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why so much hate for tow truck drivers?
- Thread starter SunnY S
- Start date
Tow trucks in Ontario are all rats. I hate em all. They overcharge so much too.
When I hauled cars I had to pick one up from a very "major" towing company that services Toronto and GTA, I was able to get a peek and see their price list on the board in their office.
Put it this way:
- If you break down, it costs you over 100$ easy.
- If it gets charged to the city (car impounded, service vehicle, etc), it was 300$+!!
There goes your tax dollar, funding their freaking Escalades.
I tow trucked a flatbed in Laval, Quebec for a while and there are exclusive zones for different companies.
Let's say you break down on the service road of hwy 13, you dial *4141 and tell the operator where you are, and they will call the tow truck company that works that zone.
This is a better system because we would get a phone call so no other companies could scan the airwaves, and prevents us from trying to rush there and break traffic laws.
Secondly, it filtered out and reduced the amount of rat companies too because since nothing is on the airwaves, they would have to drive around randomly and look for people who broke down and try to swipe them up quick.
Well, fuel ain't cheap, so a rat company won't last too long if it's always driving around with no income.
Everytime I see a snazzy tow truck in GTA (not hard to find, there's 89759843 of them) I am disgusted and instantly angry knowing there's a thief sitting behind those tinted windows waiting for you to get a flat or break down.
I drive a C2300 with a 21' bed. It had relatively short wheelbase and coupled with a great turning radius, that thing handled just like a pickup truck. So easy to maneuver.
Best part is I could take 2 cars from an accident at the time (one on the bed and one off the wheel lift), whereas these damn rats in GTA are all using wheel lifts.
Let's see them pick up a car that was split in half by a telephone pole. Hahaha. I've done it.
/rant
When I hauled cars I had to pick one up from a very "major" towing company that services Toronto and GTA, I was able to get a peek and see their price list on the board in their office.
Put it this way:
- If you break down, it costs you over 100$ easy.
- If it gets charged to the city (car impounded, service vehicle, etc), it was 300$+!!
There goes your tax dollar, funding their freaking Escalades.
I tow trucked a flatbed in Laval, Quebec for a while and there are exclusive zones for different companies.
Let's say you break down on the service road of hwy 13, you dial *4141 and tell the operator where you are, and they will call the tow truck company that works that zone.
This is a better system because we would get a phone call so no other companies could scan the airwaves, and prevents us from trying to rush there and break traffic laws.
Secondly, it filtered out and reduced the amount of rat companies too because since nothing is on the airwaves, they would have to drive around randomly and look for people who broke down and try to swipe them up quick.
Well, fuel ain't cheap, so a rat company won't last too long if it's always driving around with no income.
Everytime I see a snazzy tow truck in GTA (not hard to find, there's 89759843 of them) I am disgusted and instantly angry knowing there's a thief sitting behind those tinted windows waiting for you to get a flat or break down.
I drive a C2300 with a 21' bed. It had relatively short wheelbase and coupled with a great turning radius, that thing handled just like a pickup truck. So easy to maneuver.
Best part is I could take 2 cars from an accident at the time (one on the bed and one off the wheel lift), whereas these damn rats in GTA are all using wheel lifts.
Let's see them pick up a car that was split in half by a telephone pole. Hahaha. I've done it.
/rant
There are two types of trucks on the road; those who respond to calls and those that chase.
The ones that respond to calls tend to be above board and reputable.
The ones that chase are looking for accidents because the money is better. The kick backs from the body shops mean that a driver makes a lot more money for less work. What they bill directly for accidents is higher due to 'clean up' fees built into the bill.
Example: broken down car $60 hook up fee, accident $300 (plus up to 10% of repair costs kick back)
There was a company in Mississauga (owned / connected to a body shop) that had chase trucks for a while that didn't even have wreckers on some of the trucks. These trucks were meant to get to the accident scene as quickly as possible arrange the tow and then a truck that could tow from the scene would perform the work. This practice has since been discontinued after threats from the city.
