towtruck drivers seem to be a species of vulture unto themselves – slimy, scheister, cheating, conniving scum.

Copyright - Adam Romanowicz

the other night i get a frantic call from the s.o.. he’s hit the center island while on his way home, blown out his tyre and is now stuck in the middle of the road and needs me to come and tow his car.

i get there to find him surrounded by 5 tow-trucks, all blocking the road. one of the drivers, an impossibly young, cocky kid, has him hitched to his truck and is getting him to sign some paperwork. i can see L is almost hyper ventilating, he’s so freaked out. he’s called our broker and the broker is sending a truck. i hear him asking the kid if he’s from “rapid”, the company the broker has organized. the kid says, “yes, yes, just sign here”. as L signs, he notices the name on the tow truck and realizes that it’s not the right company name. the kid finally agrees to release L’s car off the truck, but refuses to relinquish the paper he signed, while the drivers all stand around, hands in their pockets, cocky grins on their faces, “we know something you don’t…”

the next moment a radio crackles and they all race to their trucks and take off, tyres burning rubber, ignoring any road rules in their quest to ingest the next bit of road kill. L has to jump into the truck to stop the kid from taking off with his car still attached. finally the kid follows the marauding pack.

a cop car shows up while we wait for the designated towtruck to arrive. soon the other towtrucks trickle back, each driver hopping up, predators prowling for a kill.

the cops are (actually) pretty cool. they get the kid to fetch his book and cancel the agreement (they would still have charged him, whether they towed the truck or not, simply because they had L’s signature!) turns out the kid doesn’t have a driver’s license (he says he’s 18) and denies being the driver of the truck. we get into an argument about him calling me a liar, as he insists that he wasn’t driving, while i assert he was. i finally ask if he lies as much while sitting in church on sunday mornings. that seems to shut him up. turns out he’s the cocky ring-leader because it’s his father’s company. asshole!

anyway, the designated truck finally arrives and tows L’s car to a gas-station down the road where he fills out paperwork. the cops follow to make sure all’s ok. turns out they’ve recognized me, they’re just not sure from where and when L tells them, the male cop starts asking about acting work.

strange world.

we head home. L is understandably freaked out and rattled. he’d just got his car back from the shop that morning. now there’s a a deductible that has to be paid and our insurance payments are going up. not like it’s not expensive enough as it is.

be warned, if you are in an accident and interact with any tow truck drivers, do not sign ANYTHING, do not allow them to TOUCH your car unless you are absolutely sure what you’re getting into. these f$ckers will break all rules of the road and cause accidents in their haste to make a buck and they prey on people who are at their most distraught and vulnerable. i’ve seen tow trucks driving down the wrong side of the road in midday traffic, going through red lights, causing other cars to swerve out of their way.

oh, did i mention that i think towtruck drivers are marauding, predatory vulture scum? with all abject apologies to vultures, that is.