Recent traffic accidents involving tow trucks as victims of hit-and-runs, or worse, have put drivers at high alert for danger.

Earlier this month, tow truck driver David Duchnik Jr. of Scott Township was involved in a fatal accident. He was helping his father clear a crash on Interstate 81 when a tractor-trailer crossed a highway lane and pinned him against the tow truck.Jared Hoffman, owner of All Points Towing in Lehighton and Jim Thorpe, knows all about the risks that drivers have to endure, and the all-too-common accidents."There was one two weeks before that one, where a guy up on 80 got hit. From what I understand, his legs got run over. Another report said he was standing along the vehicle and they just hit and kept going," Hoffman said.While many reports often cite incidents at busy locations such as highways, a towing job at any location can put the operator in danger."It's on all roads. I can't tell you that any road is different than another, because I've had close calls on all of them," Hoffman said."On Route 903, about eight years ago I was hit. I was able to jump out of the way, but the guy hit my truck. I was thankfully lucky," he said.Hoffman said that drivers are often distracted while behind the wheel, and this could result in many incidents. He pointed to his cellphone on the desk before continuing."These things are probably the worst. We're all guilty of it. Everyone's guilty of it at one point or another, maybe not all the time, but at one point or another."Pennsylvania does have legislation to protect drivers of emergency vehicles, which include towing and recovery personnel. The state police "Rules of the Road" says "the 'Steer Clear' law requires drivers to move over or slow down when they encounter an emergency scene, traffic stop or disabled vehicle." Violators are subject to a fine up to $250, and a possible license suspension if the accident results in a serious injury."The guy that hit me, now I don't know if the law was actually enacted that day, but he got heavily cited. The police were actually behind me, and he admitted he was speeding in a snowstorm and not paying attention to me," Hoffman said.However, the problem is not with the legislation, but with enforcement."If they're there to see it, yes, they'll enforce it. With budget cuts, there's not a lot of police presence to enforce it. We'd love to have them sitting behind us on every call, but we know that they physically can't," Hoffman said. "Last March, we did a tractor-trailer rollover. But that was one of like, 100 crashes in a 30-, 40-mile section of Route 80. How do you keep troopers with you at all times? You can't."Safety precautions such as reflective gear often fail to be effective."We push reflective clothing, but I've found it doesn't matter. It seems that when you wear it, people aim for you even more. I was wearing it in all three incidents where I was involved."Tow truck lights are another problem, as people often tend to ignore the flashing orange, believing it to be a less serious incident."We all run orange lights," Hoffman said. "Your local guy plowing a driveway runs an orange light, PennDOT has orange lights, your Joe Schmo who's just running a car on a trailer has orange lights. I think people become numb to the orange lights."A recent Change.org petition requested that tow truck drivers use red and blue lights, akin to what police officers use."I've often said we should be in the purple business," Hoffman said. "Because as many operators that get hit, the only other person that uses purple is a funeral service, and we probably provide a lot of their business."Hoffman emphasizes that the only way to prevent future fatalities and crashes in general is for both regular and tow truck drivers to pay attention."Tow truck drivers just have to keep watching your backs. Never take your eye off the highway," he said.