The Accident Towing Roster Scheme (ATRS) started in 1984 when the sharing out of tow trucks to motor vehicle accidents in the greater metropolitan area of Adelaide commenced.

The greater metropolitan area is defined as the Declared Area in which the ATRS provides for safe, orderly and efficient removal of accident damaged vehicles from the road network. Approximately 11,000 vehicles are towed from accident scenes in the declared area each year.

How it works

The area is divided into 15 general zones (passenger and other vehicles weighing up to 2 500kgs) and 2 heavy zones (vehicles weighing in excess of 2 500kgs)

It extends from near to the Gawler By-Pass and Main North Road overpass in the north to Cactus Canyon and the coast in the south west, Pages Flat Road, Yankalilla in the south and the Onkaparinga River, Mount Bold and Kangaroo Creek reservoirs to the east.

Each zone contains towing services which are each given positions on the Accident Towing Roster. The Accident Towing Roster for each zone is joined to the South Australia Police Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System at the Police Communications Centre (COMCEN).

Towing requests from the public and Police patrols are received by COMCEN operators, who issue accident towing directions to the next available towing service in the zone in which the accident has happened. The COMCEN operator does not choose which towing service will be sent as this is decided by the CAD system.

Advantages of the Accident Towing Roster System

Before 1984 people involved in motor vehicle accidents had to put up with unfair and intimidating behaviour by tow truck drivers. Tow truck drivers would speed to accident scenes, remove vehicles to the highest crash shop bidder without the knowledge of the vehicle owner, and pay fees to people living in areas where many accidents happened.

The Accident Towing Roster

• has done away with these bad practices
• ‘one vehicle one tow truck’ scheme has removed arguments at accident scenes
• allows emergency service officers to do their work without worrying about unpleasant or bad conduct
• gives the motoring public complete freedom to choose where their vehicle is to be towed and left.