March - April 2012
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Cross-Border
Towing vehicles across the line in either
direction can be a challenge—and the
message from border agencies is do your
research and toe the line.
by Larry Styba
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m a rc h - a p r i l 2012 www.towcanada.ca

 Peace Arch Park straddles the
international boundary between
the United States and Canada. The
inscription on the inside of the
monument reads: “May these gates
never be closed.” Photo: Kara Cunningham
 Most towing operators have found
that towing across the line since 911
has become more difficult. Photo: Kara Cunningham


 A truck from Roadway Towing waits
in line at Point Roberts.
Photo: Courtesy Bayview Towing.
Towing
A
t 8,891 kilometres, including 2,475 kilometres shared with the
State of Alaska, the Canada-United States border is the longest
in the world. The 49th parallel has 119 different land entries,
and tow trucks cross them daily to assist customers.
All in a day’s work
Bayview Towing from White Rock, British Columbia, is in a unique
position—the company’s towing yard actually sits along the border
at the Pacific Highway Crossing in South Surrey (B.C.).
Last year, Cory Rushinko, owner of Bayview, said his operators’
made a total of 426 trips across the border on behalf of customers.
Every time a Canadian truck crosses the border, there is a $10.75 US
www.towcan a d a . c a charge; however, in Bayview’s case, there is a transponder in each
truck at a cost of $205 US per year, which saves them money.
All Bayview operators are required to have a valid passport, and
an enhanced driver’s license or Nexus card, which can make hiring
new employees somewhat difficult. All staff members must be able
to cross the line.
Bayview often crosses the border in order to pick up a vehicle
that needs to enter or return to Canada. For this reason, Bayview
staff interacts a great deal with U.S. towing companies, who also find
cross-border towing a challenge.
“AAA will usually tow to the U.S. side, and we have to go down
m a rch-apr i l 2012
17
If you know the protocol and have your documents in order, your cross-border tow should go smoothly.
and pick the vehicle up,” says Rushinko. “As
for U.S. trucks crossing into Canada, I have
heard many stories. They say it’s not worth the
trouble—they don’t have insurance coverage,
they need to cover their lights if they have
red lenses, they don’t have a passport, or
they don’t want the time-consuming hassle
side, and we have to go down and hook up
to continue the tow northbound. This leaves
the customer with the cost of a double hook
up when we could simply go down, pick them
up, and complete the tow to its destination.
This is not fair, but this is what can happen if
they employ a U.S towing service and fail to
wade through. “U.S. Customs will read drivers
the ‘riot act,’ usually stating that we are taking
away American jobs,” says Rushinko. “I have
personally challenged border officials about
this, since U.S. towers are refusing to bring
cars across the border (northbound), so really
it’s not our fault…”
Always make sure your paperwork or documentation is
in order, and always be polite.
of crossing...” However, the odd U.S.-based
company has picked up insurance-related
vehicles out of Bayview’s yard and taken them
back to the U.S.
Rushinko emphasizes that customers
need to do their research before acquiring
the services of a cross-border tower. “Often
U.S. towing companies will drop on the U.S.
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m a rc h - a p r i l 2012 ask if the company will cross the line.”
Bayview operators have encountered
a few inconveniences at U.S. Customs,
including random searches and the x-ray
machine, which can take an hour or more
depending on the line up, especially if the
same truck crosses multiple times in a day.
Then there are the political issues to
Without question, crossing-border
towing can eat up a lot of valuable time.
When heading south, Canadian towers
were once able to choose the shortest line
(cars or trucks). But recently, when trucks
have gone through the car side, they have
been stopped and rerouted into the Customs
Office, or turned around and sent to the end
www.towcanada.ca
Lack of adherence to cross-border protocol and related
processes will cost you time and money.
Photos: Kara Cunningham
The Peace Arch Border Crossing is the busiest crossing west of Detroit. Bayview Towing often makes the trip.
