Tow truck drivers - Bill 15

PLau

PLau

Well-known member
"Bill 15, the province has said, benefits Ontarians by giving customers the option to pay tow truck drivers by credit card and requiring tow truck operators to provide an itemized list of charges. The goal of the regulations is to help prevent inflated tow costs and unfair practices.Members of the tow truck industry, however, say the law limits the number of hours operators can work and will only drive up the costs for their services."

Their counter argument makes no sense. How are they limited by this? Increased cost because they have to process forms of payment other business have been using for decades?

Serious question: can someone clarify? where's that tow guy that was on here few months ago?
 
[video]http://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=842848&binId=1.1127680&playlistPageNu m=1[/video]

This speaker did not provide any real reasoning of why they're protesting... More that it's a hassle for them to get their plate/sticker which has nothing to do with the bill...
 
Less expensive tows as theyre not made up = lower claims = lower premiums?

oh and if their prices go up, i can see a big increase in CAA membership lol
 
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One of the changes if for them to follow the rules as big rig operators e.g. drive fro 13 hours sleep for 8.
Tow guys claim they sleep and take naps as they wait and also during bad weather e.g. winter storms they have to keep moving crashed or stuck vehicles.

On another note, it's probably a few owners telling the brainless that the changes are bad and to go protest.
Good luck with the protest, they will just tick more ppl off more...and now those ppl will probably send their MP's letters supporting and asking for MORE regulation.
 
When you have a business that runs on commission you get some shady operators, my wife's car was towed from a crash, we went to the tow yard and where told we could not access our vehicle, I would of called the cops if they didn't let me in.the accident chasers on the 401 are insane when trying to get to accidents.I agree with more regulation or them.
 
I don't know if Bill 15 will stop this but it's a start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOboCgIhcfk

I accept that tow truck operators have a feast or famine life but that is their occupational choice.

The auto industry is largely feast or famine.

I accept that a tow truck isn't a cheap vehicle.

What I don't accept is the under the counter deals and kickbacks from some of the companies named in the video.

Towing a vehicle to a shop that blackmails people by charging $4000.00 a day for storage is an insane abuse of opportunity.
 
Seems like opportunity for the Govt to make some $$$ and regulate the hell out of them.
Go after the companies and the owner...(companies=person that owns it)...prevents bankrupt and restart with new company name.
Create a system like the restaurant system.

Find some way to regulate them that is easy for ppl to identify they are regulated e.g. different color plates.
 
They are mainly ****** about three things:

- Being required to follow hour of service rules, so they can't work as many hours as they damn well please and run around half asleep at the wheel much of the time.

- Being required to accept methods of payments that actually lend themselves to accounting and paperwork, so they can't demand cash anymore which not only disappears, but is easily extorted roadside or while your car is still "on the hook" and you're feeling vulerable. Consumer protection basically.

- Being banned from being able to "recommend" a place to tow your accident damaged vehicle to. This is a big one for them as it's no secret that tow truck drivers typically have buddies in the auto body business who give them kickbacks in exchange for bringing them business...more shady under the table stuff in the end.

On none of the above do I one tiny rats *** about their "cause". Hours of service? Boo bloody hoo, let me get out my tiny violin - if you can't make a living working 14 hours in a day before the law sends you home to actually get some sleep, you may have made a career path mistake, or it's time to demand a change in the way you get paid. Payment methods? Again, anyone who's ever been extorted by a tow truck driver charging whatever they damn well please (often only telling you how much AFTER they've already towed you to point B...and you know how little of that is actually being declared) would agree that being forced to account for it by taking more traditional payment methods is not a bad thing - at least consumers have a paper record of extortion attempts that way and can fight back. And the recommendation of shops to take your car to? That too can go away - they're often taking people's cars to shops that do shoddy work just so that they can get that kickback in their pocket..they really don't care if your car gets fixed properly or not.

Yeah, no sympathy here.
 
How long before we have Uber-Tow edition?
 
The CAA guy who rescued my car from the airport parking garage because the parking brake was seized up after the car sat there for a week ... earned his pay for that job and then some (I handed him a $20 tip - it was a royal pain to get the car out of the garage because his truck wouldn't fit in).

The vultures ... don't have any sympathy from me.
 
