Question About Tow Truck Drivers

[zembonez]

I didn't say they all did it, but I'm not buying the call bit. These guys are just doing 85 point A to point B drivin.

I get passed by various county Sheriff vehicles and DPS like I am parked almost daily on 35 between Austin and San Antonio (and I've driven this route daily for 10 years). They drive like the speed limit doesn't apply to them. I roll in a hundred yards behind em and drive 85 right along with em while they clear the way.

I have total respect for LEOs. Have had quite a few in my family. I'm not coming down on them.

 

[Bithabus]

They drive like the speed limit doesn't apply to them.

It doesn't.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Well, I can personally vouch for the calls...although I agree that I too have seen one or two "late for lunch."

 

[hink]

Sec. 545.365. SPEED LIMIT EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCIES; MUNICIPAL REGULATION. (a) The regulation of the speed of a vehicle under this subchapter does not apply to:(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a call;(2) a police patrol; or(3) a physician or ambulance responding to an emergency call.(b) A municipality by ordinance may regulate the speed of:(1) an ambulance;(2) an emergency medical services vehicle; or(3) an authorized vehicle operated by a blood or tissue bank.​

That's right, ladies and gentlemen - those charged with enforcing speed limits (among other laws) do not actually have to observe the speed limits. Written right into the penal code is 'Do as I say, not as I do.' But to the OP's question - read section 545 of the penal code...I don't see anything about tow trucks being particularly exempt from speed limits, driving on shoulders or other non-road areas, or responding to 'emergency' calls. I can't see how a tow truck call could possibly be an emergency of any kind - the vehicle that requires the tow truck is already immobile.

 

[barstoolguru]

I had to rush my ass off on the sholder of the road to get here just to read this posting

 

[Kimber_me_timbers]

Hey Chunky, just out of curiosity, if you saw an LEO haulin ass, your dept or not, would roll code and cite him for speeding? Or would you assume he was on a call? Legal or not, it goes without saying that LEO professional courtesy supercedes the law. Or at least it sure seems that way.

 

[Glitter and Guns]

I don't know how the law is written, but very good family friends run a tow business and there have been many times that the emergency workers couldn't get people out of vehicles until the tow truck showed up to move some other vehicle(s). Of course, not every wreck, but it sure does happen. I would certainly consider them emergency vehicles at that point. They work a lot of major wrecks on I20.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Hey Chunky, just out of curiosity, if you saw an LEO haulin ass, your dept or not, would roll code and cite him for speeding? Or would you assume he was on a call? Legal or not, it goes without saying that LEO professional courtesy supercedes the law. Or at least it sure seems that way.

When your bitterness ends and maturity begins, ask that question again in a no sarcastic, non rhetorical manner. Yeah, I give benefit of the doubt that a police officer is doing their job correctly. Are you aware of what the code states for an officer and speed? You have no clue on the daily functions of the position of a LEO and apparently have no true desire to learn from an unbiased view as youve displayed in your comment.

Speed limits I most residential areas is typically 30mph, unless the city has lowered the limit. You'll never see me over 20, rarely over 15 as I pay attention to homes, surroundings, property, etc. I also spend a lot of time in contact with the citizens/patrons of the areas. Yeah, seems a little boy scout-ish to some, but that's how I do my job daily. Main roads, where the speed is often 35-45mph, you'll find me driving about 5mph under. Just because the limit may be 45, doesn't mean I have to. Now, if I covered a larger district,patrol tactics may vary, but necessary given the area to cover efficiently. Believe it or not, I stop at all signs, completely....yield where necessary....even waive to the school crossing guards. I'm the officer pulling over the kid riding his power wheels so Dad can take a picture. Go to your department, voice your concerns, meet the officers who aren't what you think them to be....

How is it considered "professional courtesy" to not stop a marked patrol car? Lmao....Roll code? A simple term or phrase might be to simply ask if I would conduct a traffic stop. No, I wouldn't. If I felt another unit was exceeding the speed in an unsafe manner, without cause, formal actions/inquiries would be made/taken. Don't know about you, but have seen the news? Professional courtesy, brotherhood, whatever you want to call it, can lead to loss of jobs/charges. I conduct myself on duty in a professional manner, do my job unbiased, and show courtesy to a lot of folks. It's not about a group, race, or organization. Sorry you live in, or feel you live in such an unjust society on your side of town, I guess.

 

[Glockster69]

I can't see how a tow truck call could possibly be an emergency of any kind - the vehicle that requires the tow truck is already immobile.

Besides what GG said above, that arguement may hold water in low population areas but in high population, hundreds if not thousands of vehicles at a time trying to move from one area to another, and one stalled vehicle blocking the movement creates a hazard for all the others in line.

Do tow truck drivers abuse their lights? Yes
Are the trucks needed in an emergency to potentially prevent other emergencies? Yes

 

[TexasRedneck]

....and when an LEO sees 'em abusing those lights, they generally will have a li'l conversation with 'em. I've talked w/some of the tow drivers, they often complain about bein' "hassled" by cops. Tells me that the PD is generally doin' their job....

 

[Kimber_me_timbers]

When your bitterness ends and maturity begins, ask that question again in a no sarcastic, non rhetorical manner. Yeah, I give benefit of the doubt that a police officer is doing their job correctly. Are you aware of what the code states for an officer and speed? You have no clue on the daily functions of the position of a LEO and apparently have no true desire to learn from an unbiased view as youve displayed in your comment.

