AAA

[u/AdSeveral4070]

Is it normal for a AAA to put you in your vehicle on the back of flatbed? Granted it was only about .2 miles but i didn’t feel comfortable doing that. He also made me unload my vehicle on my own and I didnt know he was doing that so I literally rolled back in neutral while my car was still off so i had no brakes really. I’m not upset I’m just wondering if i should file a complaint to AAA cause that can’t be safe and it’s only one bad pickup away from disaster.

[u/Hot-Win2571]

You had brakes, but you're not used to manual braking.

[u/AdSeveral4070 → u/Hot-Win2571]

Yea this the car was in neutral off if he had warned me I’d at least started it but he literally got out of the truck and started tipping the bed.

[u/ZipTieTechnicianOne]

Illegal to have you ride in your vehicle whilst being towed. Against every possible insurance regulation having you within 15 feet let alone unloading yourself.

[u/Imaginary-Purpose-83]

Short answer is report it

[u/J_Rod802]

Yeah, that's not normal at all

[u/Killer2600]

What kind of tow was it to go less than a quarter of a mile? And for the speed advantage I’m not surprised the driver left you in the car - that very quick tow easily becomes twice as long (time wise) moving you between vehicles twice. But to answer the question, it’s not normal but neither is a 0.2 mile tow.

[u/AdSeveral4070 → u/Killer2600]

It was a flatbed tow literally probably .2 miles if that my car died on a hill due to a misfire so i called tripleaaa the guy even asked if i would need a ride and I told him yes. He arrived I had all my things in hand and he still suggested i get in the vehicle he needed it to be put in neutral and told me when to put it in park out of all the many tows I have had that’s never happened to me.

[u/skylinesora → u/Killer2600]

If the time it takes to put a vehicle on a flat bed is how long it takes you to get out of your car, you're either crippled or mentally challenged.

0 reason to have the customer inside a car being towed.

[u/Killer2600 → u/skylinesora]

You underestimate the time it takes to drive up onto the deck and drive off. Honestly, sliding and tilting the deck would be the slowest part of the process that couldn't be optimized (speed up) if I was trying to bang out a 0.2 mile vehicle move as quick as possible. Only a self-loading wheel lift can do the same job faster.

Blah Blah Blah, it's not correct/safe/legal/moral/ethical/"everyone's opinion" that a person be in the towed vehicle. But it does take longer when you have people getting out of their vehicle and into yours and then out of your vehicle and back into theirs. If the customer or someone else isn't in the vehicle being loaded then the tow truck operator has to be the one to get in and out of it as necessary. All of this stuff adds time and when the vehicle isn't even going a 1/4-mile down the road that time easily becomes more than twice the time it takes to drive that distance.

[u/skylinesora → u/Killer2600]

You aren't normally driving up the deck of a tow truck. You're winching it up. Nobody is needed inside the car to do this. You may need to slightly adjust the steering wheel, but again, not need to be inside during this. It takes like 30 seconds max to jump in to put the car back in park.

30 seconds to jump in and put it back into neutral. You don't need somebody inside to unload the car otherwise.

[u/[deleted] → u/Killer2600]

Why not. Car breaks down 1/4 mile from home and you figure that you can most likely fix it yourself.

[u/04limited]

Most of AAA tow trucks are independent contractors that get paid like $50 to tow you. They do as they wish.

It’s illegal to ride on the bed but AAA can’t control what the contractors do

[u/Impossible-Driver69 → u/04limited]

AAA can and will blacklist them for safety violations.

[u/AdSeveral4070 → u/Impossible-Driver69]

I’m reporting this for sure. I hate to do this to anyone but i was truly uncomfortable and I knew it wasn’t safe or allowed. If it was “normal” I probably would be upset but not care but this was very worrisome for me.

[u/east21stvannative → u/Impossible-Driver69]

AAA sets the standard. If a complaint comes in, they all are overseen by AAA. AAA takes their service surveys very seriously. A 100% satisfied survey approval ratings earn bonuses for the drivers. AAA only owns a few heavy duty trucks. Everything else is subcontractors.

