Why do tow trucks have to put on flashing lights when towing a vehicle?

Answer 1

Generally the towed vehicles lights are not working. The flashing lights alert other drivers to the hazard posed by the towed car.

Answer 2

I drove the flatbed for the garage I used to work at before I went to college.

Flatbeds are more commonly used over towtrucks for a few reasons. A) You can't pull 4WD/AWD or RWD with a tow-truck or you'll turn the differential to toast, B) It's easier to maneuver (back up and such) when the car's affixed to your back rather than dragging behind you. C) When a car's wrecked enough so it can't roll, you can drag its carcass up a flatbed with a winch because it can't roll.

So with that said, not sure if you're still talking about tow trucks, or are you talking about flatbeds. The lights, are obviously for safety, but they are not required. The only time I put them on is when I'm perpendicularly in the middle of the road winching the car out of a ditch and dragging it up the flatbed or something like that. Then they're similar to hazards, just so people don't plow into you. Though usually you got the po po helping along with that and they got quite a few flashing lights of their own.

Though when driving, I wouldn't leave the flashing lights on unless I was going through an area where people need to be careful (such as a windy road or narrow road). Some guys leave their lights on full time when they got a car on the back - that part is preference.

So we don't "need" to - there's no law that says we need to have those lights on, they just aid in safety. When winching a truck out of a ditch I'd appreciate it if some jacknuts didn't come flying around a corner and take me out. Though when you're driving, there's really no difference in how you have to drive between driving without a car on the back, and driving with one there due to the car being winched tightly down to the bed.

Once you're driving there's really no safety risk other than your wide turning radius, which is the same with a car, without a car, light, day, whatever. So they're not necessary, just "recommended" for driving with a car on the back.

Now a tow truck is a totally different story altogether - or the same as a flatbed if you're using the dolly to drag a car. It's quite simple, usually the lights are busted on the car. You're supposed to put the hazard lights on the car you're towing, on, but most of the time they don't work after a serious wreck, and if they did, you're not supposed to put hazard lights on if they aren't showing up as red or amber (ie. the lens is busted). There's those 2 lights that use magnets (or the older ones have a strap that goes through the windows) and are hooked to your break lights so the car lights up when you brake, as your taillights are hidden.

Those are simply so that some guy doesn't come flying up behind you, not see your taillights, and wreck the already wrecked car you're pulling. Needless to say, with that solid *** bank vault steel tow-bar that you have on the rear of the flatbed, it wouldn't do much damage =P.

So long and short, there's no law that says they need to be on, they're just for safety and different drivers use them at different rates. For me - I only use them when A) I have a car on the back AND am towing one. B) I'm going through an area where visibility isn't the best, or C) Am parked, dragging a car out of a ditch or the works.

It's like anything else in life. Use them smart - though there's nothing that says they need to be on.

Answer 3

For the idiots out there that can't see a stopped vehicle off the side of the road.

Answer 4

TO WARN THE PEOPLE BEHIND THEM THAT THEY ARE TOWING A VEHICLE AND TO TAKE CAUTION.