Fog & Trains Don’t Mix

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Fog and trains don’t mix when it comes to railway crossings and vehicles of any size.

Fog related accidents usually result in head-on and rear-end collisions, two of the most common fog related incidents. A recent study showed that more instances of fog related crashes occurred in the early morning hours from December to February.

Weather.com reports that annual averages are 31,385 crashes resulting in 511 deaths. Read more fog related facts in this article by The Weather Channel https://wxch.nl/2uqbzsC

This rig ran amiss of a freight train in the fog and became of many like incidents that occur across the country in poor driving conditions.

Fortunately the driver was not injured and Big Rig Towing was able to use their 75-ton Rotator to clear the wreckage and get the train on its way and the driver to safety.

Deerfoot Rescue

The Deerfoot Trail transects the city of Calgary. A busy 3-lane freeway with a 100 km an hour speed limit, it takes traffic south to north across the city and onto Edmonton. The city of Calgary has a very cool safety feature – that is, a free service to all those who run out of gas or break down in their cars along this crowded stretch of road.

That’s right, if your car breaks down, you have a flat, or even if you run out of gas the city has tow trucks patrolling 24/7 and will aid or tow you to the nearest safety zone located every so many km along the route.

While this is an awesome service it unfortunately does not include big rigs and other heavy equipment.

Big Rig Towing & Recovery specializes in this type of tow. Even though it may seem benign compared to rescuing big trucks from icy mountain passes or dragging them out of watery irrigation ditches and rivers, hooking up and towing on a busy highway at rush hour can be equally as dangerous as any mountain road.

If your rig is stranded on any Alberta road call an expert like Big Rig Towing and stay safe.

Snow Coach TLC

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If you have ever been to the Athabasca Glacier you would have had the thrilling opportunity to ride in a Snow Coach.

A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle, specifically designed to be able to operate on ice or snow. They are much like a huge, multi-passenger transit bus that is equipped with bus styled seating and extended full height windows to maximize scenic views. With their multiple sets of large low pressure tires they can travel across the vast snow or ice covered glaciers of the Rocky Mountains and deliver passengers to areas that they could not reach on foot.

Snowcoaches are a common sight for tourists on the Athabasca Glacier, just north of Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, Canada.

This Snow Coach is getting a little TLC at Big Rig Towing where they are giving it an over haul and making it ready for another trip up the glaciers of Canada’s National Parks

Almost Over

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photo 1How many trucks get stuck in the ditch every year because they failed to negotiate a corner correctly or under estimate the steepness of the curb?

That would be an interesting statistic. I would think that cornering and knowing your environment would be the most important part of a big rig driving test. Surely you need to be able to know these things to get hired to drive one of these big trucks.

This flat bed was transporting a farm sprayer when it pulled over to let a car pass. A couple more inches and this would have been a roll over

Big Rig Towing pulls its fair share of hapless rigs and their helpless cargo from many a ditch in southern Alberta.

The only good thing about so much practice is you really get good at something you do so often.

Here are some other near rollovers.

Not Just a Towing Company

Big Rig Towing ClassroomWhen a school needs new portables to accommodate its students, that’s a good thing. It means that more kids are getting an education and the classroom space they need to do that is being made available.

The logistics of moving a 55ft long 25ft wide 4,000 lb portable classroom into its place in a schoolyard takes a lot more math and science than one would think. It takes some pretty heavy machinery and those with the skill to operate that machinery to get the job done right.

Big Rig Towing doesn’t just tow and rescue big trucks and trailers. Our 75 ton rotator rig has hundreds of applications and can sometimes get to and do things that cranes and cherry pickers can’t. Like placing portable classrooms in a schoolyard in Calgary.

Find out how Big Rig Towing can help you accomplish your heavy lifting needs. Call us (403) 444-0009.

Snow Removal

Is it that time of year again? Didn’t you just finish shoveling last years snow like, last week?

Snow on the sidewalk or in your driveway is a nuisance and shoveling it can lead to aching muscles and a sore back not to mention frost bitten ears if its cold enough but big chunks of compacted snow flying off the back of a transport trailer at highways speeds can be deadly.

Big Rig Towing regularly gets the call from conscientious companies to make sure that their trailers are free from snow so there is no big chunks of snow flying off the roofs of their trailers and causing an accident.

And you thought shoveling out to the mailbox was a tough job.

   

The Rollover

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This week hurricane force winds blew through Alberta knocking down trees, whipping up grass fires and blowing over a number of rigs.

This force of nature kept Big Rig Towing on its toes dealing with a number of rollovers.

Fortunately no one was injured in these incidents and here at Big Rig Towing we train for the unexpected and were able to recover these rigs.