Recently, a viral video out of Minnesota has been making the rounds for its display of true horsepower. In the video, a trucker, stuck with a semi-trailer at the bottom of an icy, snow-lined driveway, commissions the help of two Belgian draft horses named Molly and Prince. Amazingly, these beautiful beasts work their way up the hill, slowly but surely dragging the semi behind them and rescuing the trucker from an impossible (and dangerous) drive.
When we talk trucks, trains, and even lawn mowers, we talk “horsepower.” While horsepower typically brings to mind the jolt of a high-powered engine, the root of the word actually traces back to the original workhorses: draft horses who powered steam engines back in the late 1700s. So, if you’re stuck in the middle of the countryside with a truck that just won’t start, the grassy meadows nearby aren’t the worst place to seek help.
Of course, ranchers and farmers won’t always be willing to lend their gentle giants. And in that case, towing insurance comes in handy. But, as we know at Matchmaker Logistics, towing insurance is not considered a must-have in the world of trucking.
Take the story of Mike Gantner, a fleet manager of a 160-truck fleet in Wisconsin who opted out on towing insurance. After one of his drivers lost consciousness and hit a toll booth in Ohio, he was slammed with a $20,000 towing bill. Another driver had to pay $720 for a mere 20-mile tow, according to an article in Overdrive.
Compiling a list of hometown tow operators you can trust, and creating a map of services on your routes, can help lower your towing costs (the National Truck & Trailer Services provides a great breakdown directory). But if you’re considering towing insurance, just how much you’ll pay depends on a number of factors, like your driving record and experience, location and area of operation, and even your age, credit rating, and MVR report.
Towing insurance isn’t simple or cheap – but neither is getting towed. While some insurances are absolutely required (we won’t work with carriers who don’t have collision or liability coverage) with towing insurance, each carrier company has to complete its own cost-benefit analysis.
Carriers have to shop around and there are some ways to save money – for example, yearly payments are generally cheaper than monthly payments if you can shell out the big bucks ahead of time. And, of course, for now, carriers have the option to take an old-fashioned gamble. As the video reminds us, towing insurance or no towing insurance, there are some towing jobs only horses can complete.
Fuel for Thought,
~Bob
