'Feeling the strain': Cold stretch keeps Winnipeg tow trucks busy as call volume spikes

Winnipeg tow truck companies are up to their ears in service calls lately and are struggling to keep up with demand during a recent cold stretch and snow dump that has drained batteries and led to crashes.

Champion Towing manager Peter Mangat said as one of the largest towing companies in the province, Champion is busy all winter long. Lately, the phone has been ringing off the hook.

"It's been off the charts," he said. "It's been a crazy surge of calls."

Last Tuesday CAA set a daily record of 3,700 calls for service. Temperatures plummeted to around –34 C.

Mangat recommends drivers stay prepared by dressing warm or keeping extra winter clothing in their car just in case they end up stranded on a roadside and have to wait longer than usual for a tow truck to arrive.

"As a company who is helping people essentially every day deal with their problems and make their day better, we understand that people don't want to wait in this weather," he said. "When we're so busy, we want people to stay warm and stay safe."

Champion tows typical commuter cars, but it also does heavy duty vehicles. Lately, the number of heavy duty drivers calling for a tow or boost has shot up to the point where they have 50 calls waiting in the queue some days, said Mangat.

"It's a very long wait and we're trying to get it as fast as possible," he said. 

Mangat said the cold is hard on company equipment and staff are working day and night to get through the high volume.

Dr. Hook Towing is also facing challenges.

"We are definitely feeling the strain," Colleen Roscoe Sass, who handles accounts receivable and driver services for Dr. Hook, said in an email. 

The company is getting between 1,000 and 1,500 calls a day lately but is only able to respond to between 450-550 tow and service requests, said Sass.

"We do not shut our phones off and we are trying to at least answer each phone call with a friendly customer service representative," said Sass.

"We have faced challenges in keeping our units running 24-hours a day, every day, non-stop for two weeks. We are yet to see a light at the end of this icy, cold tunnel."

Drivers facing long wait times should know the company is doing its best to prioritize calls and get to people as soon as possible, said Sass.

MPI also experiencing high call volume

Manitoba Public Insurance spokesperson Brian Smiley said the MPI call centre is also trying to keep up with more calls than usual, which means some people are experiencing longer wait times.

"We certainly apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," he said.

During peak staffing hours the MPI call centre is capable of handling about 100 calls at once, while another 40 calls get placed in a waiting queue, said Smiley. Callers 141 and above hear a message saying MPI is experiencing a high number of calls and to call back.

As for what's causing the spike, it isn't just fender-benders.

"There's a perception out there that we're being inundated with collision claims," said Smiley, noting call centre staff also field bodily injury and vandalism claims and questions about registration. There's been a high number of people calling for information about driver's licences lately too, Smiley said.

February, January crash numbers down

The number of collisions has gone up in January and February compared to earlier in the winter, though numbers are down compared to the same time period last year.

In the first six days of February 2018, Smiley said MPI reported about 3,600 crashes, versus preliminary numbers for the first six days of this February that suggest there's been 3,200.

January of 2017 and 2018 saw 17,500 and 16,900 crashes respectively, compared to preliminary numbers for last month that show about 15,500 collisions.

Based on the current backlog, Smiley recommends drivers who get in minor crashes and can still drive away consider holding off making an MPI claim for a couple days. If your vehicle is undrivable and needs repairs quickly, call the contact centre but prepare for wait times, he said.

Mangat has a few recommendations of his own. He suggests drivers start their cars every few hours during the day because plugging it in isn't a sure-fire way to keep the battery in good shape in this frigid weather.

"I just hope that every towing company, their drivers stay safe, and hopefully all of us can get through this tough period," he said.