some drastic movement encroach their safety zone. At no time should you be the hero that chases a runaway truck, but that’s a right-now decision (usually in an avoidable situation) and any tower must know the possible results are fatal.

Does your company have written policy and procedure relating to on-going use of parking brakes, tire chocks or wheel blocks? While some may consider chocking an unnecessary task, there’s a good reason for making it part of the daily routine.

I remember our company’s early years, when the Holmes tow trucks were equipped with MICO brakes and scotch blocks. MICO brakes provided pressurized fluid-lock to all wheels. When the MICO lever was raised, the truck didn’t budge.

Scotch blocks were wide, metal, wedged platforms, designed for positioning under and behind a tow truck’s rear tires and were chained to the truck’s rear dock bumper. A single chain was welded to each scotch block and anchored to a rear-dock key slot to inhibit rearward movement.

Scotch blocks provide greater mechanical advantage during extreme winching scenarios—if the tow truck moved rearward, the truck’s rear tires came onto the wedged platform until the chain completely tightened. With the tow truck’s weight on the platform, its weight pushed the platform down, biting into the ground. A metal, toothy edge dug into the ground surface to firmly plant the tow truck in place.

Holmes outfitted many 600, 750 and 850 mechanical wreckers with scotch blocks as part of their recovery equipment, but savvy tow owners equipped their smaller wreckers with the same. Some felt they caused too much (road surface) damage and eliminated them from application. Scotch blocks were heavy and awkward to use, but they increased safety during rear-end recoveries. Today, they’re more of a museum piece that’s disappeared from the recovery scene, but still available from equipment suppliers.

During recoveries and extreme winching, the dangers of roll-away are ever present. Towers should never stand with feet or legs under the rear of a tow truck’s rear dock or a carrier’s deck when working to recover or load vehicles. When initiating extreme winching, chocks and wheel blocks should be placed under the truck’s rear tires as a secondary to the emergency brake. Chocks or blocks should be centered against

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Propane as an Alternative Vehicle Fuel

By Terry Abejuela

P

ropane, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), is a clean-burning high-energy alternative fuel that exists as a liquid and a gas and is a by-product of both natural gas processing and crude oil refining.

It is a naturally occurring gas that is separated from petrochemicals and refined for commercial use. It has a high octane rating and excellent properties for spark-igniting internal combustion engines. It is non-toxic and poses no threat to soil and surface or ground water.

The first propane-powered vehicle ran in 1913. Today propane is the third most popular fuel in the world, behind gasoline and diesel. Nearly 17 million vehicles worldwide run on propane; the United States only accounts for about 350,000 of those vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Approximately 90 percent of the propane used in the United States is produced domestically. Using propane reduces U.S. dependence on foreign oil and increases our energy security. Propane is an approved alternative fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act and the National Energy Act of 1992. Propane produces lower amounts of some harmful air pollutants and greenhouse gases than diesel or gasoline.

Propane offers certain advantages compared to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Propane’s boiling point allows it to liquefy at relatively low pressure. It can be stored in thin-walled tanks at a pressure of 150 psi, compared to 3,600 psi for CNG. (Using low pressure tanks results in cost and weight savings.) LPG also is more available than CNG in the U.S.; according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, there are currently about 2,700 LPG stations nationally vs. 700 CNG stations.

David Girard of Girard & Peterson Towing in Burbank, Calif., has a 1995 GMC flatbed truck that runs on propane. At one time, he had a fleet of 25 propane-fueled trucks that he used in his Freeway Service Patrol program. He maintains an 1,150-gal. propane fueling tank at his business. He was pleased with the propane trucks, but his fleet of LPG trucks dwindled as cab and chassis manufacturers stopped offering gasoline engines with the Gross Vehicle Weight he preferred.

The ’95 GMC he currently operates is a 33,000-lbs. GVWR truck. He paid approximately $5,000 to convert the truck to propane in 2002 when the truck had 32,960 miles on it.

There is limited availability of higher GVWR chassis with gasoline engines and a misunderstanding of propane factor into the limited use of LPG vehicles in the towing industry. Cab and chassis manufacturers are starting to offer more trucks that can be converted or as dedicated propanefueled vehicles. Ford offers a propane prep package for its F16 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Propane fueling station at Girard & Peterson Towing.

150 through F-650 pickups. A Ford-approved qualified vehicle modifier can convert the vehicle to run on propane for delivery through select Ford dealers without impacting the warranty or service agreements.

1995 GMC TopKick propane-fueled flatbed. This truck is equipped with tanks on both sides of the truck.

Anyone considering a propane option for a tow truck should figure out return on investment (fuel savings vs. cost of conversion) before they make the final decision to see how long it will take to pay for itself. For example, a tow truck that gets 5 mpg and is driven 30,000 miles per year will require 6,000 gallons of gasoline annually. If propane in your area costs $3 per gallon and gasoline costs $3.50 per gallon, multiply the 6,000 gallons by the 50 cents in savings per gallon (fuel cost savings of $3,000 annually). If the conversion cost was $10,000, it would take 3.3 years to pay for the conversion. Since propane has a little less energy than gasoline, you will get fewer miles per gallon using

Caution label on a propane fueling station tank.

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Passenger side tank on the 1995 GMC flatbed.

Propane tank with fill receptacle, vapor escape valve and fuel gauge.

propane—but if you are putting more miles on the truck, the more fuel savings you will experience. Using propane makes sense for trucks that get poor fuel economy and operate in high-mileage commercial service.

Many states have enacted laws and provide financial incentives and benefits for businesses with the goal of developing alternative and renewable 18 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

fuels. A little research can result in incentives that help defray the conversion costs. It’s important to consider alternative fuels to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, reduce environmental impact, and reduce overall costs for fuel. As with any alternative fuel conversion you might consider, do your homework and seek the advice of a qualified professional

to help you make the best decision for your business.

Terry Abejuela has 30+ years of light-duty towing-and-recovery experience. He is also a light-duty level 1 instructor for the California Tow Truck Association since 1998.

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BEACONS ON! continued from page 12 the truck’s dual tires. If using long sections of 4x4s, push the total length of the lumber under the truck to eliminate trip hazards.

By employing tire chocks or wheel blocks as routine, there’s a better chance of the truck not rolling. Chocking or blocking is cheap and simple. Why not make it part of your routine and include repeatedly in driver safety meetings?

Inspection Regardless if the tow truck has a pull-handle brake or a foot-pedal ebrake, both have moveable components subject to extreme wear, including handles, lever ratchet gears and cables.

After reviewing more than a dozen inspection reports used by tow companies, none specifically indicated inspecting the parking brake itself. Most had a check-off box for brake fluid levels, but none specifically required inspecting the truck’s e-brake ratchet and components.

(California Highway Patrol’s Tow Truck Inspection Form has a check-off specifically for the parking brake.)

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Free Lien Notification Service Eimpound.com is helping towers move away from mail notifications to instant digital communication. It is a free service that allows tow providers to easily contact vehicle owners and lien holders by instantly comparing basic vehicle information against Eimpound’s comprehensive database.

Tow providers also have the option to automatically compare VIN and tag information on a scheduled basis.

Towers Called ‘ Worst Drivers’ An Evanston, Ill., city panel put a hold on renewal of the city’s towing contract after an alderman complained 20 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

that speeding tow truck drivers were “terrorizing people” by following too closely behind them.

“They’re some of the worst drivers in the city, a real hazard,” said Alderman Coleen Burrus, whose 9th Ward includes the North Shore Towing.

“They need to be reminded that they should not be speeding on Oakton Street, or tailgating people.”

North Shore, which was founded in 1979, has had a towing contract with the city for more than 34 years, according to Rickey Voss, the city’s parking division manager.

The proposed agreement the Transportation and Parking Committee was considering would extend an existing three-year contract for an optional renewal year starting in August.

Assistant City Manager Marty Lyons suggested adding a performance standard to the contract that would penalize the company if its drivers got over a certain number of tick-

Towers, whether or not your company’s inspection form requires inspecting the emergency brake, take time to carefully examine the emergency brake’s components and functions.

The use of wheel chocking and blocking is a procedure all towers should routinely employ when parking tow trucks—not just on recoveries. Outfitting tow trucks and carriers with tires chocks, scotch blocks or sections of 4x4s makes perfect sense considering the additional safety that is gained.

Even if it’s not a requirement of your company’s policy and procedures, nothing says a driver can’t or shouldn’t chock or block on a call or recovery. The few seconds it takes may be that extra measure that’ll one day save your life.

Randall C. Resch is the operations editor for American Towman magazine and TowIndustryWeek.com. He is a retired California police officer and has been in the towing and recovery industry for more than 40 years as an owner, manager, consultant and trainer. He is a 2014 inductee to the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame. Email Randy at rreschran@aol.com.

ets or received too many complaints from citizens phoned into the city’s 311 service.

Voss said he would meet with North Shore owner Robert Cole to discuss the issue, and added that residents concerned about the issue could also contact the Illinois Commerce Commission, which licenses the towing service. Source: www.evanstonnow.com.

Beacon Highlights Growth As part of Success Spotlight, a new customer appreciation program from Beacon Funding, Safari Towing & Recovery in McKinney, Texas, was recognized for utilizing equipment financing to expand.

Safari is the inaugural participant in the Success Spotlight program. Only five years ago, the company had just a few employees and one truck. Now, the family business has 24 employees and 12 trucks. Seven of those trucks were

acquired within the last two years through Beacon’s truck financing programs.

Beacon Funding features participants of the Success Spotlight on its website, www.beaconfunding.com, and in marketing and public relations efforts.

More Century Down Under

Action Motor Industries, located in Melbourne, Australia, made a loud roar to let everyone know they were open for business providing sales and service for Century’s light- and medium-duty towing and recovery equipment and complete line of carriers in Australia. A V-8 Supercar Ford Falcon sporting a new paint job with Miller Industries logos kicked off the announcement as it raced onto the track for “The V-8 Supercar Dunlop Series,” driven by Marcus Zukanovic. When Zukanovic isn’t tearing up the track, he can be found behind the wheel of a tow truck. He is the son of Michael Zukanovic, owner of Action Motor Industries.

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‘Little Red’ Legacy

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti William Earl Chambers Sr.

Little Red in the late ’70s/early ’80s.

C

hambers Wrecker Service in Wilmington, N.C., lost its founder, William “Earl” Chambers Sr., in February. Earl owned and operated the company he started more than 40 years ago; as the years went by, his family grew along with his business. His son Mike joined in and, eventually, his grandson William (now the company’s office manager).

This family business covers the gamut of towing and transport; its WreckMaster-certified operators and modern fleet have handled everything from NASCAR recovery to residential towing.

Earl was 78 when he died after fighting a long battle with cancer.

Before he was diagnosed, his family had set out to find and restore one of 24 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

his first wreckers, “Little Red,” a 1974 Ford F-350 Ranger with a Holmes 440 wrecker body “We found it in a junkyard a few years ago and looked into purchasing it, but we were unable to at that time,” said William. “On May 8, 2013, we discovered the wrecker had been moved to a different location and was now for sale. We immediately took the opportunity and purchased it from a junkyard here in Wilmington and brought it back to our family where it belongs.”

Their goal was for Earl to drive the truck once more, but he passed away before it could happen. Since his death, the family decided to continue the build of the wrecker and make it even better than they originally planned.

Earl’s daughter Lynda and her

husband, Carl Spivey, are custom car and truck buffs and proud members of the North Carolina chapter of Severed Ties Car and Truck Club. With Carl leading the build, Lynda, Mike, William and others in the Chambers Wrecker Service family joined together in the effort to rebuild Little Red.

