21/08/2026
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH — THIS IS WHAT’S HAPPENING AT GOLD COAST ACCIDENT SCENES.
We have stayed quiet about industry behaviour for long enough.
But when an accident scene reaches the point where a tow truck operator is being stood over, surrounded and physically interfered with while carrying out an authorised recovery, silence is no longer acceptable.
This footage was captured at an accident at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast in the past few days.
Our Allcoast operator attended the scene, spoke directly with the owner/driver of the damaged vehicle and the customer made their decision.
They chose Allcoast Towing.
A Queensland Tow Truck Authority was completed and signed, authorising us to recover and store the vehicle.
The decision had been made.
The authority had been signed.
The recovery had commenced.
That should have been the end of the matter.
It wasn’t.
Operators from Gold Coast Tow Trucks attended the scene and continued attempting to convince the customer to change towing companies after the customer had already authorised Allcoast and while our operator was actively loading the vehicle.
The situation then escalated.
While our operator — shown in orange — was carrying out the recovery, the owner of Gold Coast Tow Trucks stepped onto our truck and interfered with the loading process.
Our operator was then surrounded by multiple people associated with the competing towing company while Queensland Fire and Emergency Services personnel were present.
That is not competition.
Competition ends when the customer makes their decision.
A crash victim should not have to repeatedly defend their choice because another company refuses to accept it.
An operator should not have to defend their truck, their recovery or themselves simply because they arrived, obtained the authority and started doing the job.
Once another company starts stepping onto your equipment, interfering with an active recovery and surrounding your operator, this is no longer about who gets the tow.
It is about safety.
It is about intimidation.
It is about whether the rules have any meaning at all.
Accident scenes are dangerous enough without this behaviour.
There are damaged vehicles, emergency personnel, moving traffic, shocked motorists and workers standing only metres from live roads.
There is absolutely no place in that environment for aggression, confrontation or interference between towing operators.
Yet this continues to happen.
So we are asking Transport and Main Roads Queensland and Queensland Police Service a very simple question:
HOW MUCH FURTHER DOES THIS HAVE TO GO BEFORE SOMEONE ACTUALLY ACTS?
Does someone have to be seriously injured?
Does somebody have to be assaulted badly enough to end up in hospital?
Does a confrontation have to spill onto a live roadway?
Does somebody have to die before the industry is finally taken seriously?
The public has a right to choose who tows their vehicle.
That choice should be respected.
Operators who follow the rules should be able to carry out their work without competitors attempting to intimidate them or interfere with their equipment.
And accredited towing operators should understand that accreditation comes with responsibility.
If the rules are going to exist, they need to be enforced.
The facts of this incident are straightforward.
The customer chose Allcoast.
The towing authority was signed.
The recovery was underway.
And the conduct that followed was captured on video.
This is bigger than one tow truck job.
It is about what behaviour Queensland is prepared to tolerate at regulated accident scenes.
It is about whether the public is actually protected when they are at their most vulnerable.
And it is about whether professional operators can continue doing the right thing while others believe intimidation and confrontation will simply be ignored.
This incident will not simply be brushed aside.
The relevant footage, documentation and witness information will be preserved and provided to the appropriate authorities.
And we expect a proper response.
Not excuses.
Not silence.
Action.
Because every time behaviour like this is ignored, it sends the same message:
the rules only apply to the people willing to follow them.
That is completely unacceptable.
For the public.
For professional towing operators.
For emergency-service personnel.
And for the future of Queensland’s towing industry.
Enough is enough.
David Crisafulli MP
