Fleet Maintenance - 28

This certification is known as Hazardous Waste
Operations and Emergency Response Standard,
or HAZWOPER.
"Services at this level are billable," Resch
advises.
Additionally, this cleanup will be included on
the itemized bill. Photo or video capturing capabilities may be employed to accompany the bill.
It is important to note that a thorough cleaning
is integral to the safety of the motoring public to
avoid any secondary accidents from occurring,
such as remnant or leftover fluids or debris which
could cause follow-up crashes by other vehicles
once the originating accident is cleared.
"Fleet managers oftentimes contradict the fact
that the recovery scene requires extensive cleanup caused by a single incident," Resch says. "And,
when they are not on-scene to see the extent of
what cleanup requires, [fleets] easily refute the tow
company's invoice. When a fleet's truck is involved
in a hazmat scenario, it's recommended that the
fleet manager responds to the scene to personally
see what is entailed in working the scene."

Insurance considerations

"It's recommended that you contact your [insurance] agent beforehand to see what is and is not
covered by your policy," Resch advises.
Once an incident does occur, the fleet must work
with the tow service provider and the insurance
company to alert both parties of the accident.
Resch suggests providing an insurance claim
number and the insurance agent's contact information to the towing or recovery service provider.
The fleet should also have the insurance provider send an estimator to the tow facility to assess
damage and make arrangements to have the vehicle or debris removed from storage.
"It's important the fleet manager notifies their
insurance provider as to the incident and soon-to-

Itemized billing
checklist
Look for these detailed items on
the towing company's invoice.
"For semi-sized tow bills, ask and receive
a complete written invoice that breaks
down individual components of services,"
advises Randy Resch, owner of Randall
Resch Training. These may include:
* Delivery and storage of wrecked vehicle
* Towing/recovery company's time on-scene
* Commercial rate or law enforcement hourly rate
* Stand-by time
* Number of tow operators present
* Number of tow trucks required
* Use of special equipment
* Labor to off-load
* Crane use
* Hazmat remediation
* Application of spreader bars
* Dive team
* Travel and delivery
* Days wrecked vehicle is kept in storage

28 Fleet Maintenance | April 2020

»Having a plan in place to handle the before, during, and after of an unexpected
tractor tow or vehicle recovery can help fleets to better plan for these events.
Photo courtesy of Blaine Brothers

come tow bill so to speedily get the claim process
started," Resch adds. "Doing so will help to lessen
daily storage rates from climbing."
"When dealing with a totally destroyed semitruck or trailer, don't let the insurance company walk away if they have responsibility to the
insured's property," Resch says. "It's been my
practice to send the invoice to both the trucking
company and the insurance provider. Keeping a
level of pressure on the insured oftentimes helps
in the negotiations or settlement of an invoice."
Insurance coverage can vary widely depending on the response needed for the disabled
vehicle. Riker says towing and recovery riders
are available through most commercial vehicle
insurance providers.
"Most of the accident response and cleanup is
covered by the public liability or cargo portion of
a fleet's insurance policy," Riker adds. "My best
recommendation is to make sure their cargo policy will cover cleanup under the conditions they
operate their fleet."
He says some examples may include all company equipment, owner operator or contractor, and
trailer interchange.

Understanding the invoicing

Towers and recovery companies have a responsibility to provide an itemized bill with clear and
thorough descriptions of services rendered. Fleets
should approach a dispute with courtesy and ask
questions to get explanation or clarification on
any unclear information.
"A well-written tow invoice will have all regulated fees detailed to explain the work, time on-scene,
portal-to-portal travel time, personnel and trucks
on-scene, and all costs of that work," Resch says. "A
well-presented tow invoice should include photographs, ground-based video, or overhead drone
coverage of the recovery."
Towing and recovery service providers cannot
provide an estimate for a job ahead of time, due
to the many variables for any response situation.

"A wrecked truck,
trailer, and
its debris will
ultimately require
a second tow from
the tow yard to a
repair facility or
salvage yard. For
a slightly reduced
rate, consider using
the same company
that towed the
vehicle/truck in
the first place."
Randy Resch, Owner,
Randall Resch Training

However, a fleet can confirm the hourly rates and
fees for some services such as lifting, up-righting, mobile service, tire changes, heavy winching,
off-decking, etc.
"One thing that we pride ourselves on is that we
hope to be able to communicate all of the reasons
for the cost to the customer; whether it's pictures, a
good detailed write-up of what was going on, and
offloading time or applications with the job, make

Fleet Maintenance

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