Little Red Little Red was originally purchased by Earl as a tow truck for his business, but he had to sell the truck in 1994 to purchase a new rollback to accommodate later model vehicles. He took pride in the professional appearance of his work vehicles, especially Little Red. “Our original intent was to build Little Red back to the original look

Number 137 on Reader Card

Number 133 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

Number 100 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 25

with a few modern features, such as air ride, 20-inch dually wheels, new interior including new gauges and audio system, lots of chrome and billet under the hood, as well as new suspension and brakes to make it ride like a brand new vehicle,” said Carl.

Their main goal was to build it for Earl to drive again as he had commented many times about Little Red being “the one that got away.” On May 26, 2013, Earl was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer, which spread to his brain. He underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy for the next eight months.

In December 2013, he was hospitalized. The family imagined presenting Earl with the keys so that he could once again enjoy Little Red. Just prior to Christmas, a friend of the family assisted in creating a rendering of Carl’s vision of Little Red’s restoration. Though the original intent was to keep the build a surprise, the family presented the drawing to Earl in his hospital bed on Christmas Day. “In retrospect I am happy to have made the decision to inform him of the build. The joy he expressed when he learned of our ambitious plan was well worth divulging the secret,” William said. “During his last weekend, he made a rare visit to our house to see the progress that had been made thus far. He was both surprised and curious. … It was good to see that

The family visits Earl to give him the rendering of Little Red on Christmas Day, 2013.

Little Red after sitting in a junkyard for almost 20 years.

smile that we all knew was still there.”

So far, all of the work has been done in-house as most of it will continue to be done by Carl with the help of friends and family. They are currently seeking sponsorship for this project.

Editor’s Note

Jim “Buck” Sorrenti, a longtime editor of American Towman, has been our field editor for the past few years. He is a freelance writer and photographer with more than 40 years of experience covering motorcycle, hot rod, truck and towing culture.

Earl with Little Red.

26 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Number 213 on Reader Card

Number 125 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 27

O

n April 26, 2014, Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff's deputies responded to Spruce Creek Airport in Port Orange for an incident at the Spruce Creek Fly-in. A Cessna 525B Citation Jet CJ3, worth about $3 million, overshot the runway and wound up submerged in a retention pond. There were three people on board; none were injured.

A hazardous materials team was called to clean up a minor fuel leak and the airport called Universal Towing Co. of Holly Hill to recover the jet.

Universal handles everything from parking enforcement to heavy hauling and off-road recoveries, as well as a healthy share of plane recoveries.

Universal responded with a Jerr-Dan 35-ton, Jerr-Dan MPL self-loader and a flatbed.

“Universal is the official towing company of the Volusia County Sheriff's office and we have always worked very closely with them and the airport,” said Bruce Sewell, Universal’s GM. “The owner of the plane called Arrow Service & Towing, also of Holly Hill. It was decided that both

companies would team up on this recovery.”

Arrow Service & Towing is a family-owned business established in 1980 by Adolph Balboa. Mickey Balboa, the company’s manager, arrived on the scene with their Peterbilt/AATAC Cyclone 100 50-ton rotator. The Cyclone 100 has a 100,000-lbs.-rated boom and is equipped with a 40,000-lbs. underlift with 128” of reach beyond the tailboard.

Flagler Air Exchange, a salvage company, assisted Sewell, a certified diver, with the rigging.

“A canoe was used to pull lines from the rotator to the middle of the pond,” Sewell said. “We used B/A Products recovery straps the rest of way and to wrap the plane.”

Assisted by Flagler, Sewell rigged the Cessna and set airbags at the front of the wings to keep the nose up to be floated across the pond and lifted out.

Both lines of the 50-ton rotator winched slow and steady. The Cessna was floated across the water, without any further damage. After it was back on shore, they let it sit to drain on the

Getting the airbags in place to float the plane across the pond (left).

Both lines are out from the AATAC 50-ton rotator as it prepares to winch the Cessna (below).

Gone Fishin’ 28 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Companies Team Up to Pull a Cessna Out of a Pond

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 29

Airbags keep the nose of the plane up as it nears the shore (above).

Universal General Manager Bruce Sewell, a certified diver, rigged the plane and stays with it as it is floated to the bank (right).

30 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Number 178 on Reader Card

Once the Cessna was successfully back on land, it spent some time draining on the bank.

bank and dry out. The jet was next loaded on a tug supplied by the airport. A tug is a specially designed low profile tractor used to fit under the aircraft nose to move it around when it’s not under power.

The Cessna was transported the short distance by the tug to a hangar at 32 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

the airport for inspection by the FAA. “This was a successful recovery due to the team effort by Universal, Arrow and the crew from Flagler Air Exchange,” Sewell said. “The individual skills of everyone involved and the equipment used made it all come together without a hitch.”

Editor’s Note

Jim “Buck” Sorrenti, a longtime editor of American Towman, has been our field editor for the past few years. He is a freelance writer and photographer with more than 40 years of experience covering motorcycle, hot rod, truck and towing culture.

Number 187 on Reader Card

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171 109 178 168 215 193 205 92 141 118 127 161 172 117 206 115 206 206 159 206 191 187 100 138 146 197 162 151 122 121

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Save! Register thru this form or online at ATExposition.com

- no later than September 30th $ave on Events, Seminars & Hotels • Avoid On Site Lines!

AT Expo: Fax: 845-986-5181 • Mail: 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 • Phone: 800-732-3869 / 845-986-4546 x214 •

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REGISTER HERE: By advance-registering, the “Boss” and one guest are admitted free to Exhibit Hall. $5 fee applies to all others. Kids under 14 free.

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Company:

Show Special

Address: City:

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First time at Expo: ❒ Yes ❒ 2. Secondary business (check those that apply): ❏ Towing/Recovery ❏ Salv/Auto Parts ❏ Auto/Truck Dealership ❏ Auto Repair/Serv. Ctr. ❏ Truck Repair ❏ Vehicle Leasing ❏ Repossession ❏ Auto Body Shop ❏ Equipment Distributor ❏ Transport/Trailer Serv. ❏ Service Station ❏ Other______________ 3. No. Employees: ❏ 1-5 ❏ 6-10 ❏ 11-20 ❏ 21-50 ❏ 51-100 ❏ 100+ 4. Check one that best describes your purchasing authority: ❏ I authorize/approve purchases ❏ No authority ❏ I recommend

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Track 1: TOWING AND RECOVERY Roadside Safety Don't Get Left on the Side of the Road Scooby’s Mystery Theater Tower Care and Responsibilities Recovery Theater Safe Towing Capacity Bus and Coach Towing Carrier Loading & Preventing Damage Claims Overcoming Resistance Safely Transporting Lift Equipment Track 2: REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES 21st Century Rotation Repossess for Success!

Private Property Impound Towing Realize the Value of Your Impound Assets Don’t Leave Money on the Ground!

Don’t Crush Your Cash Track 3: OPERATIONS Telematics: Mitigate Liability, Maximize Safety Gas vs. Diesel Tracking Retail—Call Conversion Improving Your Customer Service NMVTIS Update: Your Obligation…Your Benefit Chassis Investment: Cost or Value Deriving a Profitable Business Five Google Techniques Towers Need to Know Track 4: MANAGEMENT Towing Metrics Recovery Billing Alumni Special Rear Bumpers Aren’t Hood Ornaments!

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, 2-5 pm, ! , 11 am-6 pm • " , 10 am-4 pm, 11/21-11/23. Your badge is good for all days Yes, advance register me for the exhibit hall. 1st & 2nd registrants are free: addt’l $5 each. $5 PP...................$ _________ ❏ ACADEMY PASSPORT All Seminars, 11/21-11/23 (Includes breakfast Fri., Sat., & Sun.) $75 PP..............$ _________ ❏ 1st registrant ❏ 2nd registrant ❏ 3rd registrant ❏ 4th registrant Register now & save: fee is $150 on-site. ❏ RECOVERY BILLING COURSE Sat. & Sun. 8-12 noon, Rec. Billing Unlimited $1850 (2 people per co.) ....$ _________ ❏ ROTATOR TRAINING WreckMaster instructors, Thurs. 8-5 pm Fri. 8-noon $595 PP: fee is $695 onsite ....$ _________

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$100/$150.....................................................$ _________ One vehicle per class/three per company. Trucks enter Fri., stay in hall until Sun., 5 pm $100: ❏ Light (pre-2013)

❏ Light (2013-14) ❏ Med ❏ Vintage (Pre-1985) ❏ Service/Support Truck $150: ❏ HD Single Axle ❏ HD Tandem ❏ Rotator ❏ Carrier ❏ CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY DINNER & CONFERENCE Thurs. 11/20, 6:30 pm. Sponsored by American Towman Magazine, Renaissance Hotel; Surf ‘n Turf Dinner & Legendary Captains Long Table Limit: 2 per co. # of People ___ $75 PP ...$________

❏ A.T. WELCOME CRUISE Thurs., 11/20, 6:30 pm Board, Cruise 7 pm, Dinner & Show. # of People ___ $75 PP .....$_________ ❏ TOWMAN SKEET SHOOT Fri., 9 am, 11/21. Includes fees, lunch & transp. # of People ___ $75 PP ..........$_________ ❏ RECOVERY CONFERENCE Balt. Conv. Ctr., Fri., 11/21, 12:00 noon, Donnie Cruse Awards Luncheon.

All recovery specialists welcome. Co-Sponsored by B/A Products & AW Direct # of People ___ $35 per person ....$________ " ' # Sponsored by Savatech. Fri., 11/21: 9 pm # of People ___ $20 PP..$________

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If reserving more than one room please list names for each room: # of Rooms __________ # of Guests in each room ___________ # of beds _________ Room #1___________________________________________ Room #2____________________________________________ Room #3__________________________________________ HOTEL CHOICE - Please write in your 1st, 2nd, & 3rd choice hotels below. You will be emailed your confirmation.

___Renaissance Harborplace Hotel • $179 Sgl/Dbl AMERICAN TOWMAN HEADQUARTERS HOTEL, 4-Star, rooms w/harborview, fitness center, restaurant/bar, connected to Mall. Two blocks from Conv. Ctr. CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY, FESTIVAL NIGHT AND TOWMAN ORDER CEREMONY TAKE PLACE HERE! GUESTS RECEIVE FREE INTERNET. SHOW YOUR BADGE AND RECEIVE 10% OFF FOOD / MEAL PURCHASES AT H OTEL RESTAURANTS AND ROOM SERVICE. ___Marriott Inner Harbor • $177 Sgl/Dbl One block from Conv. Ctr., fitness center, restaurant. ! & ! ! $ $ & " $& " ___Days Inn Inner Harbor • $127 Sgl/Dbl Across from Conv. Ctr., bar & grill, fitness ctr.

___Sheraton Inner Harbor • $175 Sgl/Dbl, $195 T/Q One block from Conv. Ctr. with a catwalk, indoor pool, fitness center.

___Holiday Inn Inner Harbor • $136 Sgl/Dbl One block from Conv. Ctr., indoor pool, fitness center.

___Lord Baltimore Hotel • $129 Sgl/Dbl Two blocks from Conv. Ctr., bar & grill, fitness center.

___Hilton Baltimore • $192 Sgl/Dbl, $209 T, $229 Q Next to Conv. Ctr. with a Catwalk, pool, fitness center.

___Hyatt Regency • $170 Sgl/Dbl, $195 T One block from Harbor and two blocks to Conv. Ctr., fitness center.

___Royal Sonesta Harbor Court • $169 Sgl/Dbl, $189 T 4-Star Hotel on Harbor. Two blocks to Conv. Ctr., fitness center, restaurants.

Views of Inner Harbor from Light Street location.

Number 159 on Reader Card

R

aging iver ecovery Donnie Cruse Memorial Award for Heavy Duty

by Al Montgomery Montgomery’s Service; Buffalo, N.Y.

