I didn't think was true when I saw the headline. What a rip off.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30354823/local-man-stuck-with-48000-towing-bill
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30354823/local-man-stuck-with-48000-towing-bill
Really?
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JHZR2
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Well gee, they have to pay for training, to fuel up and get the truck there, for maintenance on the truck, for benefits, obamacare, retirement... right???!??!?
Dippy-Doos who think eroding the soil and scaring the wildlife so they can go "wheeling" is fun get little sympathy from me.
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
Stupidity is expensive. It was clear the guy in the Jeep was on private property that is extremely difficult to access and required additional liability coverage for the towing company, along with some specialized extraction equipment and expertise. The guy deserves to pay for his stupidity.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Well gee, they have to pay for training, to fuel up and get the truck there, for maintenance on the truck, for benefits, obamacare, retirement... right???!??!?
Given the location it took a crew 12 hours to extract the vehicle, and it's obvious that it took several pieces of specialized equipment to access the area and make the extraction. Far more than just a simple tow truck pulling a car out of the ditch.
Would you be willing to work that hard and keep that much specialized equipment on hand, maintained and ready to go at a moment's notice, just to make minimum wage when some nitwit gets his Jeep stuck in an area he had no business being in anyway?
Originally Posted By: sicko
"....billed him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor at $1,250 an hour."
Anyone know how I can get a job as an on-scene supervisor? I will gladly stand around for 12 hours supervising tows for $16k a day.
The position actually requires a great deal of skill and knowledge. Just a guess, but I doubt you'd qualify.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Well gee, they have to pay for training, to fuel up and get the truck there, for maintenance on the truck, for benefits, obamacare, retirement... right???!??!?
Given the location it took a crew 12 hours to extract the vehicle, and it's obvious that it took several pieces of specialized equipment to access the area and make the extraction. Far more than just a simple tow truck pulling a car out of the ditch.
Would you be willing to work that hard and keep that much specialized equipment on hand, maintained and ready to go at a moment's notice, just to make minimum wage when some nitwit gets his Jeep stuck in an area he had no business being in anyway?
Originally Posted By: sicko
"....billed him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor at $1,250 an hour."
Anyone know how I can get a job as an on-scene supervisor? I will gladly stand around for 12 hours supervising tows for $16k a day.
The position actually requires a great deal of skill and knowledge. Just a guess, but I doubt you'd qualify.
They couldn't have found a redneck kid at the local high school with a jacked up Ford/Chevy to tow this guy out for $100?
Originally Posted By: Kira
Dippy-Doos who think eroding the soil and scaring the wildlife so they can go "wheeling" is fun get little sympathy from me.
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
fortunatly i live 3 minutes from blm land thats legal to play on. And 30 minutes from johnson valley ca where they do the rock crawling every year.
Dippy-Doos who think eroding the soil and scaring the wildlife so they can go "wheeling" is fun get little sympathy from me.
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
fortunatly i live 3 minutes from blm land thats legal to play on. And 30 minutes from johnson valley ca where they do the rock crawling every year.
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$50K better be for a tow from the moon.
Don't care what the guy off-roading did that was wrong that right there is ridiculous. Even if it took 12 hours there is now way that bill is justifiable.
my Brother actually got his truck stuck in a mud pit years ago in that same area and it too took quite a while to get it "unstuck". Most of a day as I recall. Got someone with a tractor to come out and pull him out for $500( probably $2K today ).
$50K my butt.
Don't care what the guy off-roading did that was wrong that right there is ridiculous. Even if it took 12 hours there is now way that bill is justifiable.
my Brother actually got his truck stuck in a mud pit years ago in that same area and it too took quite a while to get it "unstuck". Most of a day as I recall. Got someone with a tractor to come out and pull him out for $500( probably $2K today ).
$50K my butt.
Originally Posted By: Kira
Dippy-Doos who think eroding the soil and scaring the wildlife so they can go "wheeling" is fun get little sympathy from me.
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
Kira;
I don't get into the off-roading scene myself, other than an occasional logging road to go hunting or fishing, but I don't have a problem with others that do. As long as they follow the laws and don't litter and go out of their way to trash the environment I am cool with it. It is a slippery slope to things "we" like being taken away when we don't stand up for the rights of others.