In 2011, the company made 426 tows on behalf of customers.
of the truck line, which can take upwards of
three hours (45 minutes is the norm).
Vigilance and due diligence
Most towing companies have found that
ever since 911, towing across the across the
border has become more difficult. Bayview
usually requires a vehicle’s Registered Owner
(RO) to accompany the driver, but sometimes
a detailed letter will suffice. In addition, the
keys must be available so custom’s officials
can access the vehicle, or the car may be
damaged when they try to access it for
searching purposes. Border officials have their
own set of concerns, which can complicate a
tower’s job. Here is an example…
One night Bayview Towing received a
suspicious call for a broken down car eight
blocks north of the border on the Canadian
side. “Our driver arrived and there were no
plates on the car,” says Rushinko. “The ‘RO’
www.towcan a d a . c a said he was trying to get the vehicle to Blaine,
Washington. He asked our driver ‘Can you
just tow it down there and drop it at the
Burger King? My buddy is on the way up
with a car trailer to meet me.’ But when the
driver told the ‘RO’ that he was required to
cross the border with the vehicle, the ‘RO’ was
reluctant. The driver was adamant, and the
‘RO’ finally agreed and went along.”
Predictably, the Bayview driver and
the ‘RO’ were stopped for inspection, and
they were separated into different rooms.
The driver was asked to back the car into
the warehouse, and sure enough the tank
was full of drugs. “Luckily Border Services
let the driver go with no issues, but if he had
not followed company policy, who knows
what could have happened to him or our
company,” says Rushinko.
Among inconveniences, if a driver
does get sidelined at U.S. Customs and is
required go inside, he or she is not allowed
to use any communications device, so towing
companies have had drivers missing in action
for hours without knowing what is going on.
Bayview’s insurance agent states that
depending on the truck’s size, cross-border
towing coverage can range anywhere from
$100-$500 a year more for basic insurance.
Commercial cargo policy also costs more. On
prorated licensed trucks, towers must also file
fuel and mileage reports for each state they
run in. For smaller trucks, which are 26,000
pounds or under, towers do not need permits
to operate in Washington or Oregon.
A complicated location
Twenty-three kilometers away from
Blaine, Washington, is Point Roberts—a
small landmass attached to Canada that
is not connected to the U.S. mainland.
Currently, there is no U.S. towing company
m a rch-apr i l 2012
19
serving this community.
Unfortunately, U.S. Customs does not
permit the towing of a vehicle from Point
Roberts to Blaine in one continuous tow (or
vice-versa), as this is considered a double entry.
Since no towing service is available to the
general motoring public in Point Roberts, local
Canadian towing agencies have teamed-up to
assist this community with its roadside woes.
Roadway Towing of Delta, British
Glen Monaghan. ”And best of all, it serves our
customer’s needs.”
The busiest border crossing
The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border
crossing in North America, with over 10 million
crossings annually between Windsor, Ontario
and Detroit, Michigan. Coxon's Towing Service
crosses into Detroit daily, and the company
logs a ton of U.S. miles when they do tractor
switches for their customers.
Department of Transport (DOT) number and
running rights to do things legally, as well as
single state filing of your insurance documents.
Obviously, the tower pays a premium to be
properly insured.”
Moreover, Coxon Towing also has
difficulties finding drivers who can operate
on both sides of the border. “Since 911 this
has become a huge issue for companies that
go across the line. The person can have the
Border delays can be a problem for a customer when
they are being charged by the hour.
Columbia, usually services the Point Roberts
area, and if the company gets a car that is going
south, they will tow it to Bayview Towing’s
yard and drop it. Bayview will then reload
the vehicle and carry it to its final destination
south of the mainland border.
“The relationship between Bayview and
Roadway works well,” says Roadway owner
According to Brad Coxon, the biggest
differences between towing in Canada and
the U.S. are the hours of service, the weight
laws, and proper plating on tow trucks. “There
is no grace given state-side for either of these
issues,” says Coxon. “It is simple—you conform
to the rules or you pay the fines associated.”