I

n August 2011, we received a call from a customer that Hurricane Irene had washed a recycling unit they had parked under a bridge in Fort Hunter, N.Y., into the New York State Thruway Canal. At that time, all they could tell us was that it was somewhere in the canal.

It took approximately a day and a half for the water level to subside before the unit could be located. The customer sent us photos of the scene and advised us that this was a new unit and was valued at $500,000. They estimated its weight to be between

52 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Part of the landscape where the wreckers needed to stage had been completely washed away.

185,000-200,000 lbs. when it was washed into the canal.

They asked us to make the fourhour trip to Fort Hunter to discuss the recovery. We were advised that a representative from the New York State Thruway Canal System and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation would need to be present during the entire recovery operation. After meeting with the customer at the scene and explaining how the recovery would be performed, we were given the OK several days later.

On Labor Day, we responded with

our NRC 35-ton slider, 40-ton sliding rotator and 65-ton sliding rotator, and our recovery truck. With special permission to move an oversized load on a holiday, our Komatsu PC200 Excavator was also dispatched to the scene.

Prior to our arrival, the customer used a vacuum truck to offload as much of the blasting media as possible—not all of the compartments were accessible.

Part of the landscape where the wreckers needed to stage had been completely washed away. A hole approximately 10’ deep had to be filled, in order for the ground to support the weight of the wreckers. We added about 12” of material at a time, compacting each layer with the tracks of the excavator. Once the site work was complete, the wreckers were dragged into position with the excavator.

Prior to our arrival, the customer used a vacuum truck to offload as much of the blasting media as possible (above). A hole approximately 10’ deep had to be filled, in order for the ground to support the weight of the wreckers (left). A tree that was laying on the unit was left in place (below).

The excavator was moved down into the canal near the unit and rocks and boulders were moved and adjusted to create a path to remove the unit once it was uprighted. The unit was then rigged with four twopart lines and three single-part lines.

The rear hopper was cross-chained to help support the uprights of the hopper while the unit was being uprighted.

A tree that was laying on the unit was left in place for safety, and to be removed later. The unit was then uprighted. Once the unit was upright and stable on the rocks, the 35-ton slider was unhooked and moved down into the canal and set up to lift the rear of the unit.

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 53

As the rear was lifted, it was winched sideways. This was done in several steps, repositioning the wrecker each time, until the trailer wheels were completely on concrete.

(We did not use one of the rotators to move the rear of the unit as we felt it was important to have the ability to rotate the booms on the wreckers that were holding the unit upright to keep the rigging in-line in the event the unit moved while lifting it.)

Once the rear axles of the recycling unit were completely on the concrete, the 65-ton rotator was moved into the canal to assist in winching the unit backwards.

At this point the recovery turned into a race against time. We were advised by the state police that heavy

Rocks and boulders were moved and adjusted to create a path to remove the unit

At this point the recovery turned into a race against time.

The unit was rigged with four two-part lines and three single-part lines. The rear hopper was cross-chained to help support the uprights while the unit was being uprighted.

rains in other parts of the state were causing flooding; the locks that were holding water back were going to be opened. If we couldn’t complete the recovery by the afternoon, we would have to abandon it. At this point, we still had to finish winching the unit backwards and turn it around to be winched up under the bridge and up an access road onto the main road.

In turning the unit around, we lifted the rear of the recycling unit up and around while winching the front of the tractor around. Once the unit was angled enough (jack-knifed), the truck and trailer were winched up the concrete slope until the trailer bottomed out as it crested the hill.

The tractor was separated from the recycling unit and a rotator lifted

54 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Number 123 on Reader Card

Number 110 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 55

the front of the recycling unit up and walked it forward until the unit was on level ground under the bridge. At that point, our tractor was hooked to the unit and winched up the steep access road onto the main road.

The recovery was completed at approximately 4 p.m. on September 7, and the water level had already risen about 2’ from when we started.

By the following morning, the water was within inches of cresting the walls of the canal. At one point during the peak of the storm, the flooding was so bad that our wreckers at the top of the hill would have been completely submerged.

We lifted the rear of the recycling unit up and around while winching the front of the tractor around.

How Do I Win a Donnie?

Submit one of your recoveries to win a Donnie Award! You don't have to be WreckMaster certified to qualify. Simply send in your photos or video and a brief recap of your light-, medium- or heavy-duty recovery from 2001-'14. You may be contacted for additional recovery details.

Include your name, title, company, mailing address, email address and phone number.

Mail to: American Towman/Donnie Awards; 7 West St., Warwick, NY 10990.

Email to: Brendan Dooley at bdooley@towman.com Note: Applicant agrees to give American Towman exclusive editorial rights on submitted material, text and photographs, for one full year in print and/or online.

Once the rear axles of the recycling unit were completely on the concrete, the 65-ton rotator was moved into the canal to assist in winching the unit backwards.

*The Donnie Cruse Memorial Recovery Award is presented by American Towman Magazine & WreckMaster.

The Donnie* is co-sponsored by B/A Products and AW Direct.

Justin Cruse with Al Montgomery, owner of Montgomery’s Service; Buffalo, N.Y. 56 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Number 215 on Reader Card

Traffic Incident Management On June 12-13, I attended the 12-hour National Traffic Incident Management “Train the Trainer” Course, along with AT Field Editor Terry Abejuela. The course was hosted by the Visalia (Calif.) Fire Department. I will honestly say, after being in this industry all of my life, that this was one of the best safety/survival courses I’ve ever attended in my police/towing career.

The 48 class attendees included representatives from CalTrans, fire departments, municipal law enforcement, the California Highway Patrol, and seven from towing.

Having various disciplines participate together provided different views on highway response far beyond the responsibilities required only of tow operators. The importance of on-scene safety for first responders and highway workers was made clear by instructors Ron Moore and Grady Carrick—both seasoned veterans of police and fire departments. I commend Ron and Grady for their commitment to training and dedication to this program that is potentially life-saving.

Co urse to p ics includ ed : • TIM/Fundamentals and terminology.

• Notification and scene size-up.

• Safe vehicle positioning safety.

Number 151 on Reader Card

58 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

• Command responsibilities.

• Traffic management.

• Special circumstances.

• Clearance and termination.

The course stressed the importance of quick-clear methodology including problems caused by congestion, depleting emergency assets in small communities, potential secondary crashes, hazmat, extrication and medical response, cause and monetary effect, towing and recovery.

Discussions further focused on the importance of law enforcement providing better (accurate) dispatch information to tow companies, where the right location is paramount and the tower’s arrival includes the proper tow equipment based on a detailed assessment from the officer on-scene.

Activities covered tabletop exercises involving students working different scenarios relating to arrival, scene assessment, vehicle placement, working the scene and problem solving. We went outside for situational-awareness activities demonstrating vehicle placement of fire trucks and CalTrans “arrow-board” trucks simulating angled and linear vehicle placement, effective cone pattern setting and how to safely exit the working vehicle.

This was an exceptional class compounding the importance of effective vehicle placement, on-scene safety and quick-clear actions demanding consistency and efficiency.

The tone of the class was professional and towmen’s abilities were praised by instructors and attending law enforcement. I felt proud of what we do after seeing the total presentation on incident management. In fact, I sat there with a goofy smile nearly the entire time.

TIM is a nationwide program that’s available to all highway responders. Currently, some states require that tow operators (at all operational levels) attend a four-hour traffic incident management course. The California Highway Patrol’s Tow Service Agreement requires all tow operators attend a four-hour TIM course by July 2016.

The fatality numbers presented confirmed that highway responders are at great risk. Consider that, annually across the U.S., approximately 60 police officers, five fire department personnel, more than 120 public works/DOT/safety patrol workers and as many as 60 tow operators are killed. Moore said that a tower is killed every six days in highway-related incidents. These numbers are staggering, yet there’s something towers can do to (hopefully) lower these numbers.

The information taught at TIMs is hard-hitting and accurate. Speaking as an approved instructor for CHP rotation tow operators, as well being experienced in police accident reconstruction, all videos and pictures demonstrated the importance of working the non-traffic side of the highway. TIMs drives home the fact that towers must exchange their old highway attitudes and methods for advanced awareness to employ the best survival practices.

Distracted driving won’t go away. Not all of the enforcement in the world will correct or eradicate distracted driving, DUI, extreme weather, excess speeding, etc.

The National TIMs course, at its basic level, is an outstanding course providing a better understanding of the carnage caused by distracted drivers. Move Over laws don’t work, making on-scene survival the responsibility of every highway worker, regardless of discipline. I urge all owners, tow operators and dispatch staff to attend a traffic incident management course to fully understand that there are processes and techniques that could mean the difference between coming home alive or not coming home at all.

TIM’s nationwide unified goal is to challenge and change how responders think about on-scene safety and survival.

Number 145 on Reader Card

Federal Highway Administration postcard available to towers to publicize their efforts and raise awareness of Tow Incident Management efforts in their area.

Don’t wait to attend a TIMs course in your area. I fully support this program and believe there’s no excuse not to attend TIM; first responders, highway workers and tow operators will continue to dance with danger on every situation. By attending TIMs, you’ll work smarter and safer because you’ll be more aware. For more information, go to: www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2/Solutions/Available/L12_L32/National _Traffic_Incident_Management_Res ponder_Training_Program.

Randall C. Resch (HOF) AT Operations Editor Number 172 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 59

Number 101 on Reader Card

Running from Success?

Whether running a marathon or a tow business, are you able to see where you actually are on the course?

by Don Archer

I

once was a runner. I loved to run and became so involved in the sport I decided to make it my vocation.

Problem was I wasn’t good enough to make it big. Whether on the roads or the track I just couldn’t keep up with the best of the best. These guys could put together more than a dozen 5 minute miles and still keep hammering. But I still wanted in. So to continue to participate in the sport that I loved I put my other skills to work and created a regional running magazine.

I could string a few words into a recognizable sentence and figured my love for the sport would carry me the rest of the way. What I didn’t know-- I could learn…and I learned quite a bit.

One thing I learned rather quickly was that publishing a magazine in the year 2000 was expensive (the Internet wasn’t a viable option yet). After personally subsidizing the first 3 issues I quickly pursued subscribers in order to cover the costs. But there weren’t enough “paying” subscribers to pay the bill. I then went to my local running shop and solicited advertising in the hopes that they’d cover a huge portion of my monthly expense. I walked away with a “come and see me when you’ve got more issues under your belt.”

Still undeterred I went to another shop and another, and contacted running event coordinators. I went to the local running clubs in towns across the state. I hit up every retail establishment that might stand to gain from a display ad and all the while I was working on giving readers what they wanted.

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What readers wanted out of a regional running magazine was local race results, upcoming events, and real-world ways to get better at their sport. I traveled all over the state and worked hard to build a publication that people would eagerly anticipate arriving every month. The ads began to trickle in and the subscriber base grew and then I received a call from an advertising clearing house. My hard work must have paid off because they said they could help me get ads…Big ads.

A clearing house helps national advertisers get ads into regional magazines. By buying in bulk, at a discount, they get in at the grass-roots level all across the nation. In a short time I had Nike, Rebok, or Asics on the back cover every month. It was great.

Those ads, combined with the ads I’d sold, paid the printing and postage bill, in full, every month. But there was a problem.

I wasn’t receiving any compensation for my efforts other than the satisfaction that my magazine was a success. Every month I’d put hundreds of miles on my car and spend hours traveling to get photos and results from far-off events. I’d then come home, sit at my computer and configure the information into something desirable for the reader…All this while I was supposed to be taking care of my full time business, the business that actually provided me with an income.

At the time I hadn’t realized that I was allowing my arrogance to control my actions. I continued to publish the

magazine knowing full-well that it was costing me time and energy every month. I continued to do it because, to everyone around, it looked like my idea had been a success. But it wasn’t.

