New Brunswick towing business engages, educates through Facebook

Miramichi, New Brunswick — November 11, 2015 — A Miramichi tow company has taken to social media to showcase what they do, and help educate motorists on road safety. CBC News reports Burke’s Towing, which services the region from Belledune to Bouctouche, started sharing photos of the company’s varied recoveries to its Facebook page last year, giving the public a behind the scenes look at a day-in-the-life of a tow truck driver. “They see us loading a car, or picking up a broke-down truck, but they don’t know the length, the hours we work,” operator Devon Russell told CBC of jobs that can sometimes take up to 20 hours. “We have to get up at three in the morning. You’re just getting out of bed and you got to go do it, and get it done safely.” Russell says the company, like many others in the industry across Canada and the U.S., uses the social networking site to document some of the more impressive jobs it takes on, swap tips and tricks with other operators, and remind drivers of highway safety and the importance of giving towers space to work on the province’s roadways. “Slow dow, move over, give us some room. It is actually a law now and it comes with a fine if you don’t. It’s dangerous. When we’re doing a job, we might happen to stick our legs out from underneath the car, or walk around without thinking to look first, and it could happen,” Russell said in the report. While Burke’s makes a point of posting photos of extensive wreckages and clean-ups—including overturned trailers, rollovers, crashes and water recoveries—the company has a firm policy against sharing pictures of any incidents linked to death or tragedy. They also make sure they have the approval from those involved. Russell says, above all, Facebook seems to work well as a tool for towers to engage with the public, and with each other. “Everybody’s sharing and getting ideas from each other. They ask questions. Mostly it’s just saying, you know, they’re glad the driver’s ok and stuff like that,” he says.