As far as trespassing goes. Most utility companies do not post their land or post it improperly even when they don't want people on it. Some utility companies care and some don't. Unless the land the guy went onto was clearly and properly posted I have no problem with him going somewhere "wild and woodsie" to off road and have some fun. If it wasn't properly posted the guy can easily win in court as well. That is something that happens all the time in such cases( i.e. fined/arrested and then charges thrown out for not posting or improper posting ).
My BIL actually got arrested once as he walked down the edge of some railroad tracks coming back from fishing a brook about 1/4 mile off the road. Local Police saw him walking the edge of the tracks just off the main road. He walked out on the tracks( dirt area sort of like a road's breakdown lane )as it was quicker and easier than going through the woods and up/over a big hill. There wasn't a single sign saying no trespassing anywhere. Fish and Game used the same access point to stock the brook and for as long as I can recall people walked down the tracks to the trestle to fish the brook. When I was a kid I used to come to the same brook to fish all the time in the summer using the same tracks. I just came from the other end( about 2 miles ).
For decades the track had been unused but the railroad decided that they didn't want anyone near it once it became active again and told Police to arrest trespassers. However, they never posted as required by law so how was anyone to know? The Judge threw my BIL's case out in less than a minute. All he had to hear was it was not posted. To this day it has not been posted, Fish & Game still uses that spot to access the brook for stocking, and people still fish there by using the tracks to access the area. I have heard of the Police telling people they can't go out there but I have not heard of other arrests? You would think the Railroad would post it if it is that big of a deal to them. ( keep in mind the tracks in this area go through a country like setting and it is very easy to avoid any trains coming - you aren't trapped on the tracks or even near them with no where to go - very safe ).
The point of all that is do not read too much into the guy was trespassing on Utility land in this case or in any similar cases you hear about on the news. The off-roader(s) genuinely may not have known. Off-roading is becoming unpopular with many and much like the way they call poachers hunters the media has started to purposely paint all off-roaders with the same brush.
I don't know if he knew or not and I don't know if the land was posted at all or posted properly? I am simply saying utility companies are known to raise a stink when people use their land but they don't post it and and thus they have no right to complain. Well, unless that state has some sort of permission needed posted or not. Most states I know of allow access to any non-posted land public or private. You have to leave if asked by a landowner but you can not be fined/arrested for trespassing if it isn't posted at all or not posted properly( here in NH you must post a sign every 50yds and it must be signed by the owner as an example ).
I do agree with you calling the tow bill a rape though. Best description of that part of it I have heard yet.
Dippy-Doos who think eroding the soil and scaring the wildlife so they can go "wheeling" is fun get little sympathy from me.
Trespassers also get no sympathy from me. If you don't live near open land (and there's little of it) think twice before you buy a off-road vehicle.
The tow bill is a ridiculous paperwork rape. Kira
Kira;
I don't get into the off-roading scene myself, other than an occasional logging road to go hunting or fishing, but I don't have a problem with others that do. As long as they follow the laws and don't litter and go out of their way to trash the environment I am cool with it. It is a slippery slope to things "we" like being taken away when we don't stand up for the rights of others.
As far as trespassing goes. Most utility companies do not post their land or post it improperly even when they don't want people on it. Some utility companies care and some don't. Unless the land the guy went onto was clearly and properly posted I have no problem with him going somewhere "wild and woodsie" to off road and have some fun. If it wasn't properly posted the guy can easily win in court as well. That is something that happens all the time in such cases( i.e. fined/arrested and then charges thrown out for not posting or improper posting ).
My BIL actually got arrested once as he walked down the edge of some railroad tracks coming back from fishing a brook about 1/4 mile off the road. Local Police saw him walking the edge of the tracks just off the main road. He walked out on the tracks( dirt area sort of like a road's breakdown lane )as it was quicker and easier than going through the woods and up/over a big hill. There wasn't a single sign saying no trespassing anywhere. Fish and Game used the same access point to stock the brook and for as long as I can recall people walked down the tracks to the trestle to fish the brook. When I was a kid I used to come to the same brook to fish all the time in the summer using the same tracks. I just came from the other end( about 2 miles ).
