When I was an everyday driver, it was easy to get into a rhythm with the work and create a routine that made it very difficult to mess up.  As a result, at one point I went more than 5 years without any tow damage or accidents.  When I moved into management, however, and stopped running calls every day, all day long, the mistakes started becoming more frequent.

One day I drove up to the office, and one of our trucks was parked in the middle of the street, running, overheads on, with an old beater from the impound lot on the back, and no one around.  I looked for the driver but couldn't find him.  One of the carrier drivers pulled up.  He was shuttling cars out to our auction facility, and the car on the back of the truck was the next one he was supposed to take.  I waved him over and told him I would put the car down and move the truck out of the way for him.

The truck with the old beater on it was an Eagle self-loader.  Having driven an Eagle for almost 20 years, I profess that I love Eagles.  They are versatile, quick, and as far as self-loaders go, I prefer the Eagle to any of the hydraulically-operated self-loaders.  In my opinion, they have a better "feel" than other self-loaders.  You can tell by the way the truck acts whether or not the wheellift is in place, which facilitates picking up a car and moving it without getting out of the truck.  This, of course, is good and bad.  They are great for shuffling cars around in an impound lot, which is what our driver was doing this day.

Unbeknownst to me, he had picked up this old beater in the impound lot, which was very flat, drove out onto the street, lowered the boom, and drove forward.  Although the car had an automatic transmission, and was in park, it took off rolling down the gradual incline of the street, toward the tow truck (better than the other way around). However, he didn't see it moving right away, and the steering wheel on the car was turned slightly, so it started rolling toward a parked car.  He tried to cut it off with the raised eagle claws, and he did, but unfortunately one of the eagle claws took out the door of the parked car.

He extracted the claw from the parked car, picked the old beater back up, turned around (for some reason), and went off to try to find the owner of the parked car.

Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of his incident, I lowered the boom of the Eagle again, and this time it was turned around, so the car took off away from me.  I noticed right away, but there wasn't much I could do but watch helplessly as it rolled into a different parked car—as it turned out, 2 cars away from the first one.

The carrier driver wisely stifled his laughter.

Damage to the first car: $2500.
Damage to the second car: $3000.
Auction sale price of the old beater: $75.00.

Try explaining that one to your boss.

Have a fantastic week.

Sincerely,
Nick Kemper

www.TowPartsNow.com

Thinking about the Dispatchers I've worked with over the years. Dispatching is a very difficult job,
usually for low pay, and Dispatchers sometimes feel they are neglected, picked on, underappreciated,
etc. When I managed a tow company with approximately 20 drivers, one of my training subjects for the
drivers was to tell them to be nice to Dispatchers. This might not be a well-known piece of data, but
Dispatchers have favorites. There are drivers they like, and drivers they don't like. This might not be
fair. Their reasons for liking or not liking a driver might seem irrational. But it's true, so my advice to
drivers was always this: Be one of the favorites.

1. Say "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome" a lot.
2. Be patient. Dispatchers usually have multiple phone lines to manage, in addition to multiple drivers in
trucks. And then the Boss has them doing some paper-shuffling project on top of all that.
3. Offer to give them a break. If you're hanging around bothering them, offer to sit in the hot seat for
them. They’ve probably had to go the bathroom for about 2 hours but can't get away. You can handle
things for 2 or 3 minutes (we hope).
4. Pick up some lunch or a cup of coffee for them.
5. Gifts never hurt. A small token of appreciation with a card will go a long way.

I can't help, however, sharing some humorous stories about Dispatchers. I worked with one Dispatcher
who had a reputation of not always putting forth a great effort. I wouldn't say she was lazy, but she
if she could find a way to do something with less work, she would. Ironically, that takes a lot of work
sometimes. Our boss bought some paint and asked her to paint the inside of our construction trailer
office. There was a calendar of some sort hanging on the wall, and she painted AROUND the calendar.
Hilarious.

One Dispatcher I worked with early in my career was a retired mechanic who had injured his spine on
the job, so he couldn't turn a wrench anymore. He wasn't particularly suited to office work, but he tried
hard. One bad habit he had was leaving the daily till sheet, with all of the cash for the day, sitting on
top of the safe. He would set it there a few minutes before the end of his shift, but he didn't want to
drop it until the office was closed, in case he needed to add to it at the last minute. I worked swing shift,
so about once a month I would find the till on the safe and drop it in. One time I decided to teach him
a lesson, so instead of dropping it in the safe, I locked it in my locker. It was a Friday night, and I went
out of town for the weekend, and I forgot about it. When I came in Monday afternoon, he looked like
someone had shot his dog. There was something just short of a congressional inquiry going on. He was
almost relieved enough when I gave it to him to not try to hurt me. But, like I said, he had spine trouble,
so there was no danger of him catching me.

Have a safe and profitable week.

