Chattanooga: Grappling hooks tossed in fight over highway towing ordinance

The cement mixer had flipped over on Interstate 75, landing on a car and trapping one person inside.

Rescuers were trying to free the person when tow-truck operator Shannon Yates showed up with his 70-ton truck.

Wrapping chains around the cement truck, Mr. Yates’ truck — known in the industry as a rotator — pulled the massive vehicle straight up, giving rescuers time to free the trapped person.

“I had 80,000 pounds lifted over their head,” Mr. Yates said.

The Chattanooga City Council has been looking at a change to city law that would allow 50-ton tow trucks — whether rotator or the more-familiar fixed boom — to clean up large-scale interstate wrecks, such as tractor-trailer turnovers.

The proposed change also would require companies to clear wrecks within 90 minutes or face being taken off the city’s rotation list. The council also wants new rules requiring operator training and certification.

Last week, the council voted unanimously to defer action on the ordinance for 35 days after several towing companies, none of which own a 50-ton truck, objected to the new ordinance.

Knoxville-attorney Michael McGovern, who represents four towing companies in the area whose largest trucks are 30-ton fixed booms, told council members that 30-ton wreckers can do the same work as the rotator trucks as long as the operators have proper training.

“It is a handy tool,” Mr. McGovern said about the rotator truck. “But it’s not necessary. A helicopter is a handy tool. But it’s not necessary.”

Opponents said the ordinance change also gives exclusivity to a certain few companies that own rotator trucks in the city.

Of the seven towing companies used by the city to take care of wrecks, only two have rotator trucks. The companies are owned and operated by Doug Yates, and his brother, Guy. They do not work together and operate separate independent businesses, said Doug Yates, owner of Doug Yates Towing & Recovery. Shannon Yates is the son of Doug Yates.

Rotator trucks are needed to clean up the roads quickly and safely, he said.

“Why shouldn’t the city of Chattanooga have the best?” he asked. “A wrecker is the last thing on people’s minds until they need it.”

Besides safety issues involved, the council also is concerned about the time it takes to clean up such wrecks. A recent wreck on Interstate 24 turned the highway into a one-lane road for eight hours.

Owners of the other towing companies argue they can clean up large-scale wrecks, too. An executive with Mosteller’s Towing & Recovery Wrecker Service said its 30-ton wreckers are sufficient.

“All I want and all the Class C operators want is a fair shake,” said Janie Wandell, director of operations for Mosteller’s.

equipment vs performance

The city passed its towing ordinance in 2003. But in 2005, the council put an 18-month moratorium on the law after changing it to require that only rotator trucks work interstate wrecks. Six months ago, the moratorium ended and the council began at looking at a new ordinance.

Council members said they wanted to draft an ordinance more oriented toward performance and training, rather than what equipment is used. But some towing experts disagree with their decision.

“You can have the best trained people in the world,” said Phillip Sally, vice chairman of the city’s Beer and Wrecker Board. “But you can only move so much with so much equipment.”

No other municipality across the United States has an ordinance regulating tow trucks, state and federal transportation officials said. Georgia and Florida have state laws for towing standards on interstates. Tennessee has no standards regulating interstate towing, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Georgia’s law regulates the area around Atlanta, while Florida’s law covers the Florida Turnpike, officials said.

Mike Akridge, deputy state traffic engineer over incident management and commercial vehicle operations for Florida Department of Transportation, said equipment is as much a factor as training and performance.

“I’ve seen a hundred times Jimmy Bob shows up and he says, ‘Yeah, we can do this,’” Mr. Akridge said. “Then 2 1/2 hours later he says, ‘I need help.’ Then you’re calling out someone with a rotator and they’re cleaning it up.”

money on the interstate

Chattanooga has had six tractor-trailer accidents this year on area interstates, city records show. Doug Yates handled two calls while Guy Yates handled four.

Citywide, rotators and 30-ton fixed-boom wreckers have been called to 46 incidents on the interstate and secondary roads, records show. Doug Yates towing handled 19 of those calls, records show. Many of those wrecks were owner’s request, he said, where his services were specifically requested.

When a 30-ton fixed boom wrecker shows up at a wreck, city law states the operator can charge an hourly rate of $450 during the day and $500 an hour during nights and weekends.

Rotator operators charge a standard rate of 10 cents to 15 cents per pound of the vehicle being towed, the city’s ordinance states. The average load for a heavy truck is 80,000 pounds, Mr. Yates said.

A typical wreck takes two to three hours to clean up, he said. So, a rotator can make about $12,000 for one job, while a Class C can make about $1,500.

When paid by the hour, some smaller towing operators may try to “milk” time so they can be paid as much as possible, Mr. Akridge said. It happened in Florida, he said.

“I know there have been plenty that have milked in the past,” he said.

Ms. Wandell said performance standards, such as the 90-minute cleanup rule, could help prevent those types of situations. She said she and other Class C operators welcome those rules, as well as training and certification.

“I’m not saying the rotator is not a good tool,” she said. “It’s a good tool. But I can do what they can do.”