Tow truck drivers upset about Harris County contract
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Nearly two dozen tow truck drivers from Harris County showed up to Commissioner's Court complaining about Autroreturn - a company based out of San Francisco that manages towing jobs with local law enforcement.
Through the Autoreturn app, an officer on the scene of a crash can request a tow. The wrecker closest to the crash scene then gets a notification on their phone. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says it aims to keep scenes clearer and safer.
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"It also provides a platform where the customer can find their car easier," says Gonzalez. "It allows us to see what they're being charged to make sure that they're not being taken advantage of."
Drivers at the meeting claim the opposite - they say the app, which eliminates the former three-truck rule in Harris County, makes the scene more dangerous.
"Trucks are able to move further distances, greater speeds and congregate at greater amounts on an accident scene now, which is doing the exact opposite of what this program was supposed to do," says On Site Towing Owner Mark Denson.
Gonzalez said his office has received numerous complaints on the issue and says they are getting worked out. Harris County signed an agreement with the company to administer a pilot program for the next calendar year. It was voted on unanimously in October 2021 in Commissioner's Court.
Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Tom Ramsey responded by saying they thought the program would be beneficial for the area, especially since it posed no cost to the county when it was presented to them last year.
The cost is another major issue for the tow drivers. HCSO states the Autoreturn service can cost an individual $145, compared to the city rate of $175. Part of that difference shows up on the tow drivers, according to Denson. Trucks and storage facilities are charged up to $22 per vehicle or more - compared to only a few dollars they would have paid outside the Autoreturn app.
Brenda Garcia, the owner of ACO Towing Services, says she's having trouble paying her $1 million insurance policy due to the lack of calls she's received in June and July.
"This is a result of the AutoReturn usage," says Garcia's daughter, Amanda Santilli. "...all the time that he's asking for to use the program is time that is costing livelihoods for all of these people. Their families and their children."
Executives from Autoreturn attended the meeting via Zoom with HCSO to hear the concerns. John Pendleton, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, said they would first work on reducing the distance limit for tow truck drivers on a scene to 100 yards. The current policy calls for tow trucks to maintain a minimum distance of 200 yards from a scene.
"Any rollout of this magnitude will always have some kind of glitches in them," says Sheriff Gonzalez. "We're going to work through that. At the end of the day, it's about keeping the consumer safe."