Tips for recovery of stuck motorist?

yep, even with an agreement i wouldn't even attempt it if i knew there was no possibility of recovery without damage, and only on minor roads, if you slide into the ditch on I-95 ill call a tow truck and the police for you but short of an accident i don't stop, to much risk with not having any legal way to run emergency lighting or traffic control

 

working on translating that document into a word file to be distributed, maybe it could be added to something somewhere when its done as a community resource

 

One of the biggest things is communication. You need to explain to the driver what you're planning, how you think it will help solve their problem, and what to do when you achieve your results. If the stuck person can't or won't understand, you need to let them figure it out on their own. This also is true if you're the stuck one, explain what you think you need to get unstuck, and make sure you and the person helping are on the exact same page.
I'll share a personal expierience. I worked for a large delivery company, and I was covering a route in a rural area for a driver that was on vacation. I drove into a driveway that was very muddy and got stuck. I walked around to the neighbors houses to see if I could get some help, and found a neighbor with a four wheel drive that was willing to help. He backed down the driveway and hooked a chain up to my bumper. I should have discussed how far he was going to pull me, because I only needed to be pulled 10-15 feet to get out of the deep mud, but we didn't, I assumed he understood. Anyway, he started pulling me out, and instead of stopping after 15 feet he kept going up and out the driveway through the customers entryway, well I wasn't exactly squared up to his truck, the chain was wrapped around the passenger end of my bumper and attached to his truck at the receiver, he drove straight out the entry pulling me into the gate post and ripping my rear bumper off instantly. I assumed he would stop when I was unstuck, and he assumed i wanted to get pulled all the way out of the driveway.

 

yes, this comes into the common sense part of it, and i should probably also write up a checklist to stick with the forms, that way you can be sure youre not overlooking anything, that both you and the recoveree are on the same page, and that you can show them a checklist prior to them signing the form

im still not saying the form is a catch all, but it does cover your ass if and when you do decide to attempt to recover a stuck motorist

 

Okay, so i have translated the Hold harmless i linked into a wrod document, all you will have to do is replace the your name here and your phone number sections with your name and info, how would you guys like me to upload this?

 

Through an attachment on your next post?

 

cant, my version of word use .docx files and the .Doc file in compatibility mode is to big to attach

 

Not to get off the whole legality discussion, but for towing someone out - what if you have a long tow strap but not a whole lot of space to pull someone from? Is there a good way to use the strap in this situation? Can you tie a figure 8 on a byte or something to shorten the rope and create a new loop to tow from?

 

IDK, im not experienced in recovery but one would thing you could simply run the strap through their recovery point or the shackle on their end and then tie onto two points on your vehicle, but dont try it unless someone with more experience says its okay lol

 

For me it's simple.

Here's your end of the strap please hook it onto your car. If they are totally clueless I'll offer a suggestion but I will not hook the strap up to their car.

 

any knot in a line significantly weakens the strap. In really close areas I have found that using a giant ratchet strap from a trailer works great if you need to do something small like drag the rear end of a truck a couple feet. Defiantly do not want to attempt to use it as a winch however.

 

Okay, here is the mediafire link to it, what do you think, let me know if anything needs to be changed and ill make the changes to it

Edit: New version of the file uploaded here http://www.mediafire.com/view/1of5241a09b41ew/Vehicle Recovery Hold Harmless agreement.docx

 

You should include (any bodily harm, or emotional trauma that is a result of the fore mentioned circumstances). Ok well at least bodily injury's.
But looks good.

 

in that case you just double up the strap. I have a 30' snatch strap in my truck, and if space is limited or the strap needs to be shortened for pulling leverage from a different position the 2 loop ends get hooked on at one vehicle and the other vehicle's d ring gets the middle of the strap.

I think thats asking for trouble. if you are going to help them help them. but if they are clueless they might attach it wrong and it could break when you go to pull or if they attach it in the wrong place chunks of car could come flying back at you.

 

done, new version in my post

 

Yea this could be another sticky. I am always willing to help a stranded person. But I have heard about these stories in the past and they always make me think twice. You know the saying "a good deed never goes unpunished". Although the reason why ib do help is so maybe someone will help me if needed. The snow storms a few years ago in Georgia were crazy. There were emergency vehicles not able to drive due to the ice. I was of course out helping people that were stuck. Luckily everything went as planned. Like the previous posts have said always go over the plan in detail so nothing gets broken or someone gets hurt.

 

I'm not going to pull someone who hooks up to the wrong spot, I'm just not going to hook it for them.

 

There are educational videos on YT on proper extraction methodologies. There are also videos on how not to conduct an extraction. Here's a recent one I watched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1NnL83UpuQ

I consider myself blessed to be a member of a local Toyota offroad club. Learned a lot from the more experienced guys on what and what not to do.

As someone pointed out, communication is a biggy. Before doing the extraction, talk through the plan. If the first attempt fails, discuss a new plan. Think systematically and think through potential impacts of how the extraction is being conducted. Things to think about:

- Check the surroundings of the vehicle you are pulling out in case you need to first pull from an angle.
- If vehicle you are extracting is a car, pay attention to what the strap/winch line is rubbing against when hooking underneath the car so as not to damage the car.
- Ensure adequate clearance underneath vehicle. For example, if car slid into a ditch, your attempt to pull car out of ditch could cause car to bottom out and obtain damage. Best to leave that situation to an actual tow truck. The tow truck companies are typically bonded for coverage if they damage the vehicle.
- If person you are assisting insists on strap/winch line being connected to something other than a frame tow loop or frame itself, then don't do it. Better to have them be angry with you over that than over actual damage or harm by a poor connection.

 

....and after the potentially deadly recovery experience-- people crowd, beers in hand... coincidence?