Tow truck services in tug of war

GEORGE NEWS - Friction between certain tow truck services in the George municipal area is not a new issue.

Tensions rose up again at the scene of the recent bus accident in Wilderness when two tow truck services arrived on Sunday 22 May, leading to unhappiness on the part of one role player, CMS Towing Services.

The bus wreck was towed by J&B Auto Towing Services.

According to the owner of CMS Towing Services, Christo Muller, it was not the first time that they have been side-stepped on a scene. However, despite much animosity, no formal complaints have been laid against anyone.

Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie confirmed that according to their records, no criminal complaint has been lodged with the police regarding the matter.

CMS Towing Services at the foot of Heights Road in Wilderness on Sunday 22 May.

Unified command

Asked for feedback on the matter and to explain how the process works when the municipality calls for the removal of a wreck, Acting Director of Protection Services Vernon Petersen explained as follows:

"The bus accident was an extremely complicated rescue call and with the death of a minor involved, the scene was a unified command between George Fire Department and Saps. The recovery of the bus was a technical and extremely high-risk procedure.

"George Fire Chief Mr Barnard, as incident commander, together with Saps made the call on who should perform the removal of the bus due to the high risk involved. Following the removal of the bus, the jurisdiction for the scene fell under Saps and the George Fire Department is no longer responsible for what happens with the wreckage.

"Tow truck services used to operate on a rotation schedule at the municipality. The services were placed on call at the George Fire Brigade Call Centre and would be called for motor vehicle accidents during their rotation schedule.

"This system was dissolved in recent times due to a lack of co-operation from new service providers in George. The system will however be reimplemented shortly for those tow truck services that are registered with the South African Towing and Recovery Association (Satra).

"The rotational schedule is voluntary and those services who do not wish to be placed on the schedule will not be considered for accident scenes."

The bus wreck in Heights Road, Wilderness, was towed by J & B Towing Services on Sunday 22 May. Photo: Michelle Pienaar