The ones that respond to calls tend to be above board and reputable.
The ones that chase are looking for accidents because the money is better. The kick backs from the body shops mean that a driver makes a lot more money for less work. What they bill directly for accidents is higher due to 'clean up' fees built into the bill.
Example: broken down car $60 hook up fee, accident $300 (plus up to 10% of repair costs kick back)
There was a company in Mississauga (owned / connected to a body shop) that had chase trucks for a while that didn't even have wreckers on some of the trucks. These trucks were meant to get to the accident scene as quickly as possible arrange the tow and then a truck that could tow from the scene would perform the work. This practice has since been discontinued after threats from the city.
Motorcycle Mike
Well-known member
And for me too if it is a breakdown or lockout, but isn't it true that if you are in a collision or a police ordered tow you can't use CAA?
vic_himself
Well-known member
Every business is a scam, and everyone needs to make money. People are just cheap and can't understand that companys have mad overhead. You think it's cheap to insure and fuel those POS trucks.
Hamilton has by-laws in place making it illegal to be anywhere near an accident (I can't remember the distance and this includes the trucks themselves or an agent trying to set up a "deal") without being called by an involved party or the police. I've got a couple of friends that tow and they like the arrangement, it keeps the playing field more level.
The only time I've seen a cop do this is on the side of the highway. His excuse was he wanted the vehicle out of there as soon as possible for safety reasons. We got on the phone with the driver to ensure he was really close and the cop called off the other tow truck.
If it is police ordered TOW and it is not for a parking / traffic violation... you CAN just pay the driver your out of pocket and then submit the receipt back to CAA later. I have done that before where CAA / AAA was not available.
MadPoet
Well-known member
I did that before and I never got paid since 2002.
Mississauga reacted because one of the vultures racing to an accident scene crashed and killed a high school student walking on the sidewalk at Bristol Rd W and Creditview back in the later 1990s. At that time I believe that the city was going to issue license only for "slower" fully-equipped wreckers and flatbed equipment to curb the proliferation of faster and cheaper wheel-lift only pick-up trucks chasing wrecks.
http://www.mississauga.com/print/9147
redridernl
Well-known member
I live in that area and I've seen tow trucks blasting down the side streets and ignoring stop signs completely.
Red_Liner740
Well-known member
my friend was a tow truck driver for a bit, he needed some cash as he was in between jobs. Hated it. 12 hours of absolute boredom as he drove around looking for breakdowns and accidents mixed with minutes of pure chaos and driving around like a maniac. He also didnt make any money. He had to pay for his own gas/food etc etc, whether he got a hookup or not.
He also hated going to accident scenes and watching all the tow truck guys fighting over who gets the tow like vultures...probably why didnt make any money either...
He also hated going to accident scenes and watching all the tow truck guys fighting over who gets the tow like vultures...probably why didnt make any money either...
Not true, unless it's a criminal investigation, then they won't attend but as mentioned above, sometimes the police won't wait for CAA as they're chronically a long wait... especially in times of bad weather when everyone forgets how to drive.
I work around these retards and have such a hate on for them ..
Once they hear a call come out on the scanner, they break every law trying to be the first on scene. Once they are there, they park next to or block our path to get into the scene.
Best thing is watching them fight each other over who gets what car .. or if they are in somebody elses area, they get pretty ****** off than. Last year there were a few shootings between tow truck drivers due to other drivers responding to calls in what they call " their turf".
Theyd tow their own mother and charge her $1000 most likely ..
Once they hear a call come out on the scanner, they break every law trying to be the first on scene. Once they are there, they park next to or block our path to get into the scene.
Best thing is watching them fight each other over who gets what car .. or if they are in somebody elses area, they get pretty ****** off than. Last year there were a few shootings between tow truck drivers due to other drivers responding to calls in what they call " their turf".
Theyd tow their own mother and charge her $1000 most likely ..
Tow truckers are scum. I bet theres under the table dealings with cops too.
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