Coxon continues, “You need to have a U.S.
smallest blemish on their record and it’s a huge
problem for customs officials.”
Other issues include the extra resources
that cross-border towing requires. “On the
operational side, the border adds two hours
minimum to every job that requires us to
cross—if it is a good day,” says Coxon. “This
has to be taken into consideration when
quoting jobs. The simple tow (less than 10
miles away) will cost you two-hours time right
off the bat. Therefore, dispatch needs to get the
right driver and a properly plated and insured
truck for the job. This is not always the most
convenient combination. It can take time to get
all things lined up to go, especially in a large
fleet of truck that does many different things.”
The U.S. side of the story
In Bellingham, Washington, Johnson’s Towing
regularly tows cars across the Canadian border
and back into the U.S. Daniel J. Johnson Sr.
states, “We can buy 1, 3, 30 or 90 day permits
via the Canadian Ministry of Transportation,
which allows us to tow cars on Canadian soil.
I usually buy the one-day permit and pass the
cost along to the customer. I also advise the
customer at the time of dispatch that border
fees do apply.”
“The system was changed a few years ago
and I must say we like the old way better,” says
Johnson. “When entering Canada, we would
stop at the scale and purchase the permit. My
drivers knew what to bring in, and how much
money it would cost. And with the scale open
24/7, we never had an issue.”
Johnson says that the system now
requires tow operators to call the Ministry of
Transportation in eastern Canada and get a
permit before entering Canada. “They only
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m a rc h - a p r i l 2012 www.towcanada.ca
Photo: Kara Cunningham
The U.S. Customs facility is located on the south side of Peace Arch Park. For U.S. companies, towing into Canada also has its
challenges. Many simply refuse to accept cross-border tows.
take credit cards over the phone, and it
can take up to 20 minutes of being on hold
to talk to someone. This process makes it
difficult to get a permit for early morning
tows, which means we only tow to the
border. The customer has to coordinate
with a company from the other side of
the line to meet them and take them the
rest of the way.”
Johnson says that the company is
also required to cover its red emergency
lighting before entering Canada. “In
Washington tow operators who have
a contract with the Washington State
Patrol are required to display red lights
with 360 degree visibility,” say Johnson.
“This means all my trucks have reds
for Washington that must be covered
for Canada.”
According to Johnson, a Canadian
truck scales officer will also request that
his operators activate their lights to see
if the reds are covered enough before
letting them continue.
www.towcan a d a . c a “Let's say that crossing the border
in either direction can be a frustrating
experience to say the least,” says Johnson.
“You get called in and the officer starts
your paperwork, and then a shift change
occurs and you get shuffled off to the side
and forgotten. This can be a problem for
a customer when we charge by the hour.”
To put it simply, Johnson explains
that if you are bringing a car into either
country that is licensed in the country
it is leaving, then you can expect delays.
He can provide plenty of examples from
experience.
“In 1998, a resident of Oregon was
traveling to Vancouver for vacation. His
Range Rover broke down 10 miles from the
border, and he called me to tow him,” says
Johnson. “The two closest Range Rover
Dealers were in Seattle and Vancouver.
Logistically speaking, it made sense for
him to get towed to the Vancouver dealer
to kill two birds with one stone, and at
least the vacation would not be ruined.”
“Fortunately,” says Johnson,
“I had the customer with me upon
entering Canada, so he could explain his
circumstances to no less than five different
people at the border as to why an Oregonplated vehicle was coming into Canada
for repairs. The situation was a little odd
to them, and they did just about every
check and search there is. Needless to say,
patience won that battle.”
The bottom line…
When towing across the line, you
should remember that you are crossing
an international border. Each country
has concerns about your activity for
various reasons. Always make sure your
paperwork or documentation is in order,
and always be polite. In the end, lack of
adherence to cross-border protocol and
related processes will cost you time and
money. Learn the rules, be patient, and
toe the line. o
m a rch-apr i l 2012
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