HASTINGS, Mich. — They're there at almost every crash, pileup or breakdown on the side of the road or highway. Tow truck drivers; you could call them part of the first responder group.
"Give us the same courtesy as the police, because we are working on the side of the road just as much as they do," said second-generation tower Matt Spencer.
Matt has been working out of Hastings and has years of experience helping stranded motorists rain or shine.
As of right now, police are the only emergency vehicles in the state of Michigan to run red and blue lights, but there's efforts to change that in Lansing.
Rep. Gina Johnsen (R), who represents Michigan's 78th District in the state house, has introduced House Bill 5418 which would allow tow truck drivers, or wreckers, to run blue flashing lights when working an emergency scene.
"It raises awareness. You add another contrasting color, and it raises the level of seriousness (that) something's going on," said Rep. Johnsen.
The bill is also known as "Keagan's Law", an homage to Keagan Spencer, a third-generation tower who was hit and killed on the side of M-6 near Caledonia in November 2023.
Keagan was Matt's son.
"It's not just blue and red. Those are the lights that people seem to know, they associate that with law enforcement," said Matt.
Other states have passed similar laws that allow blue lights on wreckers, including:
- New York
- Iowa
- Pennsylvania
- Kansas
- Missouri
"They want more help," said Rep. Johnsen. "You'd love to have a police officer at the side of the road when a tow truck is helping a disabled vehicle or removing a crash scene, but we can't. We're already short police officers so we can't have that."
While accidents can still happen no matter what lights an emergency vehicle is running, the hope is to add as many tools to the toolbox as possible.
"The towers that I'm talking to, these are the guys who are literally getting into the tow truck every day and going out and helping the public," said Matt. "They're tired of raving about their brothers and sisters that are fallen on the side of the road."
This bill is not a requirement, but an option for wreckers. Matt is planning on sharing his family's story next week in front of lawmakers in Washington D.C. Later, he'll share his story once again in front of Michigan lawmakers in March.
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