OKTIM's Inaugural Basic Wrecker Operations Workshop - Initiative to Save the Lives of First Responders

Friday, February 2, 2018

STILLWATER, Okla. – On January 26 and 27, over 50 individuals from across the state participated in the first Basic Wrecker Operations training held in Oklahoma, fulfilling their certification requirements as part of an initiative to save the lives of first responders in our state.

 

“Wrecker operators use machinery on the truck to recover and transport vehicles, but they have other duties as well,” said Mikie Hinkston, LTAP manager. “They are incident responders! And to perform this job safely, effectively and professionally, an operator must know how to do more than drive a truck.”

 

The Basic Wrecker Operations training is a 16-hour, centralized method of receiving mandatory training per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 595:25-3-1 for wrecker owners, drivers, and operators. Oklahoma is one of only six states in the nation to require wrecker and recovery personnel to have a training certification. All participants must also complete the four-hour Traffic Incident Management course. These courses were created by efforts of the OKTIM Coalition Team.  

 

The first day of the training included classroom training at the ODOT training center in Oklahoma City. The second day of the course, the class moved to a wrecker facility outdoors for hands-on training. The scenarios created for each participant were reflective of real world situations.

 

“During this training a fellow wrecker operator was killed near Tulsa,” said Lt. Tom Montgomery #67, Troop V-Wrecker Services. “This shows that now more than ever we need to continue the momentum and ensure we do our very best to educate our wrecker operators in Oklahoma.”

 

For more information about the Basic Wrecker Operations training as well as other first responder training, visit oktim.org.

 

RELEASE CONTACT: Kylie Fanning | CEAT Marketing | 405-744-2745 | kyliecf@okstate.edu

 

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 240,000 students who have been serving the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.

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