The state House passed a tow-truck operator safety bill sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, last Friday.
Senate Bill 5023 was passed unanimously by a vote of 96 to 0 after having been previously passed by the state Senate on an unanimous 49 to 0 vote.
The bill would allow tow-truck operators to use rear-facing blue flashers when they reach a roadside emergency zone. The measure is prompted by the 2021 deaths of two Longview-area tow truck operators in separate accidents on the Interstate 5 shoulder. In one of those incidents, two stranded motorists were killed as well.
According to a statement released by Wilson, the bill aims to increase visibility of roadside emergency operations to approaching motorists. State law currently permits tow-truck operators to use red flashers once they enter highways on the way to an emergency. According to Wilson, by using rear-facing blue flashers when they reach the scene, tow-truck operators will create a visual effect motorists find difficult to ignore.
“Tow-truck driving is one of the most dangerous professions in America, with an on-the-job death rate 15 times higher than the national average,” Wilson said. “We need to change the way people drive. The two deaths we saw in the Longview area in 2021 were not isolated incidents, but I have to say they brought the issue home to me.”
Wilson named his bill the Arthur Anderson and Raymond Mitchell Tow Operators Safety Act for the two tow-truck operators killed in 2021.
According to Wilson’s statement, the passage of SB 5023 was the culmination of a long effort by Wilson to promote safer driving at highway-shoulder accident scenes. His first bill in 2022 contained several proposals that have already been implemented. Those proposals include a new 50 miles per hour speed limit in emergency zones where the posted speed limit is over that limit. Funding has also been provided to state agencies to develop driver-training materials, highway signage and a public-awareness campaign to promote Washington state’s slow-down, move-over law.