Nick Kemper
www.TowPartsNow.com

I am Amanda, a 23 year old girl from originally from Alberta, Canada now living in Chicago, IL. I was born into the world of trucking, and have been around it my whole life. I have always been considered a "tough girl". I worked besides my father in the shop, since he did all his own repairs on his trucks. I started learning how to drive semi trucks and front end loaders when I was 10 years old. When I was 17, I got a job as a heavy duty mechanic and happily worked fixing heavy equipment for 3 years. When I turned 20, I started working in the towing industry. I quickly caught on and was towing my first vehicle in a day. I would juggle towing and dispatching. I recently moved to Chicago and am currently searching for a job in the industry again.

1. Please tell me about your organization.
Respect Tow Truck Operators was founded in 2009 by myself after I almost got hit on the side of the Queen Elizabeth Highway (Hwy 2), one of the most dangerous highway's in Alberta, doing a tire change on a vehicle. My eyes were opened up to how badly the industry needed a change. Respect Tow Truck Operators is run by myself and my best friend Meggin. We are solely out to change the towing industry. I have made it a goal in my life, and I have seen an incredible change from 5 years ago when I first was introduced to the industry!

2. Why is this cause important to you? Do you have a personal connection?
I personally came inches away from being hit and killed by a tractor trailer while doing a tire change. I also have been recently married into the industry, my husband has been a flatbed operator for numerous years.

3. Of all your work here at RTTO, what are you most proud of?
Everything! I never ever thought Respect Tow Truck Operators would get as big as it has. American Towman TV did a whole segment on myself and RTTO. I have Slow Down Move Over decals and merchandise for sale. I have a big website courtesy of TLC Media Productions. I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people and tow companies.  I also would be no where without the 17,800 people who follow RTTO!

4. Thinking back on your work in the past year(s), were there any memorable moments? Perhaps a time when you got a little choked up?
Too many times to mention! I get a lot of people who thank me for the work I do and it blows me away every time. I enjoy the time I spend doing what I do for the towing industry immensely and I don't feel people need to thank me! I would have to say though the most memorable moment was being interviewed by American Towman TV. To this day I am still shocked that they wanted to do a story on myself and RTTO! I remember shaking so bad and trying to get my words together! I had so much fun doing it, and it really helped get the word out.

5. What keeps you going? What helps you get up every morning to do this work?
Towing is definitely in my blood now. I couldn't get out of the industry even if I wanted to. Just knowing that I have helped one person stay safe on the side of the highway or I have educated one person to slow down and move over for amber lights on the side of the road drives me to continue bringing awareness with Respect Tow Truck Operators. It all comes down to educating motorists on the laws out there protecting emergency vehicles. It is unbelievable how many do not know or understand the Slow Down Move Over Law.

6. If you could talk to donors and tell them why their support is important, what would you say?
I couldn't ever begin to explain how thankful I am for everyone's support! No one will ever realize how important the support I receive is in the making of RTTO. I only run it, everyone else gives me the motivation to keep it up!  I haven't ever asked for donations for Respect Tow Truck Operators, I keep everything running on my own.

7. What has changed since you first started? Is it harder, easier? How has the organization responded to that change?
There has been a lot of changes since I first started 4 years ago. All states now have some sort of Slow Down Move Over Law, we just have to work on getting all of Canada to adopt it then move on to hopefully making the law worldwide. Since march, we have gained over 4,000 members on Facebook and I find it to be somewhat harder now to do things like make sure the news is posted daily or keeping up on certain weekly activities I have started, but nothing that is too hard to handle for myself. I wouldn't have it any other way.

8. If you were able to sit down with Bill Gates and tell him why he should consider making a donation to RTTO what would you say?
Respect Tow Truck Operators is a huge part of the towing industry, and we do as much as we possibly can to protect each and every tow truck operator out there! Our next biggest step is taking RTTO into schools and educating children on the Slow Down Move Over Law and how it includes everyone. With this law, and the proper education, we can save more lives. Seeing how many tow truck operators and emergency works get injured or killed yearly because of people who refuse to slow down or move over makes me sick. I want to come home to my family just as much as everyone else in the towing industry. As of August 9th, we are at 22 tow truck operator deaths, which is unacceptable.


9. Can you tell us about a case in which RTTO made a difference?
I had a motorist message me and say how because of my page, she now knows to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles. She went on to say that when she see's flashing lights, she remembers Respect Tow Truck Operators and what it stands for.

10. Is there anything that I haven't asked you, that you would like to address?
We may be called Respect Tow Truck Operators, but we accommodate just about anyone whether it be dispatchers, other emergency workers, or just fans and motorists. We have different activities going on throughout each week such as Vintage Tow Truck of the Day, Truck of the Day, and Tow Operator of the Week. Very soon I will be starting up contests for Respect Tow Truck Operators merchandise. I also have been keeping a list of all the tow operators killed on the job since January 2012. Take a second to "like" us on Facebook www.facebook.com/respecttowtruckoperators, follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/RTTOfanfollow check out www.respecttowtruckoperators.com!