Slow down for tow trucks, too, police say

Abraham Vasquez constantly reminds his tow truck operators to be careful on the road.

"I tell the guys, 'Whenever you're picking up a call on the highway, you keep an eye on traffic. You really can't do much, but at least if you see it coming, maybe you can jump out the way. Never turn your back,' " said Vasquez, the owner of Capitol City Towing. "It's scary."

Austin police ramped up patrols on Interstate 35 South last week to remind drivers that tow trucks are part of the state's Move Over/Slow Down law, which requires drivers to move over for stopped emergency vehicles with their lights on or go 20 mph slower than the posted speed limit.

Drivers might recognize police cars, fire trucks and EMS ambulances as emergency vehicles, but Texas Department of Transportation vehicles and tow trucks are also considered emergency vehicles under the law, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Tow trucks were designated as emergency vehicles in 2013, a decade after the law was first passed, said Austin police Det. Patrick Oborski.

Oborski and 19 other officers last week watched for drivers failing to slow down or move over for a tow truck with its lights on that was stationed near the Onion Creek Parkway exit on northbound Interstate 35. Officers issued a total of 238 warnings for improperly passing an authorized emergency vehicle, police said.

Tasha Mora, a co-owner of A&A Wrecker & Recovery, hoped Wednesday's operation got the message across that tow trucks are emergency vehicles, too. Mora became emotional discussing the operators who have been hurt or killed while trying to tow mangled vehicles from crashes in Texas and across the country.

"We've had very close calls with our company," she said. "We've had a driver have their arm skimmed, or had the rear view mirror hit. But we know of tow companies in Austin that have actually had their vehicles totaled and hit, and drivers injured and drivers killed, in the surrounding areas especially."

None of Vasquez's tow truck operators has been hit and injured while responding to a crash, but he discusses incidents that have occurred in other states and cities in a group chat with other operators.

"It's part of the job," he said.

Other emergency first responders have also been killed or injured while working a crash or assisting in directing traffic.

• Round Rock police officer Charles Whites died in April 2018 after he was hit by a car while directing traffic around the scene of a fatal crash on Interstate 35. Whites was hit by a driver who did not react quickly enough to the officer's commands and drove into him.

• An Austin police officer was injured while directing traffic near the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October 2018. Cody Martin, another Austin police officer, was struck in a hit-and-run in February 2018 at a crash scene in Del Valle.

• Austin police officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq was fatally injured while escorting a funeral procession on a motorcycle in September 2016. A vehicle driven by Ana Marie Prado collided with Abdul-Khaliq and she was was cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, police said.

The Move Over/Slow Down law is enforced by Austin police year-round, but the department has conducted seven or eight operations similar to last week's over the past six months. Those operations have resulted in 1,500 traffic stops, half of which ended in citations, Oborski said.

Usually, drivers are issued a Class C misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of up to $500, Oborski said.

"We're hoping that (the Move Over/Slow Down law) becomes just as common as the Don't Mess with Texas Awareness campaign. We hope it becomes just as common as when you pull over when you see a first responder with their emergency lights," Mora said.