Last March, tow truck operator Dan Coady responded to an accident scene on Interstate 495 in Andover. As he was loading a car on to a flatbed, a vehicle slammed into the crash scene, killing the 41-year-old husband and father of two.
"He had plenty of police out there. So it wasn't a question of no lights or anything like that," said Bob Sheehan, Coady's long-time friend and a fellow tow truck operator. "It's a question of they need their space. It's not like they can work on the other side of the guardrail. They're on the actual highway."
Coady's death renewed calls to strengthen the state's Move Over Law.
"It's a good law. It's had a great start," said Todd Chase, spokesperson for the Statewide Towing Association. "But it needs more work."
Passed by the state legislature in 2009, the Move Over Law requires drivers to move over one lane when encountering an emergency situation on a highway -- and to slow down. Since the law passed, the state has issued nearly 3,100 citations each year. The problem, Chase said: "It lacks any kind of specific detail. Somebody could say, I slowed down. Well, to what speed?"
The Statewide Towing Association wants the law to mandate a 20 mph reduction in the posted speed limit for vehicles encountering an emergency scene and for that slow-down to begin 100-feet before reaching that scene.
Chase suggested changes are needed, and not just in Massachusetts. "(Nationwide) a tow operator is killed on the side of the road every six days," he said. "They're getting cars brushing by them at 65 to 85 miles per hour. I think we're going to see not only more tow operator deaths but first responder deaths."
The Massachusetts Move Over Law imposes a fine of $100. The Association wants to see that fine bumped up -- and additional penalties added, including the possibility of jail time and loss of license.
But one thing legislation may not be able to address is ignorance.
The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration found that even though all 50 states have move over laws, about 70 percent of drivers may be unaware of them.
We found anecdotal evidence that at the very least, the Move Over Law doesn't seem high on the list of driver priorities in Massachusetts.
Boston 25 News, along with Stephens Automotive Transport of Medford, set up a mock emergency scene on Interstate 93.
We watched as even 18-wheelers came within feet of tow truck operator Zack Moustakas.
"It's gotten worse over the years," Moustakas said. "I've been doing it for 30 years and it's dangerous out here now."
Moustakas and other tow truck operators say one of the main reasons things have gotten worse is that drivers are more distracted.
"People are too much into their devices," said Moustakas. "They're too busy doing everything else. People need to pay attention. Look straight ahead."
"Every day I worry whether my drivers are going to come home at the end of their shifts," said Tom Tedford of Export Enterprises, a towing company in Medford. "It continues to get worse and worse with distracted driving."
Six months later, tow truck operators remain shaken by Dan Coady's death.
"You would have the toughest situation out there and Danny would come out and help you," said friend Bob Sheehan. "Took a while to sink in that he actually died."
Coady's funeral drew hundreds of fellow tow truck operators from several states.
"We're all a family, you know," said Derek Stephens of Stephens Automotive Transport. "So when someone gets killed. It hits home. It hits home."
Zack Moustakas has a commemorative sticker to honor Coady on the back of his truck. "They take our lives and their lives at risk when they're not paying attention," Moustakas said. "Our lives matter. Your lives matter. We all want to go home at night."
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
