Page 30 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – May 2020

Slow Down, Move Over By Kimberly Schwind
On Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, less than a month after starting his job as a AAA tow truck operator, Dustin McClary went to assist a AAA member with a flat tire on the side of I-70 east near Columbus. His first time solo on the freeway quickly took a turn for the worse.
“I was changing the driver-side rear tire on the left-hand side of the road, and a lot of people were getting over, which I thought was pretty cool,” said McClary. “Then, I saw one car that wasn’t getting over. They just kept swaying, a little bit more and more to the left. As soon as
I got to scoot back a little bit after taking two lug nuts off, he side-swiped the car, pushed the car into me a little bit, then nose-dived into the tow truck and did a spinout on I-70 east, blocking two lanes.”
Luckily, everyone walked away from the
incident, but it’s a stark reminder of the dangers tow truck drivers face every day while working nobly to assist motorists in need.
The towing industry is 15 times deadlier than all other private industries combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An average of 23 tow operators are killed at the roadside every year, which equates to an average of nearly one every other week.
If you ask any tow truck operator, you’d be hard- pressed to find one that hasn’t had a close call while working on the side of the freeway.
“I’ve had a semi that if I would have turned around, I would have touched it,” said Giovanni Patete, AAA tow truck operator. “It was probably going 80 miles per hour.”
“I had to roll under a pickup truck one time,” said Paul Hickman, AAA tow truck operator.
All 50 states recognize the danger tow truck operators and other roadside workers face. That’s why they’ve all implemented Slow Down, Move Over laws. Ohio’s law requires drivers to move over or slow down if they can’t safely move over whenever they see a stationary vehicle on the side of the road with flashing lights.
Fewer than 30% of Americans know about these Move Over laws, and tow truck operators say others seem to be in a hurry or distracted.
“Every roadside, whether it be on the highway or just the regular streets, it seems people are just in too much of a hurry to get places, and it’s what’s getting us killed and getting us hurt,” said Hickman.
“I see a lot of drivers on their phone or driving with their knees and eating,” said McClary.
AAA Ohio tow operators Gio Patete, Paul Hickman and Dustin McClary.
Tow truck operators and other roadside workers do what they can to protect themselves and the motorists they are assisting.
“We can light up our area a little more to catch their eye, between the amber light and our white work light,” said Patete. “If I see a big ball of light, I’m going to slow down, just in case.”
“I always set up a perimeter first with my cones,” said Hickman. “I feel just a little bit safer having that perimeter, because at least if one of my cones gets struck, that’s that first alert for me or the driver that hit it.”
“I just keep my head on a swivel and wear reflective gear,” said McClary.
Law enforcement also has made an effort to enforce Ohio’s law. The Ohio State Highway Patrol has issued more than 23,000 citations for violations of Ohio’s Move Over law during the past five years. Yet, tow truck operators agree it’s going to take more than strong laws and enforcement to change driver behavior.
“I shouldn’t have to, every four seconds, look over my shoulder to make sure there aren’t headlights coming in my direction,” said Hickman. “And I shouldn’t have
to jump when I hear that rumble strip. It boils down to education. People don’t know. We need to spread
the word.”
Tow truck operators work together to spread the word
through online communities and to look out for each other on the roadside.
“There’s a whole community,” said Patete. “Other people may see different companies, and think they’re competing. Well, yeah, they may be competing, but if
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