| Who Says Danger Zones AREN'T Dangerous? by Randall C. Resch After a flurry of recent tow operator injuries, deaths, and customer fatalities, I'm convinced that highway-related incidents are on the rise. But I'm not sure who should get saddled with the blame for creating the accident or adding factors that contributed to the accident. While I'm not professing that tow company owners aren't doing everything they can to make their tow operators think safety 100-percent, some of these recent injuries and fatalities may have taken place because some business owners are sending new tow operators into the proverbial lion's den before they are thoroughly trained in the dangers of highway service response. As this article was a difficult one for me, I spent considerable time (on the phone) discussing highway safety with numerous industry trainers and came to a reasonable conclusion that the perception of the motoring public and their lawyers is that working the sides of the world's roadway is a simple task. They've got a mindset that tow truck operators are able to control all actions of everyone else as well as provide for their customer's safety and that of their own. While the majority of the world's tow operators may be well trained and safety conscious, along comes an errant vehicle onto the emergency shoulder and slams into either the tow truck, the disabled vehicle, the vehicle's owner, and/or the tow operator - obviously without any warning. It happens all too often during that one window in time where all the industry standard training could not have prevented the collision. What Are the Danger Zones? Highway danger zones aren't to be confused with recovery danger zones. That's a totally different topic of training. There are numerous highway operations danger zones within the direct location of a parked disabled or crashed vehicle. From the earliest moments of your training, you should have learned that working the emergency lanes of any highway is extremely dangerous. Every call that you respond to has the capability of ending in total carnage and death. And for that very reason, until you understand this concept you have no business working on the highway. This goes for the brand-new tow operator down to the seasoned veteran tower who somehow let complacency take the place of bold-faced survival. Rather than make this article simply a reminder to all towers about the dangers of highway work, I've chosen a different slant. I want to heighten the awareness of everyone who drives a vehicle. While law enforcement agencies and tow industry trainers preach highway safety to their personnel, the motoring public is most guilty for not knowing exactly what dangers tow truck operators, police officers, firefighters, ambulance personnel, and all other emergency service workers face as they are stopped on the highway. Dealing with Catch-22 Laws in many states now make it imperative for drivers to move over - if it is safe to do so - when an emergency vehicle is on the highway. This may be the number-one killer of towers and their customers. Further, most state laws prohibit persons from riding inside towed or transported vehicles. Make sense? Possibly, however, in most states, highway patrol spokespersons recommend that upon arrival of a tow truck to a customer's location, the occupants should be escorted to the tow truck for increased safety. Sure, that makes perfect sense, but to get them into the tow truck, they must first be removed from their vehicle and then escorted to the tow truck. To me, that's Catch-22! Diagram #1 and # 4 depicts a tow operator approaching the vehicle's driver from the non-traffic side, from the forward position and from the rearward position. For the basic highway-related service call, freeway service patrol driver or unknown scenario, consider these recommendations: 1. Never approach a vehicle's driver from the traffic side. 2. Make immediate visual contact with the driver as you approach 3. Honk your horn or yell to get the driver's attention 4. Use hand gestures or yell loudly ordering them to stay inside their vehicle 5. Approach from the non-traffic side and make contact with the driver. 6. Based on the service or tow situation, provide the driver with complete instructions BEFORE you attempt to escort them from their vehicle 7. Provide a quick safety statement as to the reason for quick exit from their vehicle 8. Ask if they understand your instructions 9. For safety's sake, ask if they have special physical requirements 10. Prepare for quick exit 11. When safe to exit, execute their removal and hurriedly escort them to safety. If a vehicle is stopped in the center divider, the safest position for tow operator to approach the vehicle is the one that affords the most protection for both him/herself and the vehicle's driver. If a vehicle is parked on the right-emergency shoulder, the best manner of contacting the vehicle's driver, but one that still requires the tow operator to exit the tow truck and hurriedly walk or run through the danger zone, is between the two vehicles and over to the guardrail side of the shoulder. What about having the customer exit his or her vehicle from the non-traffic side? In a perfect world, the obvious recommendation would be: Always approach the customer from the non-traffic side. But, based on where the disabled vehicle broke down and where approaching traffic is coming from, this may not always be possible. As depicted in Diagram #2, consider that, if your customer is elderly, physically handicapped or obese, or if the vehicle is packed full of groceries or household items, would the customer physically be able to climb over a center console and out the non-traffic side window or door? In nearly all cases, this is not a possibility. Few