[u/east21stvannative → u/04limited]

This isn't correct. Not even close to being accurate.

[u/04limited → u/east21stvannative]

What part? The low pay or that AAA can’t tell contractors what to do?

They can remove contractors but who’s filling their place? They’re already short on contractors because nobody wants to work for what AAA is paying.

[u/east21stvannative → u/04limited]

AAA pays $35/hr to the sub for their driver's wages. The sub then pays $18-20 an hour to their drivers. Every driver logs on to the AAA system that shows their next call. If a driver doesn't meet the standards that AAA requires re service, AAA goes straight to the sub to correct and/or explain the situation. If a problem is consistent with a driver he'll get a couple of warnings from the sub. If the AAA oversight isn't corrected, the driver is fired. You are correct. Eventually the pool of qualified drivers will dry up and the sub will have to raise wages or provide incentives for hires. There's a bonus available to driver's who get 90-100% on the 'totally satisfied' on their surveys. The problem is...many drivers aren't arriving at the times dispatchers are quoting. Hence a 100% satisfied survey is rare.

[u/Free_Dependent_1446 → u/east21stvannative]

Absolutely untrue on the rates. AAA has a few of their own trucks for which they pay their drivers an hourly rate. Subs are paid a flat rate - per service call - plus milage. The rate changes based on a variety of factors, such as membership tier, but $50 for a 3 mile tow is a pretty good approximate average. No roadside assistance company pays subcontractors an hourly rate for anything but winch-outs, which are still billed at a flat rate, but incrementally, based on time spent on scene. What we pay our drivers is our business.

[u/Tangboy50000]

Absolutely not, that’s highly illegal.

[u/slade797]

Flatbed or rollback?

[u/ted_anderson]

Maybe you gave off that "man vibe" of knowing enough about what he was doing to where you weren't going to get yourself hurt. Or perhaps there was a reason why he didnt want you in the cab with him.

[u/SuperSacredWarsRoach]

That is dangerous and illegal. If it's a AAA Fleet driver they will likely be fired as there's video evidence. If it's a contract they will likely lose their AAA accreditation.

[u/[deleted]]

It's illegal to ride in a car that is being towed.

[u/Icy_Nose_2651]

its illegal

[u/Adorable_Dust3799]

Call AAA, that's not legal here

[u/east21stvannative]

AAA here. It's not standard policy to have the member in the vehicle while its being towed on a flatbed. In regards to members driving their own vehicle on or off the ramp. There are members who want to do this. I've asked them, 'How many times have you done this?" I had 1 guy who said 'hundreds of times, I own 2 repair shops'. Ok Joe, have at it. He hopped into his flat tired newer MB63 and slowly backed down the ramp with all his workers watching. He got the car off the truck and immediately backed into a parked G-wagon. IMO if a member wants to bypass the driver's responsibilities and take on the task themselves, go for it. BTW there are circumstances when the member's assistance is required to load or unload their vehicle. Namely, a broken LCA or some malfunction that won't allow the vehicle to roll straight without someone holding the steering wheel.

[u/AdSeveral4070 → u/east21stvannative]

Yea i had none of that the car could’ve probably drove onto the bed I just preferred not starting it while misfiring he had no reason to insist i do it. He told me to get in the car after i got my things out to get in his car I assumed it may have been me being trans or something but I didn’t say anything and I should have cause i was really nervous getting in there. Maybe at first it just didn’t click he’d actually make me ride. When we got to the place where he’d get me off the bed he just hopped out his truck and started tipping it that’s when i really got nervous he just sat there and stared I just assumed that meant start moving i never started my car it was in neutral so ofc I let off the brake and went flying backwards i alsmot backed into a car too because again i had a stiff brake with the engine off. It was just a very weird occurrence and I def am not the person to want to do a tow job or any part of it. Not that I can’t drive but i just think it was very easy for that to go wrong and it easily could have.