Industry News

A AAA tow operator, approximately 35 years old, was struck and killed Friday evening, May 31, by a semi-truck while preparing to tow a disabled pickup near Castaic, California. The semi-truck fled the scene. News and police reports state the operator was working alongside the southbound 5 Freeway. The crash occurred at approximately 8:15 p.m.…

The provincial government of Manitoba has announced that it will erect signs on Manitoba highways to raise awareness of the slow down and move over law to protect emergency responders. The law currently states that if the speed limit is 80 kilometers per hour or higher, motorists approaching emergency vehicles must slow to 60 kph.…

The Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc. ® (TRAA) held its biennial elections for all executive cabinet positions and the results were announced at the conclusion of TRAA’s Annual General Membership Meeting, April 12 in Orlando, Fla. Joanne Blyton of Montana was elected TRAA’s first female president. “It’s taken 40 years, but TRAA finally…

The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum has announced that it recently completed an agreement to sell portable, lighted safety arrows. The effort, intended to complement the Survivor Fund, continues the museum’s efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of the towing and road service profession. The safety arrows are designed to…

The Iowa State Patrol conducted an enforcement campaign of the state’s move over law along Highway 218 and I-80 in Johnson County on May 29. According to a KWWL.com news report, tow trucks were staged on the roadside as part of the enforcement, and police vehicles also parked on the roadside pulled over motorists who failed to…

Tow companies from across Michigan gathered to honor Nader Chehadi, 42, who died May 29, 2018, when he was struck by an SUV as he assisted a disabled school bus on the shoulder of I-94 in Pittsfield Township, Mich. Chehadi’s co-workers at Ypsilanti’s Budget and Stadium Towing were among the tow operators and responders who…

A South African tow operator was killed in a hit-and-run incident on May 25. The operator, who was not identified in a news story on the website Dispatch Live, was on the roadside in East London, South Africa when a light pickup truck struck him and fled the scene. The 38-year-old operator worked for Algoa…

Friends and colleagues of fallen Michigan tow operator Nader Chehadi are planning to honor him with a tow truck “light up the night” procession on May 29. Chehadi was killed in a crash on May 29 as he serviced a disabled school bus on I-94 in Pittsfield Township, Mich. See details about the procession in a…

AAA will again be offering its Tow-to-Go safe ride program for the Memorial Day weekend as motorists prepare to hit the road. AAA says this long holiday weekend will see the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes dating back to 2000, trailing only the bar set in 2005. Overall,…

Tony Kroninger of Purpose Wrecker Sales in St. Louis, Mo. created a custom “Tow Lives Matter” vest and held a business card drawing for it at the Purpose Wrecker Sales booth during the Florida Tow Show in April. The winner? Vest Towing of Chillicothe, Ohio.