Chasing: The Dirty Side of Towing
Over the past 6
months I have focused most of my blog posts on the positive sides of towing.
The brotherhood, the passion, and the legacy some have left behind. Today I want
to focus on the part of towing most do not speak about to the general public.
Chasing; The dirty side of towing! Chasing is truly a misunderstood and misused
part of towing. Just like anything there is a right and wrong way to chase.
First, for those
that do not know, chasing is actively engaging in police, ambulance, and fire
department communication monitoring, this is done in order to know the location
of a Motor Vehicle Collision (MVA) and to be the first tow truck on scene in
order to secure the job. Chasing can be a very bad business practice if not
done for the right reasons. A lot of operators who engage in chasing do it for
one reason only, MONEY. A MVA generally pays more money than any other towing related
jobs, what this means is more money in an operators pocket the more successful he
is at chasing. This is a very dangerous practice when operators who only care
about the money are involved.
When only money
is involved, operators tend to disregard the safety of themselves as well as
the general public. This is done by excessive speeding in order to be the first
on scene. It also leads to bullying or deceiving a customer into many situations
not necessarily in their favour (E.g. Towing a vehicle that does not need a tow,
or choosing a body shop that may not be the most convenient for the customer) These
things are done in order to financially benefit the operator, not to serve the
customer. We are the professionals when it comes to dealing with accidents, so
why wouldn't a customer trust us right? This is a sad practice that needs to be
abolished in order for “TOW OPERATORS” to be truly seen as the professionals that
we are.
Now, all that
being said there is a proper beneficial method of chasing. In some cases tow
trucks may have a shorter response time than emergency crews (while staying
within reasonable speeds). This can prove to be helpful for situations such as,
traffic control when a vehicle is located in a dangerous place, weather
conditions where people are left stranded or that vehicles are disabled and
quicker clean up times when emergency crews are finished with their job. A tow
truck may even become a vital part of a rescue (E.g. Stabilizing a vehicle to
remove a patient)
Chasing can be a
black mark on our industry or it can be a added tool for emergency crews and
customers. This all depends on the OPERATOR. We as an industry must stand
together and remember that when the day is over and the dollars are counted we
need to be able to look ourselves in the mirror. Will you be proud of the work
you did today, or will you be part of the dirty side of towing?
Shawn Michaud
WM140989
