Wait, do you mean ambulance chasers? Those who would try to make sure anyone injured in an accident knew, immediately, they could sue someone? No, sadly, accident chasing is on the rise in an industry you might not have imagined: towing.
When there is a vehicle involved in an accident, a tow truck, or two, will be needed to tow the vehicle away from the scene. Sometimes they have to go to a collision reporting center, sometimes they will be towed immediately to the driver’s repair shop of choice, or even to the owner’s home if they choose. At least that’s how it supposed to happen but that isn’t what’s going on right now.
The towing industry is seeing an astronomical increase in criminal activity, particularly over turf around the GTA. The current rule is that the first tow truck to arrive on scene is the one that tows the vehicles in need. This rule, though, is creating dangerous driving situations, putting bystanders at risk and even causing physical altercations at the scene of the accident – there have even been a few shootings reported at accident scenes. What’s more is that the drivers are receiving kick backs from impound lots and therapy practitioners to recommend to drivers to bring business there.
What’s so wrong with a recommendation? Well what’s happening is the impound lot is often times either owned by the same person who owns the tow company or it’s a friend of theirs. And when the car is then brought to that lot to await going to a repair shop, the fees start to pile up. These are fees that the insurance companies then have to pay to get the vehicle out of the lot, so the lot owners are essentially holding the vehicle hostage until the insurance companies agree to pay the price.
What’s worse is that the drivers involved in the illegal activity are bullying and threatening the legitimate drivers, scaring them from going into work. If they can intimidate the good business owners from going to work and being out on the road then it means more business for them, and the criminal activity will continue to grow. Some drivers have gone so far as to light tow trucks on fire while they are parked overnight, some even in the drive ways of other drivers’ homes.
Do insurance companies not have some kind of legal way to ensure they aren’t paying fees higher than they should? In most industries, fee schedules are regulated to make sure companies are not price gauging and taking advantage of customers in their biggest time of need, but the towing industry isn’t one of them. Some insurance companies have taken towers to court – in fact, the Ontario Small Claims Court has seen a spike in cases between insurance companies and towers, suing for being charged excessive fees they shouldn’t have to pay.
And, a good amount of the time, insurance companies are winning but that doesn’t solve the problem. In fact, Carr Law, which used to be located in a quiet strip mall just off of Highway 400 had to shut its doors permanently after its lawyers were mugged, threatened at gun point, the office was shot at and even set on fire. In one of these instances, the perpetrator specifically told lawyers to “Stop suing my friends”. This kind of violence isn’t ending with just the lawyers involved, though. There have been multiple cases around the GTA where tow truck drivers have been shot and killed, one execution style. Some might say these towing companies are fighting for business the way that drug dealers and gangs fight for turf.
There is very little regulation and management of the towing industry, which is what makes it easy for the criminal activity to continue. Across Ontario, for example, there are 444 municipalities, or regions. Only 17 of them have any kind of system in place for regulating or licensing tow truck drivers within them. This leaves a ton of room for unsafe equipment, drivers without proper industry knowledge and vehicle owners getting scammed as they trust someone to take their vehicle in their most vulnerable time.
Racing to the scene, a lot of the time, happens on any one of the 400-series highways you’ll find in South Western Ontario. Even if municipalities have rules and regulations, they don’t extend to the highways that run through them, as those are managed by the province. It’s hard for the OPP to enforce the rules throughout the highways as well. These races are incredibly dangerous as drivers are already going at faster speeds, and OPP has even reported some towers driving down the shoulders just to be the first on scene.
What’s the answer? Doug Nelson, the executive director of the Canadian Towing Association, says the industry needs stricter regulations and licensing laws, along with background checks, driving record checks and standardized training for all drivers. Many towing companies now will do some combination of the above, but none of it is standardized or regulated so no one really knows what knowledge drivers are going out into the towing world with.
There are also penalties for being caught “accident chasing”, and so many accumulated penalties means the owners of the towing company need to shut down their operations. The problem? They can just open another towing company the very next day with a new name.
As long as people are on the road, there will be a need for towing vehicles. To keep drivers safe and make sure they are not being taken advantage of, the towing industry needs to see some strict regulations and licensing laws. There are rights that drivers have, such as the tow company must provide you with an itemized invoice before you pay them and the final price cannot be more than 10% above the quoted price. While the OPP and municipal police forces do their best to stay out of the towing business, many are in support of any regulation that would make it safer for drivers especially when they’re stranded on the side of the road.
Toronto Tow Truck takes this news very seriously and we are monitoring the situation on our end. Luckily none of our drivers have had any incidents like this.