The industry event aims to raise awareness of the road safety campaign and bring the industry together.
Two Ontario towing companies, Whitworth Towing and Recovery, and Woodstock Tire and Towing, joined forces to organize a Slow Down Move Over BBQ, scheduled for August 21 in Woodstock Tire and Towing’s shop in Woodstock. All tow operators in southern Ontario are invited to join the event with their families and friends to help spread awareness of the Slow Down Move Over law and educate the public about dangers that first and second responders face while working on the roadside.
“We are doing this in honour of our first responders and tow truck operators killed or injured in the line of duty,” said one of the organizers Tom Whitworth of Whitworth Towing and Recovery. All funds raised from the event will be donated to the local Children’s Health Foundation.
Besides supporting a good cause, the event will also bring an opportunity for networking and camaraderie that many tow operators have missed for almost a year and a half of social distancing.
The Slow Down Move Over BBQ will be the second event organized by Whitworth Towing and Recovery this year. The first one, called Slow Down Move Over Rally, was held in conjunction with Mitch McDonald of 519 Tow in London, on March 10. The turnout greatly exceeded organizers’ anticipations. “We were expecting 30 trucks and ended up with 100 trucks [attending],” said Tom.
Depending on industry interest and whether the provincial health and safety regulations will allow hosting such event, Tom hopes to put together a third get-together meeting. With the annual Provincial Towing Association of Ontario’s (PTAO) tow show, being cancelled for 2021, Tom wishes to organize a small tow show to get the industry together and offer his towing peers a deserved distraction from their hard work.
For updates and more information, check the event’s Facebook page.