WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-- We don't think about them until we need them. The unsung heroes on the highways got together to demand your attention.
Tow truck drivers say they risk their lives every day--parking and walking into heavy traffic to help others.
They say most drivers just race by--ignoring the law that says: "Slow down and move over."
"I always work the thin white line along the highways. We are always mere inches away from a fatality all day long," said John Bowes, general manager and tow truck driver at Sheehan Towing. "We are the unsung hero."
The Spirit Ride drove through town Friday. Tow truck drivers carried a casket with a special message.
"I built the casket I wrote the songs that go along with the ceremonies and I was also hit as a good Samaritan," said Mike Corbin, the founder of Spirit Ride. "I pulled over along the side of the road while helping them was struck by a hit and run driver."
Founder Mike Corbin leads the "service and funeral procession." A symbolic gesture that tow truck drivers want to talk about.
"I’ve been mere inches of being run over by tractor trailers," said Bowes."They aren’t paying attention—the world is stuck on technology now nobody is paying attention"
A year ago this month, a tow truck died, after responding to this tractor-trailer crash at the Congress off-ramp from I-95 in Boca Raton.
The organizers of this awareness campaign hope all of us come to understand the danger that exists when a tow truck is along the highway.
Their message: Slow down and move over.