Unattended and Unacompanied Tows

Unattended

Definition: An Unattended tow is when the member is not at the breakdown location, is requesting a tow and no one will be with the vehicle when service is provided.

Policy: AAA covers the member, not the vehicle. A valid member should be at the vehicle at the time of service so membership can be verified.

Exceptions/Procedure: Unattended service should be avoided and only done under special circumstances, such as an accident where the member was taken away in an ambulance. This decision should be made by AAA personnel.

Unattended tows must be authorized by a supervisor. A comment should be entered in the call stating who authorized the unattended service.

The station handling the call must ok the unattended service. A station has the right to refuse an unattended call.

If a station will not handle an unattended call, advise the member that we will attempt to find a station that is willing to service the vehicle unattended but cannot guarantee it.

Unaccompanied

Definition:

 An Unaccompanied tow is when the member is at the breakdown location but does not want to ride with the tow truck to the tow destination.

Policy: AAA policy dictates that the member should go with the tow truck to the tow destination. Some stations will not do unaccompanied tows.

Reasons:

-       The station is responsible for the member's vehicle, often a valuable thing, and could be blamed for damage that was not a result of the tow.

-       There may not be someone at the destination to accept the vehicle. The station is left to decide what to do with the vehicle.

-       The driver may be unfamiliar with the tow destination and may have difficulty finding it.

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Exceptions/Procedure: If a member is requesting an unaccompanied tow, contact the station handling the call to see if they will provide it. This decision should be made by the station.

The member can also follow the tow truck in another vehicle.

If the station is agreeing to an unattended tow, the member should provide:

-       Directions to the tow destination

-       A name and phone number of a contact at the tow destination

- Payment for any tolls or over mileage charges