For decades the track had been unused but the railroad decided that they didn't want anyone near it once it became active again and told Police to arrest trespassers. However, they never posted as required by law so how was anyone to know? The Judge threw my BIL's case out in less than a minute. All he had to hear was it was not posted. To this day it has not been posted, Fish & Game still uses that spot to access the brook for stocking, and people still fish there by using the tracks to access the area. I have heard of the Police telling people they can't go out there but I have not heard of other arrests? You would think the Railroad would post it if it is that big of a deal to them. ( keep in mind the tracks in this area go through a country like setting and it is very easy to avoid any trains coming - you aren't trapped on the tracks or even near them with no where to go - very safe ).
The point of all that is do not read too much into the guy was trespassing on Utility land in this case or in any similar cases you hear about on the news. The off-roader(s) genuinely may not have known. Off-roading is becoming unpopular with many and much like the way they call poachers hunters the media has started to purposely paint all off-roaders with the same brush.
I don't know if he knew or not and I don't know if the land was posted at all or posted properly? I am simply saying utility companies are known to raise a stink when people use their land but they don't post it and and thus they have no right to complain. Well, unless that state has some sort of permission needed posted or not. Most states I know of allow access to any non-posted land public or private. You have to leave if asked by a landowner but you can not be fined/arrested for trespassing if it isn't posted at all or not posted properly( here in NH you must post a sign every 50yds and it must be signed by the owner as an example ).
I do agree with you calling the tow bill a rape though. Best description of that part of it I have heard yet.
On the one hand, I have ZERO sympathy for "mudders" tearing up private property without permission, and in fact I've helped the county sheriff's haul their busted rigs out of my own property and to the impound yard a time or two. But I have no problem with responsible offroading at all. Permission is all it takes...
On the other hand, you just KNOW that if this had been in East Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, etc., he'd have called a couple of his buddies, they'd have brought their trucks... looked at the situation, scratched their beards, hooked up the winches, and had him out in 30 minutes without tearing up his XJ (at least no worse than dummy himself had done...) :-/
On the other hand, you just KNOW that if this had been in East Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, etc., he'd have called a couple of his buddies, they'd have brought their trucks... looked at the situation, scratched their beards, hooked up the winches, and had him out in 30 minutes without tearing up his XJ (at least no worse than dummy himself had done...) :-/
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A couple of years ago, my wife and I were crewing for a pair of hot air balloons. They landed in very rough terrain. I managed to get our Tacoma to them pretty easily. We also got the balloon truck....An '88 F250 4X4 on site. When it was time to leave, the Ford would not start. Owner had tow service. The guy came out, and would not go out into the dirt (It was a "Road" only in the broadest sense of the word).
I pulled that loaded F250 1/4 mile back up to pavement, up a 40 degree slope with the Tacoma. Manual transmission, in 4 low. Only real skill involved was not allowing the tires to start spinning (It was wet).
I now refer to the Toyota as a "Ford recovery vehicle."
I pulled that loaded F250 1/4 mile back up to pavement, up a 40 degree slope with the Tacoma. Manual transmission, in 4 low. Only real skill involved was not allowing the tires to start spinning (It was wet).
I now refer to the Toyota as a "Ford recovery vehicle."
I have heard of towing bills in that neighborhood for getting a truck out that's gone through the ice, but that really is dangerous and somebody needs to know what they are doing with specialized equipment...
I think even my tractor could have grabbed the back end and hauled him out of that hole, but I'm not driving it 5 miles in through 3' deep water holes for free either.
I guess the lesson is to get a quote first before letting a tow company touch your vehicle.
I think even my tractor could have grabbed the back end and hauled him out of that hole, but I'm not driving it 5 miles in through 3' deep water holes for free either.
I guess the lesson is to get a quote first before letting a tow company touch your vehicle.
The genius has lost his truck to the tow company, but let's see of the tow company is greedy enough to chase him for the difference. A judge would have to restrain himself from laughing while looking at a claim like that.
I have no sympathy for the guy either, you can't just drive your car around on someone else's property and from the pictures it sure does look like it was in a hazardous area considering all the power lines. That tow bill is over the top though, I wouldn't be surprised if a legitimate tow bill were over $10k, but nearly $50k is just ridiculous.
I also have no sympathy for his Jeep being a total loss, he's the one that totaled it not the tow company.
If the guy is broke (which it sounds like) he'll let them get a judgement and then just declare bankruptcy.
I also have no sympathy for his Jeep being a total loss, he's the one that totaled it not the tow company.
If the guy is broke (which it sounds like) he'll let them get a judgement and then just declare bankruptcy.
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