could exit their vehicle from the traffic side and walk between vehicles or to the rear of their vehicle. Both locations expose them to the dangers of approaching vehicles. This fact cannot go unrecognized when having to escort a customer out of their disabled vehicle and to a safe zone. (See Diagram 1) At the very moment of arrival on any highway-related tow or service request, the danger percentage increases 100-fold. In many cases, the motoring public does not understand that a tow truck generally fills up every bit of space within most emergency lanes, especially when a guardrail is on the right-emergency shoulder or the center divider. And, in many situations, a guardrail may be of substantial height to prevent the tow operator from exiting the tow truck from the non-traffic side. Such being the case, the tow operator is forced to exit his or her tow vehicle and immediately step into the danger zone. And, making matters worse, the driver of the disabled vehicle, upon seeing the tow truck driver walking his or her way, may now decide that it's the best time to make contact with the tow operator. Before the tow operator can reach the driver, he or she has jumped out of their vehicle and headed toward the tower. Oh, by the way, did I mention that they are now standing with their backs to approaching traffic smack-dab in the middle of the danger zone? (See Diagram 2) Here's the scariest part of this entire scenario. As both tower and customer are standing within the danger zone, it forces the tow operator to ask them to walk between the tow truck and the disabled vehicle or back around behind the disabled vehicle as depicted in Diagram #2. There's no way of not moving through the danger zone to reach the safer side of the guardrail or the tow truck's cab. Public Awareness Is Lacking There's no doubt that the motoring public hasn't learned just how much danger they really are in when their vehicle becomes disabled or they have an accident on the highway. Additionally, due to extreme cuts in law enforcement budgets throughout the nation, there's less and less selective enforcement on our highways; and little effort can be made in curtailing negligent driving behaviors. Until recently, there was no consideration of any kind of "Move-Over Law" until an increase in traffic fatalities caused an outcry. Survival is an individual responsibility. Business owners must require their tow operators to know what highway safety is all about. Each tow operator must know that even the simplest calls for service can turn nasty and they must do everything possible to stay alive. Sure there will be times when you cross through the danger zone, but that doesn't mean to lollygag or take your time. If you're in the process of escorting your customer to safety, it has to be decisive and quick. Make no moves until you're confident you can do it safely. If you have a customer who doesn't want to or can't get out of the vehicle, you must make a different strategy. According to the California Highway Patrol, it's OK for customers to remain within their vehicle with their seatbelt(s) firmly attached and while a service is being performed. Obviously, if they refuse to exit their vehicle, you must not put your hands on a customer for any reason. Order in the Court Bad situations do happen and many are not caused by the actions of the tow truck operator on-scene; however, if an injury or fatality occurs at the moment the tower arrives on scene, the tower may be questioned about safe removal techniques. While there is no industry standard for safe removal of a vehicle's occupants, common sense should rule. While it's understood that a tow operator should have some kind of training for highway service procedures, it's anticipated that the courts, juries and even attorneys understand that exigent circumstances may be the cause of an innocent loss of life or substantial injury. Each diagram in this article was prepared with court testimony in mind. They clearly denote that there are danger zones around both tow truck and the customer's vehicle. Should your company be sued for wrongful injury or a customer's death, it's important that your legal advisor and insurance provider understand the nature of your company's training and the type of highway safety procedures your tow operators provide to your customers. Although our responding personnel are repeatedly reminded of the highway's danger zones, there's only so much we can do as an industry to protect the safety of our customers and ourselves. We can't control the actions of the motoring public. Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer and was the general manager of Anytime Towing in Poway, Calif., for many years. He is a freelance writer/photographer, consultant, and teacher of towing operations. As American Towman's field/operations editor, he reports on police/tower relations as well as towing procedures. He has been a frequent seminar presenter at the AT Expo. He can be reached at rreschran@aol.com.  In the chart below, I suggest that the causes of most traffic collisions on the highway that involve emergency vehicles and tow trucks are due to the following reasons: Too fatigued or fell asleep Attempting to pass at improper time Applying make-up Talking on the phone Driving without their lights on Reaching for something Not feeling well Driving with their pet in their lap Sun in their eyes Drifting in lanes due to high winds 22350 / Speed too fast for conditions Too fast into the curves 22350 / Speed too fast for conditions Cut-off by someone else Speeds too fast for conditions Dark, poorly lighted highways Unfamiliar with the highway or lost Teenagers and Elderly Equipment Failure when driving |
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