I had allowed vanity and pride to guide my decision making process. I didn’t have a successful business I had an expensive hobby.

Sometimes in the towing business we become involved in relationships and make buying decisions merely because of the supposed prestige and value they lend to our businesses.

Rather than insisting on a win-win scenario we give more than we should just to be seen as a success. Giving is necessary for a time but sooner or later you’re going to have to make a profit.

You can rationalize your desire for shiny trucks…bigger, heavier, newer…because it’s all about image right? But they all come with strings attached and if those relationships aren’t paying the freight something’s gotta go.

I had to let my magazine go but I gained so much more in return.

Besides a profitable business in the towing industry I learned that the biggest obstacle we all face in business and in life is our selfish desire to be seen as more than we actually are.

Don Archer lives and works in Jefferson City, Mo., where he and his wife, Brenda, own and operate Broadway Wrecker, a 12-truck operation that’s been in business since the 1950s. Email him at don@broadwaywrecker.com.

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TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 63

AT ShowPlace Las Vegas

American Towman ShowPlace exhibit floor at South Point Hotel & Casino

AutoReturn Q&A Heats Up Century 1150 Rotator Nails Recovery Show Crowd Matches First Year

The SouthPoint Arena housed the American Towman Cup (wrecker pageant), Miller Industries recovery demo, live training and more during Tow Industry Week at the American Towman ShowPlace-Las Vegas.

National Automobile Club and TowLot.com co-sponsored the Towman 500 Luncheon overlooking the pageant.

T

ow Industry Week and The American Towman ShowPlace–Las Vegas beat the sophmore jinx with a strong attendance matching the first year draw. South Point Hotel & Casino was swarming with tow business owners.

They loved the air-conditioned indoor Exposition as daytime temperatures reached 100 degrees. In a way, things also heated up inside, from the buying activity on the show floor to the spirited seminars, and the AutoReturn seminar stood out in this regard.

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TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 65

Bowling with Boomer was one of many optional Tow Industry Week events happening right in the host hotel at the South Point Hotel & Casino.

AutoReturn presented an informational seminar that was packed with tow bosses. Some were in favor of the company, but many were against AutoReturn’s business model and entry into the municipal towing game.

Both sides were vocal, and it provided for a spirited give-and-take for an hour or so on the Saturday morning of the Expo.

AutoReturn CEO John Wicker opened with a short presentation on “what AutoReturn stands for and what its goals are,” and included a small panel of towers the company currently contracts with in a few cities.

“We stand for public safety, efficiency, fairness and respect,” Wicker said in opening. He added that the

Seminar tracks covered light- to heavy-duty recovery, police towing and impounds and more. The hour with AutoReturn still has towers talking.

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company currently only works with about 100 towers across the country, and felt the discussion on his company has been “one-sided,” referring to the Internet chatter by towers looking to stop the company from entering their towns.

“This is our first opportunity to talk to the towing community at-large, and we welcome the opportunity,” he said.

He wanted towers in the audience listening to his panel to see that AutoReturn “respects the tow community and is an active and effective (business) partner.”

Wicker also announced the company is forming a towing advisory group with towers in its current mar-

kets and potential future markets to address initiatives and assess “where (AutoReturn) is headed.”

The panel towers talked about the ease of working with AutoReturn’s system and software. Wicker emphasized more than once that he feels AutoReturn “is a partner to the towing community.”

Others in the audience did not agree. Things got interesting when the seminar was opened up for discussion, questions and comments from the floor.

Others questioned AutoReturn’s sales tactics to municipalities, as well as the way it marketed itself to towers in the past as deceptive. One commenter mentioned being contacted by an AR rep saying they were a new motor club in the area.

One of the chief questions/complaints centered on the lack of trans parency with invoicing, payments, fees between AutoReturn, the municipalities, towers and the public.

“Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of this,” said tower John Borrowski, who is head of the Police Towers of America. “What is the cost for a tow in San Francisco, and, secondly, what is the tower receiving?”

They differed on the answer; Wicker said it was $247, Borrowski said $577. Wicker admitted there was also a $200-plus admin fee to the city.

They bickered back and forth a bit. In particular, Borrowski wanted explanations for all the add-on fees that he said

Number 102 on Reader Card

included dolly/flatbed fees, storage fees and more. Borrowski said he just wanted a simple answer to how much a tow is in San Francisco, and what the tower gets of that.

The San Francisco tower on the panel answered that his company gets $56 for a regular tow and has no input on city fees.

“What I’m driving at is that the consumer is paying $577 and you’re getting $56 and the rest, half goes to AutoReturn and half goes to the city,” Borrowski said.

Attendees came onto the Arena floor to check out the new Century 1150 Rotator following the Recovery Demonstration, led

by John Hawkins of Miller Industries, inset.

Wicker then tried to move off point and discuss AR’s overhead, but towers weren’t concerned about that. Wicker claimed that the overall average fee paid in San Francisco to towers is upwards of $80.

There were loud calls from the back of the room to answer Borrowski’s query, but getting transparency in the fees didn’t happen during the Q&A. Decorum devolved a bit after that with more questions, and accusations, from towers, and not many answers coming back.

68 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

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The hall was packed at the end of the Expo, with attendees smacking their lips for Ribs Fest and waiting to find out who the winners were in the American Towman Cup.

“Law enforcement agencies across the country—they talk to each other— they’re turning to us more and more for these services, and we hope to be effective partners with you guys,” Wicker said in closing.

The book on AutoReturn will remain open as scores of towers continue to work with them while many more seek increased clarity in AR’s dealings with city halls and towers.

Elsewhere in the seminar rooms, the heat wasn’t turned quite so high, as towers attended classes in tracks on Police Towing, Rotator Business, Tow Operations, Recovery and Impound.

Allstate Roadside Services began conducting training classes on the towing methods for various luxury and premium vehicles at American Towman Expositions in 2014; Tow Industry Week at the AT ShowPlace hosted the first set of classes.

Participants had the opportunity to see how to safely secure and tow a variety of luxury and premium vehicles during exposition hours. There are more chances to attend coming up Aug. 7-9 at Tow Expo International in San Antonio and Nov. 21-23 at American Towman Exposition in Baltimore. The classes are open to all show attendees.

In the voluminous South Point Arena, just off the show floor, WreckMaster conducted its hands-on portion for the company’s new rotator training.

On Thursday night, Miller Indus70 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

tries conducted a recovery demo showing off its new Century 1150 in the arena, following the AT Welcome Reception supper buffet for attendees.

The arena also hosted the American Towman Cup pageant trucks.

All this, plus a country and rock concert by Mike Corbin & The Boys featuring the Towman Ballads; the AT Open on one of the city’s most picturesque courses; the Desert Smoke; and Bowling with Boomer. Beyond the

seminars, the thousands of towers in attendance were able to view new and necessary products and equipment from 140 exhibitors on the show floor.

Don’t miss next year’s Tow Industry Week on May 14-16.

In case you missed the Las Vegas Expo, the Tow Expo International in San Antonio, Texas, is coming up soon Aug. 7-9, and of course the monstersized American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, Md., is Nov. 21-23.

Two vintage Chevy wreckers in the Cup spotlighted the history of towing.

Number 159 on Reader Card

Diversity in the Heartland

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Strickland’s varied fleet of rollbacks hauls everything from hot rods and classic cars to low-profile exotics.

A

t Strickland Road Service in Wellington, Kan., founder Charles “Chuck” Strickland figured out early on that diversity in his business would be key to its success. What started as a business with one service truck in 1984 has grown into a multi-pronged business and wide-ranging towing fleet.

Growing up in the heartland, Strickland was always tinkering and out of necessity became a gearhead while developing a love for the mechanical.

“I grew up on a farm. Our family has had a long tradition of making do with what we’ve got: fixing what’s broke, or building it to make it be better.

I grew up with a welder in my hand.”

After his senior year at Wichita State, he started Strickland Tire which he owned and operated from 1970 to 1982. At its peak, Strickland Tire operated a tire and repair shop with eight service trucks around the clock.

After leaving the family farm again in 1984, he started Strickland Road Service in Hunnewell. In 1986, the state troopers and vendors on the turnpike decided they wanted to get stranded motorists and their vehicles off of the road and to a safe place to make necessary repairs to the vehicles. This was what prompted Strickland to purchase his first tow truck.

Through the years he added several employees and medium- and heavy72 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

duty wreckers. The company added buildings, locations, storage and impound facilities over the next 10-15 years. By 1998, drivers and wreckers were based in Wellington. They now have four locations in Wichita, South Haven and Wellington, Kan., and Braman, Okla. Now operating as Strickland Road Service and Strickland Towing, they provide a wide variety of roadside assistance services and towing for vehicles ranging from cars to semis.

“My wife, Brenda, and myself started out as a mom-and-pop operation. Now, my son Jason and daughter Kayla are the next generation taking the company into the future,” Strickland said.

Strickland has a diversified fleet including road service vans and trucks, a variety of rollbacks, lowboy trailers, light-, medium- and heavy-duty wreckers, and specialty equipment. They also have a full-service repair shop, road service, roadside repairs, tires, and A Strickland medium-duty GMC/Vulcan rollback towing a 2007 Corvette.

cargo handling and hauling. They also perform light- to heavy-duty towing and recovery, and off-road recovery for all kinds and sizes of vehicles.

All of Strickland’s operators are formally trained and certified, and use all of the latest methods taught by AAA, WreckMaster and TOW CO-OP. They have operators who own custom and restored vehicles such as classic cars and hot rods; so they take great care and honor in hauling these types of vehicles for customers. They also handle high-end foreign and domestic luxury and specialty vehicles.

Because Strickland Road Service is located near the Kansas Port of Entry, they perform many load/cargo shifts to help customers meet DOT requirements. They use heavy-duty wreckers with hydraulic booms and winches to lift and move large objects and have several different types of forklifts, including a Gehl 553 extendable boom loader.

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Co-Sponsor:

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Send in your Photos or Video of your Recovery. You will be contacted for your recovery details. Recovery must have been performed anytime in the years 2001-2014

Name:

Title:

Company: Address:

Phone:

City: Email Address:

State:

Zip Code:

Choose The Most Challenging Recovery Your Company Performed With Excellence Classes: Light-, Medium-, Heavy-Duty

Hosted by:

Note: Applicant agrees to give American Towman exclusive editorial rights on submitted material, text and photographs, for one full year.

Mail to: Brendan Dooley, Editor American Towman: 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 Phone: 800-732-3869 x209 • Email: bdooley@towman.com Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

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TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 73

This “Gator” is a Ford F-250 4x4 diesel pickup the guys at Strickland designed and built into a homemade version of the John Deere utility vehicle.

Mud Racing The Strickland family has a passion for off-road mud racing and Strickland has turned that passion into yet another business called Kansas Badlands. Kansas Badlands Off Road Track is an ATV and fourwheel-drive park located in South Haven. Kansas Badlands shares the fourth entrance to the truck stop with Strickland Road Service.

They have more than 10 ATV trails and tracks on 200-plus acres to accommodate everything from dirt bikes to dune buggies. There are also mud pits and bogs for four-wheel-drive pickups to do mud racing and mud drags.

Chuck and Jason have each built radical mud race rigs.

Chuck’s truck is a 1937 Dodge Power Wagon built on a 1975 Power Wagon frame with a 440 Dodge

Charles Strickland with his 1937 Dodge Power Wagon mud race truck, KBL’s flagship rig.

74 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

engine; this is Kansas Badlands’ flagship rig.

Jason’s toy is “Tonka,” his 1979 Chevy monster 4x4 powered by a 502 Chevy engine. Jason dedicates this rig to a friend, “In Loving Memory of Sgt. Evan Parker, 10/1/1980-10/26/2005, killed in the line of duty in Iraq.”

