(submitted photo/John Medynski)

By Ronald Quaroni

Dangerous Jobs

Near fatal incidents are cause for concern for local towing companies

Jan 14, 2020 | 12:52 PM

With the cold weather and increase in accidents, tow truck drivers are appealing to the public to give them space while they work.

“I don’t know if people drive with their eyes closed, but it’s scary out there,” John Medynski with Lakeland Towing said.

Medynski said his colleague was nearly struck when he recently responded to a call on Highway 11.

“We were on the shoulder of the road, it’s a double lane highway and [a driver] ran right into the vehicle we were picking up and that vehicle hit our tow truck,” he told paNOW. He added the tow truck driver “was at the back of the vehicle hooking up and he had to go running into the ditch.”

“Things like that shouldn’t happen, but it does. As time goes on, we just hope people pay more attention so we can go home to our families,” Medynski said.

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Danny Goodwin, the owner of Gateway North Towing Ltd., had a similar story to share.

“We almost lost a driver on Sunday. On [Highway 11] a guy was coming down the highway on a two-lane. He should have just pulled over into the other lane — he didn’t. He lost control of his vehicle probably 100 yards back of the tow truck and he [did a] 360 degree spin right past the truck, missed my driver by about five feet and piled into the ditch.”

“We almost lost a driver on Sunday.” _{Owner of Gateway North Towing, Danny Goodwin}

In both instances, the tow-truck drivers were unharmed.

According to SGI, 60 km/h is the maximum speed limit when passing tow trucks or emergency vehicles that are stopped with their lights flashing. The same speed requirement is in place when passing Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure equipment with lights flashing.

Motorists who fail to slow to 60 km/h could face fines.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni