09/29/2026
Very good post here. Every single day small businesses like ours are expected to perform these tasks because it's "our job".
Rarely does anyone ask whether we get paid or not. So when you see or hear about a really big recovery bill, keep in mind that price probably reflects all the unpaid bills too.
Make Tow & Recovery Operations to clear highways covered under the Public Liability and Property Damage (PLPD) to cover the cost of clearing and recovery as the state does to recoup their costs!
Heavy-duty towing and recovery companies should not be expected to subsidize highway recovery operations because a motor carrier chose to operate without adequate insurance or because a broker tendered freight to an inadequately insured carrier.
When a commercial vehicle overturns, catches fire, loses its load, or causes a major roadway incident, recovery companies are expected to respond immediately, often at all hours, to protect the motoring public, reopen highways, and mitigate environmental hazards.
To accomplish this, we deploy specialized equipment such as rotators, excavators, skid steers, roll-off dumpsters, telehandlers, and trained labor crews.
These resources must often be paid for immediately, regardless of whether the responsible carrier has sufficient insurance coverage.
Maintenance costs, equipment repairs, employee wages, fuel, chains, straps, and truck breakdowns are legitimate costs of doing business. Absorbing tens of thousands of dollars in unreimbursed recovery expenses because a carrier was uninsured or underinsured is not.
There should be greater accountability throughout the transportation industry. Brokers and shippers who tender freight should verify that carriers maintain adequate liability, cargo, and recovery-related insurance before loads are awarded.
Likewise, minimum insurance requirements should better reflect the actual costs associated with modern heavy-duty recovery operations.
No business should be forced to choose between clearing a highway for public safety and risking a significant financial loss because another party failed to carry adequate insurance.
Recovery companies provide an essential public safety service, and the financial responsibility for those services should remain with the parties whose operations created the need, not with the company responding to the emergency.
Highways are reopened because recovery companies answer the call. Those companies should be paid fairly and in full for the services they provide.
