What to Look for in a Towing & Recovery Company

What to Look for in a Towing & Recovery Company

Simple Things to Look for in a Towing Company

It happens to everyone at some point ... deciding on a towing company is often an emergency situation with almost no time to research who to select:   Who to trust, where to look and how do I know if I've made the right choice? 

Common Roadside Hazards

Towing and recovery companies respond to all types of roadside hazards. Common roadside occurrences include:

• Vehicle accidents like collisions with other cars or trucks, stationary objects like telephone poles trees guardrails or fences, domestic or wild animals, or unfortunately even pedestrians
• Vehicle mechanical breakdowns or other assistance (being locked out of the car, running out of gasoline, a flat tire, etc)
• Single vehicle car or truck crashes or accidents (Running off the road)
• Load shift (cargo on the roadside)

It doesn’t matter what of the type of accident, or who requested the roadside service, once the towing company arrives on-scene, towing and recovery company is expected to:

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Your Tow Company Must Ensure Site Safety

As always the approaching traffic needs to be warned of the incident. A combination of precautions such as flashing lights, signs, cones, flares, barricades and flaggers should be utilized as necessary to prevent other vehicles from becoming involved. They need to consider the distance to the incident from the on-coming traffic in addition to the overall recovery area. The recovery area must be considered and handled in order to prevent additional vehicles from becoming involved.
Drivers, responders, by-standers, and others must be protected from dangers such as, injury or death from fire, explosion, equipment failure or malfunction. These must be considered and attended to by establishing safe distances for those near the sight of the incident.
In some cases on-scene operators are required by federal law to wear high visibility clothing as prescribed by ANSI 107-2010. It’s always to good idea for the safety of the sight and the operators safety.
Things that should be identified, reported and remediated include property damage at the scene, including, but not limited to fluids on the roadway, damage to grass, trees, shrubs, soil contamination from fluid debris.

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Recovery & Remove Vehicles from the Scene

During the recovery process, vehicles should be recovered and positioned for loading in an appropriate manner for transport away from the accident scene. Sometimes this may require the use of a winch and chains and other hardware (appropriate rigging). The tow truck, winch, and all necessary hardware must be sized properly and in good working order for the task at hand. Attachment to the vehicle should be made to a structurally sound location on the vehicle structure. During winching movement of the vehicle must be anticipated and planned for to prevent damage or injury. Good towing companies are experienced in maneuvering the vehicle safely to the towing apparatus which includes wheel-lifting systems and flatbed tow truck.
Great towing companies are familiar with vehicle manufacturers’ procedures for securing and towing and they follow the recommendations to ensure damage free transport.

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Provide Safe Keeping for Vehicles and Property

Vehicle damage that happens in a crash can lead to other problems later on. For example, damage to a vehicle’s wiring can lead to a fire, hours or even days after the initial crash. Other damage that compromises the interior of the vehicle can leave the vehicle’s interior and or contents exposed to the elements. Thin film wrap (Crash Wrap) can be applied for protection.
Towing companies to look for have the proper tools and training, so they can fulfill their duties without adding to the damage or injuries.

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