Did you know operating a tow truck is one of the most dangerous jobs in America? An analysis by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found it to be 15 times deadlier than all other private industries combined. Every year an average of 24 emergency responders, including tow technicians, die while working along our roadways. That is one person every other week.
As a traffic safety advocacy group and emergency roadside service provider, AAA has worked to reverse that statistic for years — successfully lobbying for “Slow Down, Move Over” laws in all 50 states. The need to remind drivers of this law became urgent when, in Washington alone, in a six-month period, a tow truck operator and two customers were killed, another two technicians were hit and injured while helping AAA members stranded on the side of the highway.