The organisation representing the roadside assistance sector is calling for a media awareness campaign urging drivers to slow down and change lanes when they see a tow truck on the hard shoulder.
"Not one more" is the slogan that the Red de Empresas de Auxilio en Carretera (REAC) has long been championing to raise public awareness of the serious safety problem that tow-truck operators face in the course of their work. Accidents in which these operators are hit by vehicles have not decreased in recent years, despite new signage and the application of good-practice protocols. For this reason, the National Roadside Assistance Alliance will ask the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) for a campaign to stop the toll of people being hit and killed during vehicle assistance and recovery.
The Alliance's spokesperson, Xavier Martí, makes the following complaint: "Every year we have dozens of deaths from these causes in the sector, without effective measures being taken to tackle the scourge". He adds that "unfortunately" it is not known exactly "how many have fallen so far this year, beyond what is known from local news reports or by word of mouth between companies in the sector". To date, the DGT has no specific statistics on this type of accident.
According to the Alliance, dozens of accidents of this kind occur every year. Neither the pandemic nor the adoption of measures such as better signalling of obstacles on the road, the V-16 beacon, the standardisation of high-visibility fluorescent clothing (PPE) or retroreflective markings on tow trucks have contributed to a reduction in people being run over and killed.
More training and awareness, more safety
Both proper training of operators and driver awareness are key in this respect. Operators must know where to position the tow truck, minimising activities on the traffic side of the carriageway, while other road users – whatever their vehicle – must bear this scenario in mind when they spot or pass a tow truck assisting another vehicle that has broken down or been in an accident.
"It is essential that drivers slow down, avoid being distracted by looking at the accident and, above all, change lanes to keep as far away as possible from the tow truck, near which the operator may be working," the Alliance points out.
Despite the various actions carried out by the Alliance under the slogan "Not one more", with black ribbons placed on tow trucks across the country, it is clear that a media intervention by the DGT would be much more effective in tackling the dramatic situation of tow-truck operators, by making it known to society as a whole.
The National Roadside Assistance Alliance is made up of the following regional and national associations and business organisations: ABEAC (Balearic Islands), ABEAC (Basque Country), ASCA (Catalonia), AMEAC (Madrid), ASCALEAC, (Castile and León), ASEDA (Andalusia), ASEGA (Galicia), AGRUAXA (Salamanca), ASEXTEAC (Extremadura), GRUPO CARTER (National), CEPAS (National), FEGRUAL (National Federation) AGREGA-GRÚAS and REAC (National Group).