Tow Drivers, Operators Ask Public to Give Them More Space on Side of the Roads

You can get fined $50 in North Dakota and $100 in Minnesota

MOORHEAD, Minn. — We’re all used to slower work days every once in awhile but in the towing industry, that doesn’t really exist during the winter.

“It’s exciting. I get to go to a big accident scene and then you get to clean everything up, fix everything. It’s kind of an adrenaline rush and being around all of it, it’s just pretty crazy,” said Nathan Rahn, driver and operator at Aggressive Towing.

At Aggressive Towing in Moorhead, the calls start pouring in 7:00 in the morning but by noon, they’ll have more than 200.

“Between us five drivers, we get at least 30–40 calls a piece, a day. So, that’s on a good day. Then we’re pretty tired after that,” Rahn said.

But it’s not just a bunch of crashes they’re responding to. It’s also your traditional cars that aren’t starting in the winter.

Responding to all those calls means that tow truck drivers are spending several hours working on the side of the highway operating heavy machinery. But drivers don’t seem to give them enough space to do their job.

“I could probably count on one hand and I’ve been here for almost two years the number of people who actually move over for you. It’s concerning because if I’m about to hookup to a semi and have to lay underneath the vehicle and I can’t see everything and a car would come up and hit that truck, it’s going to run me over. So it’s a little nerve wracking,” Rahn said.

Rahn says on average, tow truck drivers and operators have at least one close call a month if not more.

“There’s two or three lanes on an interstate anywhere around here so you can use the other lane so that’d be nice,” Rahn said.

If you don’t, it’ll cost you a $50 fine in North Dakota and $100 in Minnesota.

“I don’t think it gets enforced too well. Even with emergency vehicles, it doesn’t seem like no one gets over for them either, Rahn said.

Rahn says summers can stay busy because of equipment tow trucks haul around but it’s still a lot slower than during the winter.