When Jared Story gets into his tow truck to head out to a roadside call, he’s often putting his life in the hands of passing drivers.
But he says not everyone is leaving him enough room to work or slowing down.
“It’s aggravating trying to do those jobs when people are whizzing by at highway speeds,” said Story, the owner and operator of J.S. Truckmart and X-treme Towing in Estevan. “You’re trying to do your job and it’s dangerous.”
After one recent call, Story took to Facebook to share his frustration with how many drivers are still failing to slow down, despite new laws that drivers must slow to 60km/h for snowplows, tow trucks, and other highway equipment stopped beside the road with flashing lights.
Fines for passing a tow truck at a highway speed cost hundreds of dollars, increasing depending on speed above 60.
“It’s somebody’s workplace that we’re talking about,” said Tyler McMurchy with SGI. “We want to make sure that tow truck operators, our emergency services personnel, snowplow operators, that everyone gets home safe, as well as the other motorists that are sharing the road with them.”
Story says he wants people to see the situation from the perspective of him and others like him.
“It’s scary when you think somebody could run you over when you’re climbing out from underneath something after you’ve hooked up your chains or whatever it is you needed to do underneath the vehicle.”
He says it especially rings true when a call can come in anytime, anyplace, and in any weather.
“We leave our families and we do whatever we need to do 24 hours a day, seven days a week to go help anybody that calls us,” Story said. “And we just don’t get the same respect in return.”
Story says he’s grateful his message is being seen on social media after being shared hundreds of times, but he wants to see more people take that message with them onto the highway.
