LONGVIEW — A new pair of safety measures to protect tow truck drivers along Washington’s roads is one step away from becoming law.
Senate Bill 5023, introduced by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, was unanimously passed by the Senate in February and by the House on March 24. The bill is now waiting for a signature by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
The law allows for tow truck drivers to use flashing red and blue lights, similar to a police car, while working at the scene of an accident. Wilson and proponents for the law argued that adding the blue lights would make drivers pay more attention to the road and pass the scene more carefully.
“We want drivers to be more aware and more cautious, especially when you have workers working along our roadways who are there to do a job that benefits all of us,” Wilson said. “I’m proud that we completed this and I hope it will save lives.”
The law also requires drivers on highways to slow down to 50 mph or below while passing an emergency or work zone.
The bill was honorifically named after two Cowlitz County tow truck drivers who were killed on the job in 2021. Arthur Anderson, owner of Anderson Towing, and two passengers in the car he was assisting, were struck and killed in April by a passing driver. Raymond Mitchell attended the memorial drive for Anderson as a driver for TLC Towing and was killed while responding to a call in Kalama in September.
“The traffic is getting thicker and worse and there are going to be more deaths in the future, because people are distracted or not paying attention, unless we do something,” said Cory Wells, owner the Ridgefield-based TLC Towing.
Wilson and Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, had introduced similar tow truck safety bills during the 2022 session. The light bill failed to get a vote in the Senate but other measures to educate drivers about “move over, slow down” laws were approved.
