170615 Spirit Rally 1
James Neiss/staff photographer
North Tonawanda, NY - Bellreng's Towing & Automotive is seen on River Road in North Tonawanda heading up The Spirit Ride For Highway Safety, carrying a symbolic casket and followed by more than 20 tow trucks and emergency vehicles.
A press release states: The Spirit Ride is a non-profit venture founded by American Towman Magazine and B/A Products as a non-profit project.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOWERS CARRY THE “SPIRIT” RALLY FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY ON JUNE 15, 2017
(Tonawanda, NY − June 15, 2017) Have you ever come across a bright orange highway sign that alerts you to slow down or move over a lane because of an upcoming construction area? Of course you have. And you obey - after all you might get a ticket and a fine if you don’t. Often times, towing professionals have to work quickly and on short notice on a narrow and dangerous roadside. You’d surely move over for them too, right? WRONG! Hundreds of roadside professionals become casualties each year of roadside incidents; about 100 of them are killed. Among Police, Fire, EMS, and Towing professionals, 60% of those killed are tow operators.
The very professionals who earn a living from highway accidents are now taking to the roads to promote highway safety and help safeguard the lives of fellow first responders. The Spirit Ride will relay a casket by car carrier across the nation and back. All told, some 400 towing companies across the U.S. are contributing their services to the Spirit Ride to promote safe driving and the Slow Down, Move Over laws that are in place in all 50 states. These laws ask motorists to slow down or move over one lane where possible whenever passing any vehicle on the roadside with flashing lights of any color.
The Ride will pass through Tonawanda, NY on June 15, 2017 with the Spirit casket being relayed to Bellrengs Towing and Automotive. A ceremony will take place, followed by a procession of tow trucks and emergency service vehicles through Tonawanda, NY.
“Spirit”, the eight-foot long ceremonial casket, was custom built by Mike Corbin, a carpenter who is also a lifelong singer songwriter and who composed the Spirit Ride’s anthem. The casket was custom painted by Cecil Burrowes, a well-known artist in the towing industry who specializes in painting trucks and wreckers, and features a dozen scenarios depicting first-responders at the scenes of highways incidents.
For more information on the Spirit Ride, please visit ATSpiritRide.com. ###
The Spirit Ride is a non-profit venture founded by American Towman Magazine and B/A Products as a non-profit project.
American Towman is the foremost trade publication for the Towing & Recovery industry, now publishing in our fifth decade. We also produce the industry’s premier Expositions – American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, Maryland; Tow Expo International in Dallas, Texas; and American Towman ShowPlace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
