http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4660711&page=1
Im pretty sure that was unnecessary. On a related note, does anyone know what rights you have (in a situation when the highway patrol has called a towtruck after you are in an accident) to keep the tow truck driver from destroying the car if it may otherwise still be repairable (and there is a reasonable chance it could be removed without more serious damage)?
I didn't read all that. Cliff's notes?
Sorry, I guess its a rather long post, so here you go:
-Audi spins on freeway due to possible mechanical failure and hits chain link fence
-car still runs, and has only body damage at this point
-tow truck drivers shows up, and ignores reqest from owner to extract car forwards rather than backwards, then proceedes to destroy the car by dragging it across the pole, which goes though the floorpan, center console, dash and windshield.
-driver realizes his mistake, and extracts the car in the direction the onwers reqested to begin with, but now damaged beyond repair.
Driver's liable. It happened to me last winter, not as severe, but same thing.
The Audi is totaled. My guess is now the insurance companies battle it out. For the car owner, most everything will be the same - pay your deductable.
Yes Audi persons insurance will pay first to get the person a new car. Then... Audi Person turns over photos to insurance company. Insurance company subrogates to Tow truck insurance company. Blah blah blah..
So, do insurance companies love or hate cell phone cameras? I think tow truck drivers hate them.
Woody wrote:So, do insurance companies love or hate cell phone cameras? I think tow truck drivers hate them.
The Audi owner's insurance company loves it. The drivers company hates it. Its a love-hate relationship.
Like ice cream and people, tow truck drivers come in several flavors. Some are experienced, others just started last week. It's not hard to tell the difference once you observe them in action. Sometimes a well-placed twenty dollar bill is the difference between getting it done your way or theirs.
Sad but true. The driver turnover in my area is pathetic. Guys who have never towed a car in their life are cut loose with roll-backs from the pound all the time; I've seen many who just rip a car to pieces when it's not needed.
I always get a flatbed......Always!
Grtechguy wrote:I always get a flatbed......Always!
In a situation like that you get whatever the Highway Patrol called for. Sometimes the request makes it through, often it is lost somewhere along the way, which is what the dollies are for. Thier job is to clear the road as quick as possible.
In this case the tow companies insurance is responsible for anything that happened after the accident, which is why you should always look under something before you start to drag it. I've never seen a pole make it through the floor before but they will easily tear out an oil pan, transmission ect.
From talking to one of the people who was there, I think the driver knew he was going to destroy the car pulling it out, but was in a hurry becasue it was an accident recovery. Before that happened I think they would have fixed it, becasue that car was purchased for something like $15k and has had many thousands of dollars worth or maitnace work to keep it in good shape, but isnt any different to the insurance company than one for $6k on craigslist.
It's true that you don't have the same luxury of time when blocking an intersection on a busy hiway, In the aforementioned incedent, I pled with the tow guy to let me jack up the front of the van before pulling the now-married bumpers apart. There just wasn't time for me to set the jack. He ended up snatching them apart with brute force instead, which left the Olds' bumper on the asphalt in the middle of the crossing, and no extra damage to the already bent bumper of my van.
There's something to be said for driving a vehicle built like a tank. 
A friend in high school worked for a local garage with a big towing business. They sent him (age 16) to recover a broken down Dodge Dart. He quit when he realized the Dart that just passed him going down a hill on a highway was the car he used to be towing. Another time, a rocket scientist from the same company released a car from the wrecker on a hill without first putting the car in gear, or setting the e-brake. The tow company owner tried to convince the owners of the 2 parked cars that were hit by the runaway that it was THEIR fault for their cars being parked where they could be hit by a rolling car. Riiiiiiight
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think any driver is going to cut a fence apart to extract a car. then he's paying for a fence. I think the driver is free and clear.
well, at least she could walk across the access road to look at a new car...
I once watched one of my alfa spiders roll of the back of a rollback, fall to the ground 3 feet and roll onto the freeway. This was all because the driver hooked onto the tie down strap that was spot welded to the trunk floor to pull the car onto the bed. I told him that he should not pull from that location. He looked at me and said "I know what I'm doing, you are not a tow truck driver, stand back let me do my job."
Needless to say, the towing company ended up paying for that one.
I get the feeling that as far as the PD is concerned, the car was secondary to getting the mess cleaned up. If the car hadn't been in the fence to start with, he wouldn't have had to worry about the pole.
A company I worked had a Flex Track stuck in a pond. No other problems other than stuck. When it came out of the pond it was on the roof. The wrecker driver flipped it some how. He drug it clear on the roof and then flipped it back over. Needless to say, it was trashed. Like the previous post said, some of the drivers really suck.
If you set the handbrake and pull from the front the car spins like a top . Tow truck guy could have avoided damage but he was lazy .
I've had a couple bad experiences with "pros" lately.
I'm a smart guy and/but I'm also diplomatic. If I think I can help the situation, I try to do it without insulting the experience of the "pro."
I ran into a friend at a park who had locked her keys in her car. The tow company guy had already been working on it for a good while and was having a hard time getting it unlocked. he had a thing inspired by a blood pressure cuff stuck in the door frame to give him room to get a big gumby-doll like stick in there to trip the lock on the passenger door. I peered in from the driver side when he got the lock tripped. But the door would not open when he pulled on the door handle. My first though, and I offered this up to the "pro" was "I think if you take the presssure out of that thing, it'll pop right open when you pull the handle."
The guy just shook his head and continued going at the lock and calling folks on the cell phone expressing his frustration.
After a few minutes, I once more said, "I REALLY think that if you just release the pressure on the door frame, it will open right up." The guy kinda shrugged, twisted the valve to let the air out of the bag and tried the handle...it popped right open. The guy did not say another word to me...he just packed up his stuff, got in the truck and drove off.
The other was a dumptruck driver. In my eperience, dump truck drivers are generally pretty good at backing up trucks and putting loads exactly where they want them. This old codger, on the other hand, simply could not figure out how to back a truck along a fenceline. I tried to help guide him (at first he seemed receptive to it) but he just wouldn't do what I told him needed to be done.
He went back to the quarry with a a full load of gravel (what...16 tons or so?). I really wanted that driveway, too! Oh well...I just need to find someone who can back up a truck, I guess.
Clem
I my previous life working for a tow company we hired a guy with lots of "experiance". They are the worst type. I had seen him around at other companies and didn't really care for him but we needed a body and sometimes my opinion didn't really matter. We did a lot of road service for new car companies and one of the things i repeated during his training was that if you don't think you can put a car where the dealer wants it tell them. it's easier to get a few guys and push it then to fix damaged new cars. One monday i get a call from a dealer in Connecticut. Mr Hotshot was trying to unload a car into a parking space and tore up the noses on three 911's, the oldest was about two years. He also bent a control arm and when they reviewed their security video he hit their building twice. That was one of the reasons I tried to hire people that had never seen a tow truck before. They were more likely to listen and not break things.