Along with his other duties, Jason manages the websites for Strickland Road Service, Strickland Towing, KBL

Strickland’s Road Service vehicle performs all kinds of roadside assistance including tire changes, lockouts, jumpstarts and fuel deliveries for cars, pickups and heavy-duty trucks.

as well as Mud Racer's Association site. He also managers the other sites for the company.

Strickland Road Service also creates specialty-built off-road and recovery equipment. One of the most interesting creations to come out of Strickland’s shop is “Madd Maxx” the mad mudder, a 4x4 off-road recovery wrecker that they use for mud recoveries. Maxx is a 1978 1-ton Dodge Power Wagon Retriever that was featured in the May 2014 issue of American Towman.

For semis that get stuck in the mud, they use “The General.” This short wheelbase tandem-axle semi-

wrecker also has a powerful directdrive Tulsa winch. The short wheelbase allows them to maneuver the truck in tight places usually associated with mud recoveries. They also have a Western Star over-the-road truck that they custom-built into a heavy-duty wrecker.

“We cut it in half and stretched the frame 10 feet with high-grade steel,” Strickland said. “Then we lifted off the cab and sleeper, and then doubled the frame from front to back. We placed a third axle (pusher) in front of the tandems. The entire wrecker bed subframe, bedsides, three-stage boom, and stiff legs were all fabricated in our

A Sprinter van being towed with Strickland’s Kenworth medium/heavy-duty flatbed.

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own shop. We purchased and installed a 100,000-pound DP winch and a Zacklift Z403 Exporter underlift.”

On top of everything else, Strickland also runs a limo service! Strickland Limousine is a single car limousine company, which operates in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma.

“My business’ diversity is based on customer need and on can-do,” Strickland said. “See where there is a need and see what I can do to fill that need. I’ve always looked for ways to better service my customers and will handle most anything within reason.

We do what we can.”

Lawsuit Coming Against Forwarders?

by Mark Lacek

T

here is a battle going on in Florida, between licensed repossession agencies and repossession assignment forwarders who are conducting repossession activity within Florida’s borders.

Florida is a land of sunshine, rain and their resulting rainbows.

Waiting at the end of one rainbow is not a pot of gold, but a possible class-action lawsuit against forwarding companies and the lenders who use them.

In Florida, if a repossession is not correctly authorized to be recovered, this means all of the vehicles repossessed that were a result of a forwarding company will be considered a wrongful repossession. To take the wrongful repossession one step further, all of the vehicles repossessed and sold at auction where a deficiency balance was assessed to the debtor is also in question. This could mean well over 100,000 automobiles assigned by forwarders could be considered wrongful repossessions.

The battle for Florida is about forwarders operating in the state by soliciting clients for repossession work and forwarding the assignments to repossessors.

Licensed Florida agents and agencies see this as a direct violation of Florida law. Chapter 493 of Florida Statutes clearly states, “by an individual who is authorized by the legal owner, lienholder, or lessor to recover, or to collect money payment in lieu of recovery of, that which has been sold or leased under a security agreement that contains a repossession clause.”

The issue is in the wording “authorized by the legal owner.”

Florida repossessors argue that although the legal owner or the lien holder of the collateral authorizes the

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forwarder to repossess the collateral, the forwarder does not have the authority to authorize the repossessor to recover the collateral.

The forwarders argue they are not in the business to advertise or repossess but to act as the agent for the lender. An attorney’s letter to the Florida Division of Licensing says, in part, “A forwarder acts as the lender’s agent in managing the recovery agencies and agents who do actually perform repossessions. The lender contracts with a forwarder, giving them the authority to act on their behalf; the forwarder contracts with licensed recovery agents, and the licensed recovery agents handle all facets of the repossession process and actually perform the repossession.”

The law firm’s letter doesn’t account for the fact that repossession activity licensed in Florida is not only hooking up to the car and removing the asset from the debtor’s possession.

There is much more involved.

The state considers the repossession process to include speaking to the debtor, skip tracing the debtor, delivering the asset to a destination provided by the lien holder, cleaning property from the repossessed automobile and returning property to the debtor. Much of this repossession process is handled by the forwarder.

Florida also requires any company

offering repossession services to list the company licensing information on all advertising, including websites. Forwarders all advertise repossession services on their websites without being licensed to repossess in Florida. This is a direct violation of Florida repossession law.

Another forwarding company, by way of an attorney’s letter sent to the Florida Division of Licensing, demanded lawmakers retract comments by a director in the division. The director had e-mailed the forwarding company to say it must be licensed in Florida to conduct repossession activity within its boundaries.

The Division of Licensing’s answer, in part, “We do not retract the statements … His comments concerning our handling of cases involving forwarding companies was not a formal legal opinion, but based rather on a straightforward interpretation of section 493.6101(20), Florida Statutes, which he cites in his e-mail, and are consistent with our past business practices.”

Florida’s response is telling. I think the phrase “straightforward interpretation” is quite clear. Forwarding of repossession assignments is in violation of Florida statutes. Consumers are being notified that if there was a forwarding company involved and their vehicle was repossessed, the repossession will be viewed as a wrongful repossession. A class-action lawsuit is almost certainly on the horizon.

Author Mark Lacek is a 30+ year recovery industry veteran and former editor of Professional Repossessor magazine.

Mark@commercialassetsolutions.com

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 77

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TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 79

Sue has transitioned well into the role of the owner of Mirage and into the industry.

“My mom is the strongest woman I know,” said Jennifer. “She stands her ground with the drivers and everyone she does business with.”

The success of Mirage is due in large part to the dedication of its drivers and staff.

“Sue decided to give it a run for us,” said Winer. “In return, we work our butts off for her every day.”

That includes Jennifer, who dreams of taking over the business after she finishes school. She works alongside her mother, learning more about the trade.

“I grew up around the business,” Jennifer said. “I watched how it was run and all the hard work that went into it. And I always wanted to do something different.”

Donnie Winer also grew up around the business. “I’ve been in towing since I was 11,” he said. His father owned a towing company and Donnie and his brother Jeremy spent their spring breaks and summers on the lot, “playing around with the trucks.”

Their father passed away when Donnie was in his 20s and his mother sold the business. The Winer boys “dabbled around for a while,” before they both ended up at Mirage. Donnie, now 40, has been driving a big truck for four-and-a-half years. One day, Sue and Jennifer took Winer out to lunch.

“They said, ‘We got you a new truck,’ ” said Winer. “It was such a surprise.”

Jennifer said she and her mom had decided to give the truck to Winer because of the hard work and improvement he had shown since he got to Mirage. They left the graphics

up to Winer, who knew straight away what he wanted.

“I’m a Harley-Davidson freak,” said Winer, who owns a 1991 Classic Electra Glide. “Everything I do is in orange and black.”

Sue approved the design and Ghost Rider now bears the company’s name embedded in the distinctive outline of the Harley-Davidson logo.

Ghost Rider is the latest addition to Mirage’s 19-truck fleet, which includes seven flatbeds, four light-duty wreckers, two medium-duty wreckers, five heavies and a lowboy trailer.

In Ghost Rider, Winer services the entire state of Colorado and has driven as far as Rapid City, S.D., where he picked up a stranded tractor. On the long rides, Winer says he’s never alone.

“Joey is always sitting in my passenger seat.”

by Kristen Scheuing

T

he name for the newest big rig at Mirage Recovery Services in Commerce City, Colo., came to owner Sue Drawbaugh in a dream. Shortly after buying the 50-ton 2013 Kenworth T800 with Vulcan V-100 50-ton wrecker, Sue had a dream about her late husband, Joey, who gave her this name: Ghost Rider.

In 2009, Sue, Joey and two of their children were on vacation in Nebraska when the entire family was involved in a boating accident. Joey, the owner of Mirage, did not survive, and the rest of the family members were all injured.

“It was very sad…we didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Mirage driver, Donnie Winer.

80 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Sue focused on healing with her children—and then made the decision to keep Joey’s business and run it on her own. The family faced many challenges, dealing with the loss of their father and husband, and running the business Joey had bought in 2000.

“Everyone worried that we’d go under,” said Joey’s daughter, Jennifer, who was 15 at the time of the accident.

The whole Mirage crew pulled together after the accident, forming a close-knit unit. Today, Jennifer, now 20, said the 24 employees at Mirage feel like family and the business like a second home for her and her brother Colton, 14.

“It’s a family here. We love it,” Winer said. “I wouldn’t work anywhere else.”

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TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • 81

Taking Some Heat

A

utoReturn’s CEO John Wicker has faced turbulent waters recently in meetings with tow business owners. He was there when Pennsylvania towers packed the state house Caucus Room to protest the AutoReturn contract that provides its dispatch system for the state police.

Reportedly, many experienced Pennsylvania State Police towers have refused to tow for AutoReturn.

In Las Vegas, John Wicker was invited to present a seminar during Tow Industry Week that would inform towers about AutoReturn’s system and what about it has been attractive to cities. I believe that towers should be aware of AutoReturn’s approach with municipalities and take a proactive stance on the change that is in the winds. There are other options to working with AR (more on that in a minute) but AR is getting a foothold in cities by showing how police towing can be managed efficiently through its hi-tech system.

One of our industry’s biggest problems is the inclination of the tow boss to bury his or her head in the sand. The fact is, today most towers don’t know who AutoReturn is, or how they work, and have only been finding out when AR suddenly pops up with a contract to manage towing rotation in their own city.

In asking John Wicker to present a seminar, we gave towers a unique opportunity to address AutoReturn’s CEO. Many tow bosses did just that.

The meeting was a contentious one and Brendan Dooley reports in some detail on it on page 65.

From the two meetings in Pennsylvania and Las Vegas, it seems that towers fall into two camps on how AutoReturn operates. Several towers have expressed support for its program, many of these towers getting 82 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

new business through AR that they were not previously enjoying. On the other hand, there are established towers who have been towing for their city or highway authorities before AR came in, who are not happy with AR’s deal and/or have been cut off entirely from the work.

At the heart of the issue is the perception of the business tactics AR has chosen in regards to its relationship with service providers. From word of mouth reports, its service-network strategy seems to resemble the motor club model, yet the two businesses couldn’t be more different.

When a motor club dispatches a tow, that call registers on the cost side of the motor club’s financial ledger.

Hence, a motor club endeavors to keep its call volume down and to pay its service providers at rates that control these costs. Towers know how difficult it is to negotiate higher rates in that arena.

AutoReturn, on the other hand, derives revenue from every call it dispatches. AR wants more call volume and to grow its business it needs to gain entry to more municipalities.

Established towers already have working relationships with all municipalities across the U.S; its mayors, town-council members, police and fire chiefs. Hence, it would make sense for AR to seek win-win partnerships with these towers if it hopes to grow. With 200 big cities and 20,000 municipalities in the U.S., AR is in its infancy serving six cities or counties.

Regardless of AR knocking on city doors, towers should be organizing themselves in each municipality so that they are unified in their approach to securing contracts. If cities want state-of-the-art dispatching, police towers should either partner with vendors who can deliver such systems or seek equitable partnerships

by Steve Calitri

with AR, or the like. For example, one of the largest towing firms in the U.S., United Road Towing, is offering municipalities similar services.

AutoReturn has shown that it can suit its contracts to the inclinations of town boards and each local situation.

AR’s involvement and the rates paid towers are different in each situation.

In that regard AR has shown flexibility in its approach to this market.

Still not clear is what AR’s principal position is in regards to its relationship with towers; to rates, contracts, and rotation rules. There are some constructive and pointed questions the industry should be asking AR’s CEO outside the emotional context of a live meeting. I invite John Wicker to address questions tow bosses want answered in an upcoming issue of American Towman.

American Towman Magazine has reported news on AutoReturn the past several years as the dispatch-system company has been pitching cities across the country.

TowIndustryWeek.com has continued this coverage. Also, a recent TIW survey found that most towers don't know who AutoReturn is. American Towman TV's Emily Oz has also reported on AutoReturn. American Towman Media is able to cover industry news like never before, as it happens!

Number 119 on Reader Card

Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show The 2014 Eau Claire Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show is scheduled at the Chippewa Valley Technical College on Aug. 15-17. Some of the country’s top show trucks will be attending.

Check out ECTruckShow.com for future announcements. There is a little bit of everything; including antique, non-working trucks, but many are working show trucks.

Tow Warnings by Text?

In Russia, Moscow drivers will soon be able to get advance warning that their vehicle is about to be towed.

Starting next month, drivers who have registered for the service will receive a text 15 to 20 minutes before their car is moved, allowing them time to move it and avoid towing costs, though they will still have to pay a parking fine of 3,000 rubles ($88), the Kommersant newspaper reported.

When traffic police discover an illegally parked vehicle, its license plate will be checked against a database of those who have signed up for the service.

The Information Technology department said that the city has 305 tow trucks that move between 500 and 600 vehicles a day, and that if violators moved their cars themselves, the city would save up to $2.6 million per month.

An estimated 3.8 million people are already signed up for the city’s unified alert system, which also sends text messages to subscribers about traffic fines they owe and about when hot water will be turned off in individual buildings.

Source: www.themoscowtimes.com.

Trucker Sentenced in Highway Deaths A semi driver who admitted he was speeding when he slammed into a car and tow truck on the side of a rural Elko, Nev., highway apologized to the families of three victims before he was NORTH 84 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Samuel Rosenbaum of Abingdon, Va., pleaded guilty in March to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 deaths of a Spokane, Wash., couple, and Jesse Penegelly, the 20year-old tower from Wells.

Rosenbaum said he was running behind schedule when he ran into the back of a Buick Skylark and sent it flying into the tow truck along U.S. Highway 93.

Elko District Court Judge Al Kacin said he’ll have to serve a minimum of 19 months. Source: www.elkodaily.com

Court Rules Against Forwarders A metro Detroit auto repossession company scored a Michigan Supreme Court victory in its lawsuit against several banks and other defendants.

The legal dispute is about whether forwarding companies are required to be licensed as collection agents in Michigan.

"The financial ramifications of this could run in the millions.”

Midwest Recovery & Adjustment of Redford Township and its owner, George Badeen, sued Indiana-based PAR North America and four large banks in 2010, alleging prices were being undercut through the banks’ unlawful use of unlicensed and unregulated middlemen, such as PAR. The banks and PAR argued that forwarding companies don’t have to be licensed because they don’t collect the debts themselves.

In a unanimous opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court said, “forwarding companies satisfy the definition of ‘collection agency’ ... because they solicit claims for collection when they contact

creditors seeking unpaid debts to allocate to local collection agents.”

The Supreme Court overturned decisions of the Michigan Court of Appeals and Wayne County Circuit Court, which had sided with the banks and PAR. It sent the case back to Wayne County for further proceedings.

“I feel vindicated,” Badeen said.

“Everyone said I was wrong,” but “I think the law speaks for itself.”

“Depending upon interpretation, this ruling could invalidate the legality of all repossessions occurring through Forwarders in Michigan,” said Mark Lacek, AT repo editor. “The financial ramifications of this could run in the millions depending upon the retroactivity of this ruling and the trickle down into violations of the FDCPA and FCRA as well as other state statutes. …

The precedence of this ruling may very well affect the outcome of similar proceedings pending the declaratory statement in Florida.”

Source: www.livingstondaily.com.

N.C. Overturns Fee Cap The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned a local ordinance banning the use of cellphones while driving.

The court also struck down an ordinance that capped towing fees and prohibited towing companies from passing credit card fees on to consumers.

A Chapel Hill towing company operator, George King, sued the town in 2012, arguing that he couldn’t obey the town’s towing laws without breaking the cellphone ban, because tow truck operators are required to notify police before towing a vehicle and to return calls from vehicle owners within 15 minutes.

In its ruling, the court noted that state laws already restrict cellphone use by drivers under the age of 18, and by drivers of buses and commercial vehicles.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the overruling of the towing fee schedule was “ridiculous” because it puts citizens at the mercy of the towing companies.

Source: www.govtech.com.

Number 152 on Reader Card

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

Number 112 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • NORTH 85

Woman Pepper Sprays Agent

Repo Agent Shot to Death

36% Rise in Repos

Deputies arrested a man and woman from Temple City, Calif., after they scuffled with a repossession agent and the woman sprayed him with pepper spray, officials said.

Fiawna Jones, 27, was arrested on suspicion of illegal use of pepper spray, a felony, at a commercial parking lot, Arcadia police said.

Also arrested, cited and released with a court date was her boyfriend, 47year-old Raul Chavez, who was accused of battery for allegedly shoving the repossession agent.

The agent arrived to repossess an Acura when Chavez became involved in an argument with him, which escalated to pushing. Jones then pulled out a canister of pepper spray and squirted it into the repossession agent’s face before fleeing the scene in a different car.

The agent received first-aid at the scene, but was not taken to a hospital, and continued repossessing the car.

Source: www.pasadenastarnews.com.

A 23-year-old Maryland man, who had taken a job repossessing cars two weeks earlier, died after a Virginia man shot him twice.

Junior Jordan Montero died while he was attempting to repossess a 10year-old pickup truck in Fauquier County, Va. The truck owner told a deputy that the shooting had been “just an accident. … I shot him. I shot, fell and shot again. It was an accident.”

Divers attempted to rescue Montero from a water-filled ditch where his tow truck ended up after he fled, but it was too late.

Montero had taken the job as a repo man to provide a better life for his wife, Mayensy Molina, and her son.

He wanted to buy her a wedding ring, and to move out of his in-laws’ home into a home of their own.

Source: www.rawstory.com.

While car repossessions were up more than 36 percent in the first quarter, the bulk of that activity is not occurring at credit unions.

According to Experian Automotive’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report, the rise in repossessions marks a .5-percent increase from the first quarter of 2013.

However, the increase in repossessions was driven entirely by finance companies that provide a significant majority of their loans to credit-challenged customers, Experian said.

“While the subprime auto loan market continued to grow in Q1 and credit-challenged consumers have been able to get financed more easily, a rise in overall delinquencies could cause lenders to tighten their credit standards, ultimately lessening access to credit in the future,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive credit.

Number 153 on Reader Card

NORTH 86 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

The national level 60-day automotive loan delinquencies fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter. Still, 22 states experienced a rise in late debt in this category with Delaware topping the list followed by Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, 30-day auto delinquencies dropped 5 percent. Alaska led this category followed by Montana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

"Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt" TransUnion said Alaska was also among those states that experienced the largest year-over-year increases in delinquent loan debt. Michigan topped the list with Arkansas ranking in the top three.

TransUnion said Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt in the first quarter.

Source: www.cutimes.com.

Number 168 on Reader Card

Man Run Over by Tow Truck Rockford (Ill.) Police were called recently to a scene where a man was reported to have been run over by a tow truck.

The tow operator told police he had been towing a car that had been improperly parked when Scott Doolan, 54, confronted him.

The tower told police that as he was beginning to drive away, the man fell and was run over by the tow truck or the vehicle he was towing. The driver called police and a Rockford Fire Department ambulance took Doolan to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

There is an on-going investigation; no arrests have been made.

Source: www.rrstar.com.

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

Download music on iTunes and Amazon.com TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • NORTH 87

Number 171 on Reader Card

Number 206 on Reader Card

NORTH 88 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Copyright 2014 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

Number 179 on Reader Card

Number 105 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • SOUTH 83

Tow Warnings by Text?

In Russia, Moscow drivers will soon be able to get advance warning that their vehicle is about to be towed.

Starting next month, drivers who have registered for the service will receive a text 15 to 20 minutes before their car is moved, allowing them time to move it and avoid towing costs, though they will still have to pay a parking fine of 3,000 rubles ($88), the Kommersant newspaper reported.

When traffic police discover an illegally parked vehicle, its license plate will be checked against a database of those who have signed up for the service.

The Information Technology department said that the city has 305 tow trucks that move between 500 and 600 vehicles a day, and that if violators moved their cars themselves, the city would save up to $2.6 million per month.

An estimated 3.8 million people are already signed up for the city’s unified alert system, which also sends text messages to subscribers about traffic fines they owe and about when hot water will be turned off in individual buildings.

Source: www.themoscowtimes.com.

Trucker Sentenced in Highway Deaths A semi driver who admitted he was speeding when he slammed into a car and tow truck on the side of a rural Elko, Nev., highway apologized to the families of three victims before he was sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Samuel Rosenbaum of Abingdon, Va., pleaded guilty in March to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 deaths of a Spokane, Wash., couple, and Jesse Penegelly, the 20year-old tower from Wells.

Rosenbaum said he was running behind schedule when he ran into the back of a Buick Skylark and sent it flying into the tow truck along U.S. Highway 93.

Elko District Court Judge Al Kacin SOUTH 84 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

said he’ll have to serve a minimum of 19 months.

Source: www.elkodaily.com

Court Rules Against Forwarders A metro Detroit auto repossession company scored a Michigan Supreme Court victory in its lawsuit against several banks and other defendants.

The legal dispute is about whether forwarding companies are required to be licensed as collection agents in Michigan.

Midwest Recovery & Adjustment of Redford Township and its owner, George Badeen, sued Indiana-based PAR North America and four large banks in 2010, alleging prices were being undercut through the banks’ unlawful use of unlicensed and unregulated middlemen, such as PAR. The banks and PAR argued that forwarding companies don’t have to be licensed because they don’t collect the debts themselves.

In a unanimous opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court said, “forwarding companies satisfy the definition of ‘collection agency’ ... because they solicit claims for collection when they contact creditors seeking unpaid debts to allocate to local collection agents.”

The Supreme Court overturned decisions of the Michigan Court of Appeals and Wayne County Circuit Court, which had sided with the banks and PAR. It sent the case back to Wayne County for further proceedings.

“I feel vindicated,” Badeen said.

“Everyone said I was wrong,” but “I think the law speaks for itself.”

“Depending upon interpretation, this ruling could invalidate the legality of all repossessions occurring through Forwarders in Michigan,” said Mark Lacek, AT repo editor. “The financial ramifications of this could run in the millions depending upon the retroactivity of this ruling and the trickle down into violations of the FDCPA and FCRA as well as other state statutes. … The precedence of this rul-

ing may very well affect the outcome of similar proceedings pending the declaratory statement in Florida.”

Source: www.livingstondaily.com.

N.C. Overturns Fee Cap The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned a local ordinance banning the use of cellphones while driving. The court also struck down an ordinance that capped towing fees and prohibited towing companies from passing credit card fees on to consumers.

A Chapel Hill towing company operator, George King, sued the town in 2012, arguing that he couldn’t obey the town’s towing laws without breaking the cellphone ban, because tow truck operators are required to notify police before towing a vehicle and to return calls from vehicle owners within 15 minutes.

In its ruling, the court noted that state laws already restrict cellphone use by drivers under the age of 18, and by drivers of buses and commercial vehicles.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the overruling of the towing fee schedule was “ridiculous” because it puts citizens at the mercy of the towing companies. Source: www.govtech.com.

Repo Agent Shot to Death A 23-year-old Maryland man, who had taken a job repossessing cars two weeks earlier, died after a Virginia man shot him twice.

Junior Jordan Montero died while he was attempting to repossess a 10year-old pickup truck in Fauquier County, Va. The truck owner told a deputy that the shooting had been “just an accident. … I shot him. I shot, fell and shot again. It was an accident.”