If a person doesn't ask how much a service costs before asking for the service, then they have no right to hitch about the cost after the fact. That said, they should, without question get a receipt indicating what they paid for. As far as credit cards, why should they be mandated to accept them? Credit cards are an economic parasite that should be regulated much more stringently rather than forced onto businesses. Especially on this debt riddled continent. I do agree that they should not be allowed to suggest body shops, even the insurance companies aren't allowed to do this unless you ask them to. What I can't stand regarding tow services is their ridiculous storage rates. I can stay in a room at a hotel, that's large enough to park 3 cars, be supplied with a bed, roof, running water, tv, internet, clean linens, and food for $100/day. How the hell do tow companies charge $150/day to have your car in a field with a fence?
 
nfq said:
How long before we have Uber-Tow edition?
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http://urgent.ly/

This is as close as it gets right now because you still need trained people with specialized equipment.

Maybe someone will come along with an app that gives the opportunity for regular Joes like you and me to work doing boosts, tire changes, and gas delivery but unlocks, tows, and winches will always need to be done by pros.
 
Renboy said:
If a person doesn't ask how much a service costs before asking for the service, then they have no right to hitch about the cost after the fact. That said, they should, without question get a receipt indicating what they paid for. As far as credit cards, why should they be mandated to accept them? Credit cards are an economic parasite that should be regulated much more stringently rather than forced onto businesses. Especially on this debt riddled continent. I do agree that they should not be allowed to suggest body shops, even the insurance companies aren't allowed to do this unless you ask them to. What I can't stand regarding tow services is their ridiculous storage rates. I can stay in a room at a hotel, that's large enough to park 3 cars, be supplied with a bed, roof, running water, tv, internet, clean linens, and food for $100/day. How the hell do tow companies charge $150/day to have your car in a field with a fence?
Click to expand...

If you've just had a crash and are dealing with the emotions of the situation you may not be able to calmly go through a check list of what to do and what not to do so some protection is required.

Towing isn't cheap because the equipment is expensive and has to be paid for in relatively short bursts. That means if you need a tow it isn't going to be just a few bucks and most people don't carry hundreds of dollars on them "Just in case". Cashless leaves a paper trail and that's good as it eliminates some of the kickback issues.

I understand the comments about storage. How about the body shop trying to extort $4,000.00 a day for storage?

That said let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. We need tow trucks or collisions will never be cleared but how do we entice people into the racket when business is so sporadic?

You can call a tow company and ask the price of a tow from A to B sometime next week and a truck will show up sometime close to the scheduled time and do the tow for a reasonable price based on a 40 hour week. Unfortunately there isn't enough of that type of business so the 40 hour week is out the window as a fixed rate for all tows. How do you have enough trucks available for crashes and breakdowns if they sit idle a large portion of the time?

In the good old days most garages had a tow truck and when needed a mechanic would stop whet he's doing and go get a broken down vehicle. That just doesn't work today for so many reasons. One problem is the regional nature of the problem. Going 20 miles to attend crash in nothing in cow country but in the GTA it could take hours.

It's a complex problem but this is a start.
 
If you get in a crash on the highway and the car can't be driven, can cops force you to get the first available tow truck?
Can you have your car towed to your place no matter what condition it is in? What if it's leaking fuel... etc.
 
daught said:
If you get in a crash on the highway and the car can't be driven, can cops force you to get the first available tow truck?
Can you have your car towed to your place no matter what condition it is in? What if it's leaking fuel... etc.
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Yes, the cops can tell you to use a truck on scene, for the sake of safety.

You can have it towed anywhere as long as a police report is completed, either by cops on scene or by taking it to a collision reporting centre first.
 
fastar1 said:
Yes, the cops can tell you to use a truck on scene, for the sake of safety.

You can have it towed anywhere as long as a police report is completed, either by cops on scene or by taking it to a collision reporting centre first.
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I don't understand what you mean here. Are you talking about having it towed without a police report being considered failure to remain at the scene?
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I don't understand what you mean here. Are you talking about having it towed without a police report being considered failure to remain at the scene?
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No, a police report must be created when damage is above a certain threshold (total damage exceeds $2000, or there is damage to property other than the vehicles, or any injury). The police can write an accident report one of two ways. They can go on scene and complete the report or (in Ontario) they can send the car to a collision reporting centre to have the report done by officers there.

Either way, when the report is filled the driver can take the car wherever they like (except in some cases where the car may have been used to commit a crime).
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