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Picture this: your car breaks down on the road and you’re stuck. Not fun, right? But imagine that you’re driving a bus, and now you need a tow.
Towing a car is not difficult. All you need is another vehicle that can get the dead vehicle moving. (OK, and a good neighbor or friend to help you out!)
But if you break down in a bus, getting a tow is an entirely different deal…
Towing a full-sized bus requires special equipment, and not every Utah towing company has that equipment. And even after you find a company that can tow the bus, you still need to take care of a few things first.
Let’s hope that your bus just had some minor mechanical failure, and you were able to pull over to the side safely. In this case, your passengers are probably all fine. But what if you’ve been involved in an accident – or even worse, a rollover?
Make sure your passengers are okay! Does anyone require medical attention?
If there are injuries, regardless of how slight they may appear to be, your first call needs to be 9-1-1. Request an ambulance and provide the dispatcher with the location of the bus accident, as well as information on any suspected injuries as instructed.
Hopefully all of your passengers are unharmed. In this instance, it is your job to get them to a safe location outside of the bus. The majority of state towing regulations do not allow passengers to remain inside a bus during a tow. If you’re on a busy road, try to get all the passengers as far from the roadside as possible.
In the event that your bus has a flat tire that can simply be repaired, it is likely okay for passengers can stay inside the bus until the tow truck comes to repair or change the tire.
Once the passengers have been taken care of, it's time to call in a tow truck. Let the dispatcher know what is wrong with your bus. This will allow the driver to come prepared with the correct equipment to help or tow. If they need to bring a special winch or hitch, the driver can come prepared, and you don’t have to spend even more time waiting.
If your passengers are attempting to make a connection, it's also a good idea to ask dispatch to send an additional bus to be sent at the same time. Your passengers will thank you for doing your best to minimize the delay.
Nothing makes a breakdown or being stranded a whole lot of fun, however, being prepared will make a bad situation easier to handle should the need arise and you find yourself in need of towing for your bus.
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