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Slide Off Recovery

2K views 22 replies 20 participants last post by  TopThrillJoe 
#1 ·
just out of curiousity, i have been told both sides by many different poeple. But if you driving down the road, and come across someone who slid off into the ditch, can you recover them with your truck and a strap or if you have a winch? I have been told you can get tickted for not being a licensed tow truck operator etc..... or can you just hook up and pull them out with out worrie? I see people all the time jerking people from the ditches etc....

Someone just slid off the road like 50 yds from my driveway (not in my yard, my neighbors)
 
#3 ·
I would think a cop wouldnt give you a ticket for being a good samaritan, but there are pricks out there. Most of the time I wouldnt bother helping someone out of the ditch, not that I am an asshole, just because of the liability of messing up there car and the risk to yourself of getting hit by another car.
 
#6 ·
I would think a cop wouldnt give you a ticket for being a good samaritan, but there are pricks out there. Most of the time I wouldnt bother helping someone out of the ditch, not that I am an asshole, just because of the liability of messing up there car and the risk to yourself of getting hit by another car
this is more my thought, i am in the country but on a main road with consistent traffic as well as on curves. i had no intention of pulling them out, i was just curious cause i know poeple that intentionally drive out in bad weather looking for people to charge some $$ to in order to pull them out.

view from my Kitchen

 
#4 ·
I think it might be because most people don't have the yellow emergency flashers so you could be ticketed for obstructing traffic.

I had a guy call me a few years ago in the middle of the night wanting me to pull him out. The cops were there & gonna call a wrecker. He told the cop he didn't have the money for a tow truck & could he call a friend. Cop said sure & watched me pull him out.
 
#5 ·
This has been talked about in the past. YES you can get a ticket but will you get one? First, were are you on a main road with lots of traffic Which you could cause another wreck then YES, 2nd by your house on a side street- I would say not. The one thing you have to use is your HEAD!!! Think about it and rethink it. You don't want to kill somebody by not hooking or block traffic right.
 
#8 ·
What BDR said. You don't have the emergency lights, license, or insurance to cover you in case something goes wrong. If the cop says to do it, no problem. If one pulls up while you are doing it, you can get a ticket. It it likely? Probably not. Just like they said, use your head.
 
#9 ·
I've done it for 30 years, only had a problem once where a State trooper showed up. We were far off the road, but he had heard that the car I was pulling out had rolled (I found out then that it had but the new driver had not been in it and it had little damage). He was upset with me and really chewed me out, he described the problem with lack of proper lights and insurance in case we caused another accident. But he let me go. I still do it, but I check the vehicle out real close before connecting to it.
 
#10 ·
I have pulled others and myself out a couple times with the winch.I even got a yellow light just in case.Hate to get smashed into.They're like 15$.I have never got a ticket, but I have never had a cop show up either.In and out.Heck, I have even pulled tree branches off the road so people can get threw.What I do is have them hook up the hook to their vehicle.I'll look and make sure it's all good, but I won't touch it.Also I won't take $.I'll take the karma instead.
 
#11 ·
Is it against the law? YES!! Will you get a ticket? Depends on the officer that would catch you doing it. One of the requirements in Michigan is that the recovery vehicle have Amber or Red or both flashing lights. Another is the recovery vehicle must remain stationary during the recovery. Would I do it? Hum? I have in the past to make a little money. But that was in my younger more foolish days. The liability isn't worth the risk of being sued in todays sue happy society.
 
#12 ·
News flash:

Any street legal vehicle CAN be considered an emergency vehicle, during an emergency.


The laws that that you must have flashers and some type of audible warning.

On your car, this is your 4-way flashers and your horn.

In the event of a true emergency, this allows you legally to use emergency turnarounds on highways. That comes directly from the state police and OCSD.

I'm sure you can be ticketed for this, since cops will ticket you for all kinds of things, legal or not. Most likely, if you were doing things smartly and not obstructing traffic, you would have no trouble dropping a ticket in court. Now, doing something like blocking a freeway cloverleaf ramp to strap someone out, that is going to make a cop be a sad panda.

Keep in mind that someone who went pretty far off the road can be ticketed for reckless driving, or other moving violations. You pulling them out denies a potentially bad driver from getting a ticket.


I've pulled many out of the years, but I don't think ever from something like a deep median. Just from the snow drifts on the edge of the road or similar.
 
#15 ·
I have pulled people out of a snow drifted road and had the cop use his lights for safety and I have also had a sheriff friend call me to pull there tahoe out in a snowstorm because he new I had a big jeep and lived close, I have also drove wreckers and I think the police just want the road clear in the fastest safe fasion, But if the person is drunk I think you could get into trouble.
 
#16 ·
Becareful of usiing Highway turn arounds. I was running a fleet of trucks to auction in Flint and had a one drop out. I went in the turn around to see if he would catch up. a state trooper pulled up and asked why I had stopped. I told him I was escorting vehicles and that one was missing. he didn't seem to care. he said if I finished the turn he would write me a $250 ticket. so I had to go all the way to the next exit about 3 miles up to go back. it didn't seem to matter that I was a wrecker driver or that I was working when the other truck went missing. and I wasn't in a wrecker. I was in one of the old style green & white Ma'bell vans
 
#19 ·
I was once pulling out a suburban on M-72 when an officer approached. He said that since I was running my headlight strobes, and beacon, I was okay. He even stayed to stop traffic as I pulled.

I think it's up to you to check to see if the law has been broken. IE, if the guy in the ditch is wasted and lost it, then you've helped him get away with a crime. The car could be stolen too, then you're an accomplice, so the risk is all yours.
 
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