Wreckers in Houston compete for business - and that's bad for Houston

OK - I know I euthanized Clay's Ramblings, but I've decided that some of what I want to blog about doesn't fit under my other blogs. It's about local politics, and few outside of Houston or Texas really care about it. So, I'm bringing Clay's Ramblings back to life.

My first political blog was posted on Clay the Rambling Homeschool Dad 'cuz I didn't think about resurrecting Clay's Ramblings. But here's the second.

Most other cities I've lived in have a wrecker notification that determines which wrecker will respond to a situation. There's a list of X wrecker companies, duly checked out by the city, with rates set at a flat fee.

Houston and Harris County, however, do not operate that way. Wrecker operators sit in their trucks, listening to their scanners and driving at outrageous speeds to get to the wreck first and, hopefully getting the money from the possibly injured or terrified driver for the transportation of their vehicle. I have personally observed:

• Wreckers driving at very unsafe speeds, weaving in and out of traffic.
• An accident involving two cars with one law officer and eight wreckers.
• Accidents involving wreckers, presumably because of the unsafe manner in which they are operated.

Now, don't get me wrong, There's a good chance that most of the wrecker operators in Houston and Harris County are law-abiding citizens who operate within the framework of the traffic laws. As we've seen with other issues, however, it only takes a few bad seeds to spoil an entire crop.

Here's the latest from this morning's news:

(10/19/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - An elderly couple was killed as they were leaving services at their church in northeast Houston Wednesday night.

It happened on Wallisville near Colvin in northeast Houston. The couple was leaving Blessed Hope Missionary Baptist Church around 9:30pm when they were hit by a wrecker driver allegedly going twice the speed limit. They were trying to pull out eastbound on Wallisville when they were hit.

Police say the wrecker driver was traveling approximately 90 miles per hour when he slammed into the couple's vehicle. The couple, police say, had no chance of surviving such a horrendous accident. They died instantly.

The wrecker driver was taken into custody. He was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he's being tested for alcohol.

Investigators say there were no skid marks, indicating that the wrecker drive was going full speed.

Members of the congregation gathered outside the church, devastated by what took place.

The tow truck driver could face several charges.

What will it take before Houston and Harris County leadership open their eyes? How many more people must die before they begin to regulate the way wreckers operate? I know they've tried before, most recently with Houston's SafeClear act in which only certain wreckers are even allowed on city freeways during rush hour. But the wrecker lobby is apparently more powerful than the concerns for citizen safety.

I urge Houston and Harris County adopt some sort of wrecker policy that would:

• Put wreckers on a rotation. They would respond to the calls in the order in which the calls occurred.
• In order to get into rotation, wreckers must demonstrate a responsibility to the law and to the public. Continued unsafe operation would result in removal from the rotation, and a resultant loss of income.
• Drivers who need a wrecker will have an option to call for their own towing service, and responding officers must allow them to do so.

Houston's a big city. It's about time we operate as one.