Divers attempted to rescue Montero from a water-filled ditch where his tow truck ended up after he fled, but it was too late.

Montero had taken the job as a repo man to provide a better life for

Number 127 on Reader Card

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • SOUTH 85

his wife, Mayensy Molina, and her son. He wanted to buy her a wedding ring, and to move out of his in-laws’ home into a home of their own.

Source: www.rawstory.com.

Tow Fee Regulations Sought A towing issue has resurfaced in Upper Darby, Pa., after several years and the police chief wants the township to enact a law to regulate the fees and practices.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood asked township officials to look into adopting an ordinance to regulate the towing practices of Tow Squad and it was referred to a committee for study and to the solicitor for review.

The specific problem site in question where Tow Squad signs are posted is a McDonald’s lot, warning motorists of the restrictions.

“Township residents and out-oftowners come to 69th Street for concerts or shopping and look for parking,” Chitwood said. “The lot is posted. But what Tow Squad does is put a spotter on the second floor and watch where they go. If they don’t go into McDonald’s the vehicle is towed. They never call police to notify us they towed a vehicle.”

According to Chitwood, two Tower Theater concert goers, one from Harrisburg and one from Reading, recently had their cars towed and had no way of getting home and stayed in the police station lobby overnight.

“Our issue is the exorbitant amount of money being charged and the fact that the vehicle is not readily available for recovery by the owner. And then they have to be exorbitant storage fees,” Chitwood said. “This is a black eye on the township.”

According to Chief Administrative Officer Thomas Judge Jr., the township looked into a regulation in 2009 and did not proceed because of a lawsuit pending in another town.

A spokesperson for the company managing the McDonald’s said they hired Tow Squad to tow cars off their lot to allow room for patrons of the restaurant to park.

According to Chitwood, the problem is the company can only be SOUTH 86 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

A towman in Montgomery County, Texas, helped authorities get an alligator off of a highway early one recent morning.

Just after 1:30 a.m., a constable spotted an 8’ alligator in the roadway stopping traffic. She notified dispatch and contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The towman, who had handled alligators before, assisted deputies in getting the reptile off the roadway.

The animal was secured with tape and rope and carried to the water’s edge where it eventually swam away.

A witness said a vehicle hit the alligator just moments before the deputy arrived, but it did not appear to be hurt.

Source: www.khou.com.

credit-challenged consumers have been able to get financed more easily, a rise in overall delinquencies could cause lenders to tighten their credit standards, ultimately lessening access to credit in the future,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive credit.

The national level 60-day automotive loan delinquencies fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter. Still, 22 states experienced a rise in late debt in this category with Delaware topping the list followed by Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, 30-day auto delinquencies dropped 5 percent. Alaska led this category followed by Montana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

TransUnion said Alaska was also among those states that experienced the largest year-over-year increases in delinquent loan debt. Michigan topped the list with Arkansas ranking in the top three.

TransUnion said Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt in the first quarter.

Source: www.cutimes.com.

36% Rise in Repos

Woman Pepper Sprays Agent

While car repossessions were up more than 36 percent in the first quarter, the bulk of that activity is not occurring at credit unions.

According to Experian Automotive’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report, the rise in repossessions marks a .5-percent increase from the first quarter of 2013.

Deputies arrested a man and woman from Temple City, Calif., after they scuffled with a repossession agent and the woman sprayed him with pepper spray, officials said.

Fiawna Jones, 27, was arrested on suspicion of illegal use of pepper spray, a felony, at a commercial parking lot, Arcadia police said.

reached during certain hours and is closed holidays and Sundays.

“The lot is posted, but if a car gets towed, the owner should be able to get it back in a reasonable amount of time,” Chitwood said. “It’s just not fair.”

Source: www.delcotimes.com.

Tower Wrestles Gator

"Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt" However, the increase in repossessions was driven entirely by finance companies that provide a significant majority of their loans to credit-challenged customers, Experian said.

“While the subprime auto loan market continued to grow in Q1 and

Also arrested, cited and released with a court date was her boyfriend, 47-year-old Raul Chavez, who was accused of battery for allegedly shoving the repossession agent.

The agent arrived to repossess an Acura when Chavez became involved

in an argument with him, which escalated to pushing. Jones then pulled out a canister of pepper spray and squirted it into the repossession agent’s face before fleeing the scene in a different car.

The agent received first-aid at the scene, but was not taken to a hospital, and continued repossessing the car. Source: www.pasadenastarnews.com.

Man Run Over by Tow Truck Rockford (Ill.) Police were called recently to a scene where a man was reported to have been run over by a tow truck.

The tow operator told police he had been towing a car that had been improperly parked when Scott Doolan, 54, confronted him.

The tower told police that as he was beginning to drive away, the man fell and was run over by the tow truck or the vehicle he was towing.

The driver called police and a Rockford Fire Department ambulance took Doolan to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

There is an on-going investigation; no arrests have been made.

Source: www.rrstar.com.

Number 180 on Reader Card

Agents Threatened with Ax In Milton, N.H., a man who swung an ax at a repossession team in December, was recently indicted on three felonies.

Joseph Lauze, 41, was indicted on felony reckless conduct, and two counts of criminal mischief, after sinking an ax into the RPG Towing and Recovery team’s vehicle on Dec. 16.

The incident occurred as the team was attempting to repossess a Volvo at his property. According to a police affidavit, a woman identified as Lauze’s girlfriend, came outside and blocked in the repossession team, as Lauze came out of his home with an ax.

The team then retreated to their vehicle, and Lauze pursued them, striking the team’s Jeep Patriot with Number 170 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • SOUTH 87

an ax, knocking off the driver’s side mirror and striking the windshield.

After Lauze was arrested, he began kicking the police cruiser’s door while he was inside the cruiser, causing more than $1,500 worth of damage. The police affidavit states he bowed the interior door, broke lights inside the cruiser, and caused structural damage to the door frame.

Each charge is a Class B felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 3-1/2 to 7 years if Lauze is convicted. Source: www.fosters.com.

Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show

Download music on iTunes and Amazon.com

Number 206 on Reader Card

SOUTH 88 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

The 2014 Eau Claire Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show is scheduled at the Chippewa Valley Technical College on Aug. 15-17. Some of the country’s top show trucks will be attending.

Check out ECTruckShow.com for future announcements. There is a little bit of everything; including antique, non-working trucks, but many are working show trucks.

Copyright 2014 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

Number 205 on Reader Card

Number 206 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • MIDWEST 83

Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show The 2014 Eau Claire Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show is scheduled at the Chippewa Valley Technical College on Aug. 15-17. Some of the country’s top show trucks will be attending.

Check out ECTruckShow.com for future announcements. There is a little bit of everything; including antique, non-working trucks, but many are working show trucks.

Tow Warnings by Text?

In Russia, Moscow drivers will soon be able to get advance warning that their vehicle is about to be towed.

Starting next month, drivers who have registered for the service will receive a text 15 to 20 minutes before their car is moved, allowing them time to move it and avoid towing costs, though they will still have to pay a parking fine of 3,000 rubles ($88), the Kommersant newspaper reported.

When traffic police discover an illegally parked vehicle, its license plate will be checked against a database of those who have signed up for the service.

The Information Technology department said that the city has 305 tow trucks that move between 500 and 600 vehicles a day, and that if violators moved their cars themselves, the city would save up to $2.6 million per month.

An estimated 3.8 million people are already signed up for the city’s unified alert system, which also sends text messages to subscribers about traffic fines they owe and about when hot water will be turned off in individual buildings.

Source: www.themoscowtimes.com.

Trucker Sentenced in Highway Deaths A semi driver who admitted he was speeding when he slammed into a car and tow truck on the side of a rural Elko, Nev., highway apologized to the families of three victims before he was sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Samuel Rosenbaum of Abingdon,

Va., pleaded guilty in March to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 deaths of a Spokane, Wash., couple, and Jesse Penegelly, the 20year-old tower from Wells.

Rosenbaum said he was running behind schedule when he ran into the back of a Buick Skylark and sent it flying into the tow truck along U.S. Highway 93.

Elko District Court Judge Al Kacin said he’ll have to serve a minimum of 19 months. Source: www.elkodaily.com

Court Rules Against Forwarders A metro Detroit auto repossession company scored a Michigan Supreme Court victory in its lawsuit against several banks and other defendants. The legal dispute is about whether forwarding companies are required to be licensed as collection agents in Michigan.

"The financial ramifications of this could run in the millions.”

Download music on iTunes and Amazon.com MIDWEST 84 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

Midwest Recovery & Adjustment of Redford Township and its owner, George Badeen, sued Indiana-based PAR North America and four large banks in 2010, alleging prices were being undercut through the banks’ unlawful use of unlicensed and unregulated middlemen, such as PAR. The banks and PAR argued that forwarding companies don’t have to be licensed because they don’t collect the debts themselves.

In a unanimous opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court said, “forwarding companies satisfy the definition of ‘collection agency’ ... because they solicit claims for collection when they contact creditors seeking unpaid debts to allocate to local collection agents.”

The Supreme Court overturned decisions of the Michigan Court of Appeals and Wayne County Circuit Court, which had sided with the banks and PAR. It sent the case back to Wayne County for further proceedings.

“I feel vindicated,” Badeen said.

“Everyone said I was wrong,” but “I think the law speaks for itself.”

“Depending upon interpretation, this ruling could invalidate the legality of all repossessions occurring through Forwarders in Michigan,” said Mark Lacek, AT repo editor.

“The financial ramifications of this could run in the millions depending upon the retroactivity of this ruling and the trickle down into violations of the FDCPA and FCRA as well as other state statutes. … The precedence of this ruling may very well affect the outcome of similar proceedings pending the declaratory statement in Florida.”

Source: www.livingstondaily.com.

N.C. Overturns Fee Cap

Number 134 on Reader Card

The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned a local ordinance banning the use of cellphones while driving. The court also struck down an ordinance that capped towing fees and prohibited towing companies from passing credit card fees on to consumers.

A Chapel Hill towing company operator, George King, sued the town in 2012, arguing that he couldn’t obey the town’s towing laws without breaking the cellphone ban, because tow truck operators are required to notify police before towing a vehicle and to return calls from vehicle owners within 15 minutes.

In its ruling, the court noted that state laws already restrict cellphone use by drivers under the age of 18, and by drivers of buses and commercial vehicles.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the overruling of the towing fee schedule was “ridiculous” because it puts citizens at the mercy of the towing companies. Source: www.govtech.com.

Number 193 on Reader Card Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • MIDWEST 85

Repo Agent Shot to Death A 23-year-old Maryland man, who had taken a job repossessing cars two weeks earlier, died after a Virginia man shot him twice.

Junior Jordan Montero died while he was attempting to repossess a 10year-old pickup truck in Fauquier County, Va. The truck owner told a deputy that the shooting had been “just an accident. … I shot him. I shot, fell and shot again.

It was an accident.”

Divers attempted to rescue Montero from a water-filled ditch where his tow truck ended up after he fled, but it was too late.

Montero had taken the job as a repo man to provide a better life for his wife, Mayensy Molina, and her son. He wanted to buy her a wedding ring, and to move out of his in-laws’ home into a home of their own.

Source: www.rawstory.com.

Tow Fee Regulations Sought A towing issue has resurfaced in Upper Darby, Pa., after several years and the police chief wants the township to enact a law to regulate the fees and practices.

on the second floor and watch where they go. If they don’t go into McDonald’s the vehicle is towed. They never call police to notify us they towed a vehicle.”

According to Chitwood, two Tower Theater concert goers, one from Harrisburg and one from Reading, recently had their cars towed and had no way of getting home and stayed in the police station lobby overnight.

