Professional towing companies play an integral role in the transportation industry. Their skilled and professional approach to towing crashed vehicles guarantees the safety of the people involved, especially on the freeway. WHO report shows that approximately 1.19 million people pass away every year due to road traffic accidents.
A freeway is defined as a wide roadside with heavy traffic that ultimately increases the chances of vehicle collisions, accidents, and breakdowns. Therefore, understanding rights and responsibilities is important to safeguard yourself and your vehicle.
This blog covers the essential rights and key responsibilities that should be understood. It helps drivers to make a quick and wise decision. Sometimes, people are not aware of these rights and obligatory duties and it becomes difficult to get out of the situation.
Moreover, this guide walks you through the key difference between rights and responsibilities, why it matters, some essential duties of towing service providers, their legal considerations, and beneficial tips to utilize a hassle free towing experience.
Knowing all these things increases your knowledge about duties as an accountable driver and helps you get smooth and professional towing services.
The Difference Between Rights and Responsibilities
Most people get confused about these key notions in the towing industry. These are almost mirror images and, therefore, create complexities. Let us delve into the primary distinction between these two terminologies:
- Rights are the privileges given by towing companies. You are entitled to these things as a customer or driver, e.g., fair dealings, and transparent prices.
- Responsibilities refer to things that are mandatory for a driver to ensure protection and legal compliance, e.g., taking precautionary measures, and booking tow service.
Why Understanding Towing Rights and Responsibilities Matters
A freeway is a wide road with fast moving traffic and vehicles. Therefore, handling accidentally damaged vehicles on the freeway can be frustrating, and it becomes difficult to deal with this daunting situation. To immediately and smoothly get out of it, it is essential to know the rights and responsibilities of a driver. Having a profound knowledge of these ensures that you:
- Guarantees public and personal protection
- Prevent yourself from manipulated prices
- Show compliance with traffic laws
- Lower down the confusion and frustration
- Helps you to make informed choices
- Safeguard your personal belongings
- Build trustworthy bonds with service providers
- Stay away from major disputes and blunders
Your Rights as a Driver
Whether you encounter an accident or a collision on the freeway or anywhere else, the first and foremost thing to understand is the rights that a driver can take advantage of. Let's explore the details of the fundamental rights a driver has.
Right to Pick Your Towing Service
Sometimes, highway enforcement patrol suggests towing service providers, but you don't need to rely on them. As a driver or car owner, you have the absolute right to choose the towing company that you want. For instance, if you already know reliable and professional tow providers, you can call them and book their services.
Moreover, it will be you who decides and guides tow companies where you want to tow your car. Additionally, you have the authority to know the towing process in detail before agreeing to the service.
Right to Price Clarity
It is compulsory for towing companies to provide transparent pricing plans. You are entitled to ask about the towing fee, storage charges, and any other charges. Moreover, you can get a free quote for costs from any towing service provider because charges vary according to the size or model of the vehicle and target distance and location.
To what extent the vehicle is damaged and how much effort is required to professionally tow the vehicle can affect the overall costs. Besides this, make sure to ask about whether they have upfront charges or not.
Right to Get Consent Form
A consent form is a legal agreement or a contract between a driver and a towing company. It includes all the vital information, including vehicle, owner, towing services details, cost breakdown, signature, and date. Every detail needs to be mentioned in the contract.
Make sure to read all the information mentioned on the form. Do not sign it if you think you need additional confirmation related to anything. Moreover, you have the right to take a copy of the contract document to avoid any future hassle.
Right to Access Your Vehicle
Whether you are the owner or acting as the owner’s driver, you have the right to access the personal belongings during operational and business hours. This is only the case when your vehicle is towed to the storage facility center.
However, if the traffic police have stopped you from checking the vehicle, then you are not allowed to take your assets from the vehicle. Therefore, understanding this right is essential for smooth towing work.
Right to File a Complaint
A report from the Australian Consumer Survey 2023 shows that almost 90% of people have a sharp awareness of laws to protect their fundamental rights while purchasing products or booking services. So, if anyone is not satisfied with the service of the tow company, they have the right to report their concern to the Department of Transport.
For instance, if tow truck drivers show rude and unprofessional behavior, you can cancel their services. Moreover, if the tow trucks do not suit your vehicle, you are allowed to decline their services.
