Tow truck driver Daniel Dekker starts before the sun rises and ends the next morning. Picture: Supplied.
Cape Town - His day starts at 5am and ends the following day at 1am.
It’s long and sometimes tedious waiting for something to happen, so he can offer his assistance.
Sometimes days go by and nothing happens, but he still sits and waits, showing his dedication to his job.
This is the life of a tow truck driver Daniel Dekker who has been in the industry for 11 years. He is the owner Driver of AmPm Towing and Recovery Services.
“Being a tow truck Driver is a very stressful job, as you have to wait for an accident to happen, or if a client calls you to come to assist and tow his or her vehicle. At times, we sit endless hours on the road, only to return empty-handed. Sometimes we sit in the cold while it's pouring outside. Sometimes we sit in the scorching heat,” said Dekker.
He said, sadly, the public only see tow truck drivers as vultures and that they drive recklessly.
“Yes, we do drive recklessly, so that we can get to an accident scene to help those that were involved in the accident. The majority of the time we are first on scene and we get to see stuff that haunts us for years. The majority of the time we get to the scene first, then we need to help those that are trapped and comfort them while the ambulance is en route. At times, we witness death taking its place in front of us and we would have spoken to the victim not even five minutes ago,” said Dekker.
He started his career as a guard driving with a tow truck driver. Then he started as a driver and eventually ended up starting his own towing business.
Dekker matriculated in 2006 and got his HR and financial diploma in 2010 from Unisa.
“When I grew up, I always admired my father, Frans Dekker, who drove these big trucks. I always wanted to be a truck driver. He is retired now after being a trucker for 41 years,” he said.
“One of the worst accidents that I attended to was when myself and my fellow towing brothers couldn't do anything, but just watch helplessly how a car burnt with three kids and their mother,” he said.
His best experience is when he attended to an accident, whereby, an elderly lady was involved. An alleged drunk driver drove into her and he got locked up.
The vehicle she drove was a courtesy vehicle, while her vehicle was being repaired. She didn't have the insurance details of the courtesy vehicle, so she couldn't pay for towing.
“I ended up towing her vehicle from Parow to Stellenbosch where this workshop is. Then I took her home, which is in Paarl. Please take note, she couldn't pay me as she didn't have any form of plastic money or notes. Myself and the elderly client had such a good laugh and conversation while I assisted her, we started to bond. A couple of weeks went by, and on a Saturday I got a call from an anonymous caller. The person said to get them by the Parow Police station parking lot, which I did. As I was waiting, a brand spanking new Mercedes Benz AMG pulled up and it was this elderly lady. We chatted and then she gave me an envelope only to open when she leaves. So I did. To my surprise, she gave me R20 000, and that only because I helped her to the best of my ability and had respect,” he recalled.
Dekker said, this industry is tough, and to make it means having respect, discipline and patience.
When asked how they get their tip-offs, he said, at AmPm Towing and Recovery, they pay R750, hot to call, if you spot an accident within Goodwood and Parow and Bellville and the entire N1 from Monta Vista to Durban Road.
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