“Our issue is the exorbitant amount of money being charged and the fact that the vehicle is not readily available for recovery by the owner. And then they have to be exorbitant storage fees,” Chitwood said. “This is a black eye on the township.”

According to Chief Administrative Officer Thomas Judge Jr., the township looked into a regulation in 2009 and did not proceed because of a lawsuit pending in another town.

A spokesperson for the company managing the McDonald’s said they hired Tow Squad to tow cars off their lot to allow room for patrons of the restaurant to park.

According to Chitwood, the problem is the company can only be reached during certain hours and is closed holidays and Sundays.

“Our issue is the exorbitant amount of money being charged. … This is a black eye on the township.”

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood asked township officials to look into adopting an ordinance to regulate the towing practices of Tow Squad and it was referred to a committee for study and to the solicitor for review.

The specific problem site in question where Tow Squad signs are posted is a McDonald’s lot, warning motorists of the restrictions.

“Township residents and out-oftowners come to 69th Street for concerts or shopping and look for parking,” Chitwood said. “The lot is posted. But what Tow Squad does is put a spotter MIDWEST 86 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

“The lot is posted, but if a car gets towed, the owner should be able to get it back in a reasonable amount of time,” Chitwood said. “It’s just not fair.”

Source: www.delcotimes.com.

Tower Wrestles Gator A towman in Montgomery County, Texas, helped authorities get an alligator off of a highway early one recent morning.

Just after 1:30 a.m., a constable spotted an 8’ alligator in the roadway stopping traffic. She notified dispatch and contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The towman, who had handled alligators before, assisted deputies in getting the reptile off the roadway.

The animal was secured with tape and rope and carried to the water’s edge where it eventually swam away.

A witness said a vehicle hit the alligator just moments before the deputy arrived, but it did not appear to be hurt.

Source: www.khou.com.

Man Run Over by Tow Truck Rockford (Ill.) Police were called recently to a scene where a man was reported to have been run over by a tow truck.

The tow operator told police he had been towing a car that had been improperly parked when Scott Doolan, 54, confronted him.

The tower told police that as he was beginning to drive away, the man fell and was run over by the tow truck or the vehicle he was towing. The driver called police and a Rockford Fire Department ambulance took Doolan to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

There is an on-going investigation; no arrests have been made.

Source: www.rrstar.com.

Woman Pepper Sprays Agent Deputies arrested a man and woman from Temple City, Calif., after they scuffled with a repossession agent and the woman sprayed him with pepper spray, officials said.

Fiawna Jones, 27, was arrested on suspicion of illegal use of pepper spray, a felony, at a commercial parking lot, Arcadia police said.

Also arrested, cited and released with a court date was her boyfriend, 47year-old Raul Chavez, who was accused of battery for allegedly shoving the repossession agent.

The agent arrived to repossess an Acura when Chavez became involved in an argument with him, which escalated to pushing. Jones then pulled out a canister of pepper spray and squirted it into the repossession agent’s face before fleeing the scene in a different car.

The agent received first-aid at the

scene, but was not taken to a hospital, and continued repossessing the car.

Source: www.pasadenastarnews.com.

Agents Threatened with Ax In Milton, N.H., a man who swung an ax at a repossession team in December, was recently indicted on three felonies.

Joseph Lauze, 41, was indicted on felony reckless conduct, and two counts of criminal mischief, after sinking an ax into the RPG Towing and Recovery team’s vehicle on Dec. 16.

The incident occurred as the team was attempting to repossess a Volvo at his property. According to a police affidavit, a woman identified as Lauze’s girlfriend, came outside and blocked in the repossession team, as Lauze came out of his home with an ax.

The team then retreated to their vehicle, and Lauze pursued them, striking the team’s Jeep Patriot with an ax, knocking off the driver’s side mirror and striking the windshield.

After Lauze was arrested, he began kicking the police cruiser’s door while he was inside the cruiser, causing more than $1,500 worth of damage. The police affidavit states he bowed the interior door, broke lights inside the cruiser, and caused structural damage to the door frame.

Each charge is a Class B felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 3-1/2 to 7 years if Lauze is convicted.

Source: www.fosters.com.

market continued to grow in Q1 and credit-challenged consumers have been able to get financed more easily, a rise in overall delinquencies could cause lenders to tighten their credit standards, ultimately lessening access to credit in the future,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive credit.

Meanwhile, 30-day auto delinquencies dropped 5 percent. Alaska led this category followed by Montana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

TransUnion said Alaska was also among those states that experienced the largest year-over-year increases in delinquent loan debt. Michigan topped

"Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt" The national level 60-day automotive loan delinquencies fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter. Still, 22 states experienced a rise in late debt in this category with Delaware topping the list followed by Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey.

the list with Arkansas ranking in the top three.

TransUnion said Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt in the first quarter.

Source: www.cutimes.com.

36% Rise in Repos While car repossessions were up more than 36 percent in the first quarter, the bulk of that activity is not occurring at credit unions.

According to Experian Automotive’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report, the rise in repossessions marks a .5-percent increase from the first quarter of 2013.

However, the increase in repossessions was driven entirely by finance companies that provide a significant majority of their loans to credit-challenged customers, Experian said.

“While the subprime auto loan

Work the non-traffic Side–Stay Safe!

TOWMAN.COM - July 2014 • MIDWEST 87

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Don Archer

O

n the fax it showed it was a 200FX, obviously a mistake by the call taker—far removed from the problem. It was a Nissan 200SX and when the tower arrived it was completely covered in snow sitting at the bottom of an untouched driveway.

It was sent over as a jump-start, and the owner told Tom, the tow operator, that he didn’t have any money to have it repaired. He was hoping Tom could diagnose and cure the problem right there on the spot.

It took about 15 minutes to remove the snow and gain access. And for the next 15 minutes Tom did everything he could to get the vehicle started. It had plenty of power and was turning over fine but just wouldn’t go. He suggested that it might be a fuel issue or a sensor, or any number of other problems and that a mechanic with the proper diagnostic equipment should be able to figure it out.

The owner reiterated the fact that he had no money for a mechanic and thanked Tom for trying anyway. Tom put away his tools and left.

On his way out of the neighborhood Tom was flagged down by the vehicle owner’s mother. She was on her way home and asked that he come back. Tom turned around and drove back to the house.

She wanted him to try to start it again.

He explained what he’d done minutes before and that it wasn’t a battery issue, but she insisted he try. Tom did as she asked and when it didn’t start she asked that he tow it.

He then towed it … to a tire shop.

Two hours later I received a call from the vehicle owner’s mother. She was calling to complain about the service she’d received. I listened and apologized assuring her that I’d have a talk with the driver. She went on to say that

MIDWEST 88 • July 2014 - TOWMAN.COM

she wasn’t going to call and register a complaint with the motor club, she just wanted me to know about—what she considered—sub-standard service. I apologized again, and after reassuring her that I’d talk to Tom, I thanked her and that was the end of it.

When I talked with Tom he told me that her expectations were unreasonable and he’d done everything he could think of to help. The only thing that might have been misunderstood was his suggestion to take it to a place that could diagnose the problem rather than the tire shop the mother insisted upon.

He couldn’t believe she called to complain.

“You’re trying to blackmail me.”

I decided that the whole thing must have been her way of expressing frustrations over car problems, complaining because the tower didn’t completely solve the issue. I let it go.

But it wasn’t over.

The next day the woman called again. She started off by going over the same issues from the previous day, but this time she went on to say how the whole experience had bothered her emotionally. I stopped her, asking, “Didn’t we talk about this yesterday?” I thought it was over.

“Yes we did, but I think I’m going to need another tow, the tire shop can’t fix it,” she said.

I told her we’d be happy to help and suggested that she call her motor club to request service … if she didn’t want to pay for the tow.

This is where it finally gets interesting. She said she didn’t want to use another tow from her motor club because she only gets four per year.

“Well other than paying us directly, I don’t know what else I can do for

you,” I said, slowly catching on to where this was going.

Unable to maintain the charade, she just blurted it out. “Don’t you think it would be in your best interest to give me a freebie? Otherwise I’ll call the motor club and complain.”

I was completely caught up now.

This woman was threatening to use a negative complaint, about my business, as a bludgeon. In a blatant attempt to get a free tow she was willing to lie about the service she’d received.

I’ve got to admit, this was a first.

She was trying to blackmail me.

After losing money on the first call, and fully expecting to, maybe, break even on a second one, this woman believed I owed her something.

The gloves were off. I said, “You’re trying to blackmail me.”

Her response was one of righteous indignation. She couldn’t believe I used such a word to describe her behavior. I then suggested a few others that might be easier to swallow.

“You’re using a threat to coerce me into giving you something for nothing. … I’m beginning to think you didn’t have a legitimate concern with the service you received in the first place, you just used that as an excuse to extort free services.”

But for some reason she didn’t like those either. She terminated the conversation and followed through on her threat, adding my latest comments to the mix.

In the end she got what she wanted, a free tow from another contractor. And I no longer had to deal with her.

Win/win?

Don Archer lives and works in Jefferson City, Mo., where he and his wife, Brenda, own and operate Broadway Wrecker, a 12-truck operation that’s been in business since the 1950s. Email him at don@broadwaywrecker.com.

Copyright 2014 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

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Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show The 2014 Eau Claire Big Rig Truck & Tractor Show is scheduled at the Chippewa Valley Technical College on Aug. 15-17. Some of the country’s top show trucks will be attending.

Check out ECTruckShow.com for future announcements. There is a little bit of everything; including antique, non-working trucks, but many are working show trucks.

Trucker Sentenced in Highway Deaths

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A semi driver who admitted he was speeding when he slammed into a car and tow truck on the side of a rural Elko, Nev., highway apologized to the families of three victims before he was sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Samuel Rosenbaum of Abingdon, Va., pleaded guilty in March to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 deaths of a Spokane, Wash., couple, and Jesse Penegelly, the 20-year-old tower from Wells.

Rosenbaum said he was running behind schedule when he ran into the back of a Buick Skylark and sent it flying into the tow truck along U.S. Highway 93.

Elko District Court Judge Al Kacin said Monday he’ll have to serve a minimum of 19 months.

Source: www.elkodaily.com

36% Rise in Repos

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While car repossessions were up more than 36 percent in the first quarter, the bulk of that activity is not occurring at credit unions.

According to Experian Automotive’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report, the rise in repossessions marks a .5-percent increase from the first quarter of 2013.

However, the increase in repossessions was driven entirely by finance companies that provide a significant majority of their loans to

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credit-challenged customers, Experian said.

“While the subprime auto loan market continued to grow in Q1 and credit-challenged consumers have been able to get financed more easily, a rise in overall delinquencies could cause lenders to tighten their credit standards, ultimately lessening access to credit in the future,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive credit.

The national level 60-day automotive loan delinquencies fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter. Still, 22 states experienced a rise in late debt in this category with Delaware topping the list followed by Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, 30-day auto delinquencies dropped 5 percent. Alaska led this category followed by Montana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

TransUnion said Alaska was also among those states that experienced the largest year-over-year increases in delinquent loan debt. Michigan topped the list with Arkansas ranking in the top three.

TransUnion said Oregon, Hawaii and California had the largest decline in delinquent auto loan debt in the first quarter.

Source: www.cutimes.com.

Man Run Over by Tow Truck Rockford (Ill.) Police were called recently to a scene where a man was reported to have been run over by a tow truck.

The tow operator told police he had been towing a car that had been improperly parked when Scott Doolan, 54, confronted him.

The tower told police that as he was beginning to drive away, the man fell and was run over by the tow truck or the vehicle he was towing. The driver called police and a Rockford Fire Department ambulance took Doolan to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

There is an on-going investigation; no arrests have been made.

Source: www.rrstar.com.

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Copyright 2014 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

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