| Tow trucks, also called wreckers, are used to | | | | hook-and-chain truck, and it is still in extensive use |
| clear disabled vehicles off highways and | | | | in third-world countries. It employs chains that lift |
| speedways. They constitute an emergency | | | | the broken-down vehicle by the axle with the help |
| service that is of considerable importance in this | | | | of a boom winch. |
| age of heavy vehicle flow across the world. | | | | From this concept came the axle-cradling tow |
| Without their efficient service, this flow would | | | | truck, which sports a single-unit yoke that can lift |
| grind to a halt in less than no time. | | | | the front end of the disabled vehicle into the air |
| Most tow trucks are run by private enterprises | | | | for easy towing. The lifting mechanism is either |
| and are operated in fleets that specialize in quick | | | | hydraulically or pneumatically operated. This is |
| road clearance and retrieval services. They are in | | | | arguably the quickest kind of towing and is often |
| a perfect position to supply captive customers to | | | | used in traffic control. |
| repair businesses and are an integral part of their | | | | Flatbeds are used for long-distance towing. The |
| economy. The government road authorities have | | | | flatbed accommodates the entire disabled vehicle |
| their own tow truck fleets to service highways | | | | piggyback. It does this by lowering a flat metal |
| and areas like toll stations where bottlenecks are | | | | surface to the ground, making it possible for the |
| likely to occur if a vehicle breaks down. | | | | broken-down vehicle to either drive or be drawn |
| There are various kinds of tow trucks in | | | | onto the back of the truck by a winch. There are |
| operation today, from the most rudimentary to | | | | also various combinations of the above-described |
| the highly specialized. The most basic kind is the | | | | tow trucks in existence. |