Indiana tops predatory truck-towing list

New data compiled by the American Transportation Research Institute underscores the severity of predatory towing fees charged in the aftermath of large truck crashes and offers recommendations to address the problem.

ATRI’s survey of motor carrier-reported towing incidents and analysis of variations in the frequency of predatory incidents occurring in 2021 revealed that — relative to motor carriers’ mileage — Indiana had the most disproportionately high share of predatory towing incidents, followed by New Jersey.

States with most reported predatory incidents relative to mileage. Source: ATRI

“The top ten states are located in all parts of the U.S., confirming that there is no regional pattern to predatory towing incidents,” according to the study, which ATRI released on Wednesday.

The study found that excessive rates and unwarranted additional service charges were the two most common forms of predatory towing, experienced by 82.7% and 81.8% of surveyed motor carriers, respectively.

In addition, ATRI’s analysis of truck crash-related towing records found that 29.8% of invoices were found to include either excessive rates or excessive additional charges. Roughly half of these cases had excessive rates for equipment, labor or storage, and the other half had excessive miscellaneous or administrative charges.

“Claims involving predatory towing are definitely on the rise,” according to Adam Brand and Shahan Kapitanyan, who were interviewed by ATRI as part of the study for their legal expertise on the issue.

Source: freightwaves.com