Speed limits I most residential areas is typically 30mph, unless the city has lowered the limit. You'll never see me over 20, rarely over 15 as I pay attention to homes, surroundings, property, etc. I also spend a lot of time in contact with the citizens/patrons of the areas. Yeah, seems a little boy scout-ish to some, but that's how I do my job daily. Main roads, where the speed is often 35-45mph, you'll find me driving about 5mph under. Just because the limit may be 45, doesn't mean I have to. Now, if I covered a larger district,patrol tactics may vary, but necessary given the area to cover efficiently. Believe it or not, I stop at all signs, completely....yield where necessary....even waive to the school crossing guards. I'm the officer pulling over the kid riding his power wheels so Dad can take a picture. Go to your department, voice your concerns, meet the officers who aren't what you think them to be....

How is it considered "professional courtesy" to not stop a marked patrol car? Lmao....Roll code? A simple term or phrase might be to simply ask if I would conduct a traffic stop. No, I wouldn't. If I felt another unit was exceeding the speed in an unsafe manner, without cause, formal actions/inquiries would be made/taken. Don't know about you, but have seen the news? Professional courtesy, brotherhood, whatever you want to call it, can lead to loss of jobs/charges. I conduct myself on duty in a professional manner, do my job unbiased, and show courtesy to a lot of folks. It's not about a group, race, or organization. Sorry you live in, or feel you live in such an unjust society on your side of town, I guess.

For the life of me I can not figure out how you took anything I said as sarcastic or as a personal attack... I imagine your hostility stems from something else outside of this dialogue, and you just happened to vent it here.

At any rate, all I was implying was that LEO in a marked cruiser can be "late for lunch" as you put it, and as you yourself said, the other LEO's would assume he was responding to a call and wouldn't "conduct a traffic stop", or maybe they would assume nothing at all and just not give it another thought. Either way, a marked patrol vehicle will almost never get a moving violation. Thats all I was saying.

You of all people on this forum should know that I'm not all "f**k tha police", who did I call on the phone when I had a situation regarding my tailgate of questionable legality?

At ease soldier. And for what its worth, I work all over downtown dallas, I had an LEO drive past me one time "bassing" gangster rap... I swear it on my life, so yeah, its safe to say that not all LEOs conduct themselves in the same professional manner as you do.

 

[beachman68]

I own a towing service and we must follow the same laws as the motoring public. We are not emergency vehicles or first responders. In Houston and Harris County they chase wrecks, that means to get paid they have to be the first ones there. Its dangerous and a very outdated process. Does the LEO look the other way? Of course. If they are involved in an accident doing something stupid they will be in the wrong.

The only thing the we have in common is that you must slow down or move over for a tow truck just like a emergency vehicle.

 

[Mic]

I have always assumed police did the "professional courtesy" thing and wouldn't mess with another officer unless they were really screwing up bad. I've always figured it's like a brotherhood - you get rid of the screwups and you take care of the rest.

 

[Kimber_me_timbers]

I have many friends that are LEO's that I've asked about this since the OP, and the best explaination I heard was that professional courtesy is shown in the street so the departments arent made to look bad to the public but that if one officer notices another acting in an inapropriate manner, depending on the "totality of the incident", then it will probably be reported to the watch commander or whatever. However, it was also said that, and especially in the case of moving infractions, that it is unlikley to ever be reported, and if it were it could be problematic to "unit cohesion", and since these officers depend on a strong sense of "brotherhood" especially in the eventuality of a serious situation where one would be forced to depend on another officer for backup, it almost never happens. Im not condemning these actions, I completley understand them. All I was pointing out is you will probably never see one cruiser stopping another on the highway for a movong violation.

 

[txinvestigator]

Sec. 545.365. SPEED LIMIT EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCIES; MUNICIPAL REGULATION. (a) The regulation of the speed of a vehicle under this subchapter does not apply to:(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a call;(2) a police patrol; or(3) a physician or ambulance responding to an emergency call.(b) A municipality by ordinance may regulate the speed of:(1) an ambulance;(2) an emergency medical services vehicle; or(3) an authorized vehicle operated by a blood or tissue bank.​

That's right, ladies and gentlemen - those charged with enforcing speed limits (among other laws) do not actually have to observe the speed limits. Written right into the penal code is 'Do as I say, not as I do.' But to the OP's question - read section 545 of the penal code...I don't see anything about tow trucks being particularly exempt from speed limits, driving on shoulders or other non-road areas, or responding to 'emergency' calls. I can't see how a tow truck call could possibly be an emergency of any kind - the vehicle that requires the tow truck is already immobile.

Uhhh. Dude, none of that is in the friken penal code.

And if you cannot comprehend why the Transportation Code makes that allowance you are not a person of reason.

 

[txinvestigator]

The only thing the we have in common is that you must slow down or move over for a tow truck just like a emergency vehicle.

Can you cite the law that requires the operator of a motor vehicle yield the right of way to a tow truck?

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Only thing I've heard regarding tow trucks is to slow when passing/change lane....

 

[Bithabus]

The only thing the we have in common is that you must slow down or move over for a tow truck just like a emergency vehicle.

Nonsense.

 

[txinvestigator]

Nonsense.

lol. I am still waiting for a cite.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Referring to HB378?

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1.Section 545.157, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (a)On approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle using visual signals that meet the requirements of Sections 547.305 and 547.702, or a stationary tow truck using equipment authorized by Section 547.305(d), an operator, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, shall: (1)vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle or tow truck when driving on a highway with two or more lanes traveling in the direction of the emergency vehicle or tow truck; or (2)slow to a speed not to exceed: (A)20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or more; or (B)five miles per hour when the posted speed limit is less than 25 miles per hour. (d)In this section, “tow truck” means a vehicle that: (1)has been issued a permit under Subchapter C, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code; and (2)is operated by a person licensed under Subchapter D, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code.