Drivers on the way into Oregon from Vancouver on Friday may have seen a striking image on the freeway: a sleek red, white and blue casket strapped in the back of a tow truck, emblazoned with the words “THE LAW,” “SLOW DOWN” and “MOVE OVER.”
To first responders, including tow truck drivers, law enforcement and emergency personnel, that casket represents the dangers they face every time they pull off to the side of the road.
“The casket memorializes all the fallen heroes who have served on the side of the road,” said Butch Stone, owner of Pacific Towing. “People don’t understand what we put ourselves through on the highway when we’re picking up cars and delivering cars.”
That’s why, nearly two years ago, Stone reached out to Spirit Ride about the possibility of helping transport the casket from Vancouver to Salem, Ore. Nine months ago, the Spirit Ride gave Stone their approval.
Spirit Ride is a traveling organization that pays tribute to first responders who have been struck and injured or killed by cars while assisting stranded motorists. The Spirit Ride began in June 2017 and visited 140 cities in its first year; by the end of 2018, its organizers hope to visit 300 cities.
According to Dave Reichert, president and co-owner of Speed’s Supertow in Portland, Ore., about 100 first responders are killed each year — more than 60 percent of whom are tow truck drivers.
“Unfortunately this year we’re already up to 77, so it’s gotten to a point where we need to do something about this,” Reichert added.
The Spirit Ride also raises awareness of move-over laws, which require drivers to give stopped emergency vehicles and tow trucks at least one lane of clearance or slow down to avoid hitting them.
All 50 states — but not Washington, D.C. — have passed move-over laws, which vary from state to state; for example, Oregon’s law requires motorists to exercise caution for any stopped car with flashing lights, not just emergency vehicles and tow trucks.
But fewer than 30 percent of all Americans have heard of move-over laws, Reichert said.
Reichert, local first responders and the Spirit Ride team convened at Stone’s Pacific Towing on Friday morning to see the casket off before it left for Salem. At the gathering, Mike Corbin, part of the Spirit Ride’s Command Team, performed an original song in tribute to first responders, living or dead.
“The first responders want to go home at the end of the day,” Corbin said. “All they want to do is do their job safely and go home at the end of their shift, whenever that is, to their families.”
