Company owner calls for end to ‘first-on-scene’ towing

Contracting out hailed as possible solution for industry’s issues

Several weeks ago, I wrote a column about tow trucks. I specifically talked about how, when there’s a crash on the highway, there’s a no-holdsbarred race between trucks to get there because the first to reach the scene gets the tow.

Ambulances used to do that. They were privately owned and they’d race to get to a crash scene first because if there was a fatality, the first-on-scene would get the body. Some of those ambulances were owned by funeral homes; other parlours paid the ambulance driver for the delivery.

Mike Harris put an end to that in 1998 with what was called the Local Services Realignment, which resulted in the EMS ambulance system. And at least one tow-truck company president thinks the current government has to act as decisively to end the freefor-all on the roads that exists today.

Joey Gagne is the owner and president of Abrams Towing Services. Abrams has locations in the GTA, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa — just about everywhere — and has been in business since 1984. For years, Gagne was president of the Provincial Towing Association of Ontario, which works on the legislation process with government.

For just about forever, there’s been a problem with accident clearance on, particularly, the 400-Series highways. That’s where the money is. You have established, honest, tow companies that have been around for what seems like forever and they frequently have their business stolen from them by poorly trained, opportunistic, cowboy towers who swoop in, scoop the damaged vehicle and haul if off to unscrupulous body shop operators who refuse to release it until obscene amounts of money are paid.

Since that column appeared, I heard from a lawyer who spends just about all his time in court on behalf of Canada’s big banks, trying to get those cars and light trucks released from liens. And from Gagne, who felt I owed the honest towers a column to tell their side of the story.

Gagne, in his role as president of the tow association, was on the committee that came up with the most recent set of regulations that became law in 2018 and stipulated that tow trucks had to have their rates posted, had to take credit cards as payment, and that sort of thing.

But Gagne, in our wide-ranging interview in which he talked about his company’s rigorous training program and how a few bad apples are not representative of what’s essentially been a long-established, mom-and-pop industry, said those regulations failed to put an end to the “first-onscene” or “first available” system.

“It creates a feeding frenzy,” said Gagne, “and the situation will never improve until that’s addressed. The sharks come out of nowhere and they just start chewing on everything. There are consumer abuse issues and now criminality because the money people are getting from this first-available process is becoming organized crime and it’s a process that has to change.”

Gagne said the answer is for contracts to be tendered that provide a fast service, an affordable service and a safe service

“Those three things are the key pillars of this process,” he said.

“Montreal has a series of contracts on their expressways. In the States, they have the traffic incident management system (TIMS) and they have dedicated, trained operators, independent businesses, with the responsibility to have the equipment on call and available 24/7, to clean the roadways quickly and safely at an affordable price.

“It’s not complicated, It’s just that the politicians need the political will to enforce it.”

Gagne acknowledges that the police, particularly the OPP, like the current system because their primary concern — after tending to anyone injured — is to get traffic moving.

But if they could depend on contracted towers, like the Montreal and U.S. examples, Gagne is convinced they’d like the new system. And it would be better for the consumer.

Asked how a driver who’s had a collision that requires a tow can protect themselves today, he said: “You should be able to call your own tow truck — Abrams, CAA, your garage. If there’s a tow truck already there, you can deal with him but the first thing you want is a document from him saying this is what he’s going to charge you, this is where he’s going to take you and he signs it and you sign it and you get the police officer to agree that he or she’s seen it. Take the officer’s info; get their badge number on the document.

“Don’t let the tower take you where he wants to go. You want the tower to take your car to a place where you feel safe.”

So, there you go, premier. Ban accident chasing and contract out responsibility and most of the towing problems in Ontario will be solved.