Other related concerns can be not giving a copy of the consent document, overcharging, not giving time to make a decision, and refusing to provide all the essential information you need to know. If anything related to this happens, you are free to make a complaint against them.
Your Responsibilities as a Driver
While you have the privileges of your rights, you also have key responsibilities that you need to pay attention to as a driver. Noted below are the most important obligations that you have to give attention to at any cost.
Call a Trustworthy Tow Service Provider
The first and foremost thing is to look for the best and the most reliable tow company. Knowing the depth of the competition in the towing industry, some facts are important to know. Where there are trustworthy service providers, there are also scammers.
So, not everyone who comes to you is dependable and authentic. Therefore, it is necessary to verify the towing service providers who first reach out to you and be watchful of the scammers.
Inspect and Move to a Safe Location
While you wait for the towing truck driver to come, you can inspect your vehicle. This immediate step helps you in finding the visible damage of the vehicle. The inspection of the damaged vehicle gives you a clear idea of the cost breakdown.
Moreover, in this waiting time, you can take out your personal belongings. Another important thing is to quickly transfer your vehicle, if possible, to a protected spot. It helps you to avoid traffic blockage in the middle of the road.
Take Essential Precautions
We know that the freeway is designed for high speed vehicular traffic and police patrols are always near. So, as a responsible driver, it is your responsibility to alert other drivers. You can do it by leaving the lights and headlights of your vehicle on.
This safety precaution can avoid any more damage to you, your car, and other roadside drivers. Moreover, if you have a reflective triangle, you can use it to warn or alert others.
Clear Communication With the Towing Company
When the tow company arrives at your location, you should communicate clearly with them. Tell them in detail the extent of the whole situation and the damage that happened to your vehicle. Tell the exact location and related details about where you want to tow your vehicle.
Don’t shy to ask for details related to cost, the towing process, and taking consent forms. A reliable company will not hesitate to provide any information that you need to know beforehand, like upfront and hidden charges.
Responsibilities of Towing Service Providers
Towing companies are designed to provide professional and prompt roadside assistance. These companies come to the rescue whenever a person gets into an accident on a highway or a vehicle engine fails in the middle of the desert and many other scenarios like this. A reliable and efficient towing service provider ensures the overall security of both the owner and the vehicle.
They must give rigorous training to the towing operators. It ensures that drivers can handle damaged vehicles with the utmost care. The company must be able to take responsibility in case of further damage and do regular fleet checkups and maintenance. It is also capable enough to smoothly handle misreading between clients and the company. At towingPerth, we are committed to provide:
- 24/7 Availability
- Quick and trustworthy services
- Affordable yet high quality
- Avoid further damage to the vehicle
- Use cutting edge and heavy duty equipment
- Compliance with the law
- Convenient booking procedure
Legal Considerations For Towing on the Freeway
The Bureau of Labor gave the statistics that every year almost 1280 drivers of towing companies get injured. The main reason behind this is noncompliance with the traffic rules and regulations provided by the state. Therefore, towing service providers must consider traffic laws because negligence can lead to penalties. Compliance with traffic rules helps to provide complete protection and security to the people involved in the rescue areas. Towing legal rules and regulations related to traffic vary from state to state. However, some general consideration are the following:
- Each tow truck driver should have a license and certificates.
- Have an official tow authority from the state.
- The tow truck has a permissible towing weight capacity limit.
- Do not exceed the number of vehicles that are allowed to load.
- Stay on the lane and do not make sudden changes in directions.
- Make sure all the accessories are properly tied with rope and other tools.
- Drive the truck at the maximum speed limit.
Tips for a Seamless Towing Experience
Sometimes, embarking on a journey comes with a lot of unexpected experiences. Therefore, it is best to get ready to handle any kind of nuisance. Here, you will find some important and beneficial tips. Relying upon this help to you take immediate actions with utmost care and expertise.
- Always keep emergency contacts, like the contact information of any towing company, which must be saved on your phone.
- Check out whether your insurance policies provide you roadside assistance in any case.
- Do not panic, as the secret to success is to stay composed and patient.
- Follow the immediate guidelines given by the traffic police.
The proper implementation of all the rights and responsibilities ensures that you get a quick and professional towing service on the freeway. Besides this, having a deep understanding of the towing service provider's responsibilities, make sure that you have availed cost friendly and finest quality on-the-spot assistance. Last but not least, always prefer a towing company that adheres to the traffic considerations provided by the state.