European Tow Trucks Are On Another Level...

[@MilanBazant]

Most of these are because of bad parking. Repo's like in US are not really a thing. It's done differently.

[@matsv201]

Yea. But it still happen that they take peoples cars. Mostly due to tax fraud.

[@martindonat3249]

@@matsv201 yeah ,but its usually done by a staateofficial , not the wildwest way like in the US (atleast in Germany it is that way )

[@matsv201]

@@martindonat3249 i dont know about germany , but here its done by contractors

[@martindonat3249]

@@matsv201 the actually towing is done by contractors as well , but unpayed vehicles in germany you usually identefy them clowed down for a weile befor they get towed , and usually there is a staateoffical at side when towed ,

[@matsv201]

@@martindonat3249 there might have been but he was out of veiw

[@MrLarsgren]

they are towed for illegal parking. not payment repo.

[@IndependentHeathen]

I was just about to say that.

[@module79l28]

There's nothing in the original video that suggests or says that it was about repos, Ian just wrongly assumed it on his own. In fact, in the description it clearly says that these cars were towed because they were parked in tow-away zones.

[@davidlamont5793]

Also no road tax in uk

[@ar_hey]

You can see the yellow "curbstones": no parking allowed. We don't have "repo" actions like in the USA.

[@Koen030NL]

@@ar_hey indeed, most people pay the car of in full when they buy it.

[@dirkspatz3692]

Isn't Repo for cars where the "Owner" didn't pay the interest rates? - Here the wrong parked cars are towed out of the way and that can happen fast in Europe.

[@stuinNorway]

The guys that ran those trucks for Camdem Council in London were next level when I worked in that area. Seen a guy nip around corner to newsagent for change, come back 3 mins later to see car off up street on truck. (He was going to pay, but had unfortunaly parked in a permit bay, which is instant tow) As he walked away, warden arrived, and ticketed, radioed in, truck was obviously just around the corner (by chance), came in, from stopping truck to driving off with car was under 60 seconds.

[@speed6725]

Repo’d cars in the U.S. are for people that don’t pay their monthly loan payment

[@ohauss]

@@stuinNorway I saw a car being towed in Würzburg, Germany. The idiot apparently just wanted to visit someone in hospital "real quick", but parked so badly he actually blocked the tram. Needless to say, a tow truck was there in no time and removed the car before more trams get backed up.

[@fabr5747]

Repo in vehicle is not a thing... It takes place in court, not in crazy situations like in the US... This bounty hunter US mentality doesn't exist in most European countries. The police enforces the law, not randos that behave like thugs.

[@speed6725]

Repossession of cars in the U.S. is legal. The banks pay companies to take the car. If you don’t make your car payments, why should you be allowed to keep your car? It has nothing to do with behaving like a thug. You can get your car back after you bring your bill current or if not, it gets sold at auction.

[@alexr.3832]

​@@speed6725The commenter didn't say anything about it being illegal, it's just that from our perspective, that is thug behaviour.

[@fabr5747]

@@speed6725 I'm saying that it doesn't exist in most European countries. Crazy how people whose only language is English don't even know how to read their own language. And yes, it is a thug / wild west approach to a legal issue ! Having people armed that are not law enforcement that come and take a car is crazy. How many people get killed through this way of recovering property? The guy comes with a specialised car, and leave without informing the person that the car is not being stolen but repossessed? Law enforcement of the US, all a matter of money right? Private prisons with slaves, bounty hunters, etc?

[@cybercat1531]

Repos US style don't exist in most of the world.

[@rosen9425]

Or the government having people from the Enforcement Authority showing up on your doorstep on a predefined day asking for the keys then driving off with the vehicle. Done deal. Keep on keeping on

[@dutchbachelor]

Ok... Ian... Reposession of cars isn't as common here in Europe as it is in the US. (Don't know exactly why, but I can honestly tell you not once in my 44 years have I seen a repo, not in Austria where I grew up nor here in the Netherlands.) Cars getting towed for most Europeans means: the car is parked in a spot where you can't park and that's that.

[@dutchbachelor]

The sideloader only works if the truck can pull up alongside. The frame with the straps and claws allows the tow truck to pull the car out from extremely tight spaces. And I have watched some of those guys work: they can be really fast. Less then 10 Minutes and the car is gone...

[@Plinfut]

A few reasons come to mind: 1) Income checks before they give you a car in the first place. 2) Social security so not nearly as many people get in debt. 3) You don't necessarily need a car if you can't afford it.

[@ChristiaanHW]

@@Plinfut and the police has camera's in their vehicles that have access to the police database. so if you aren't up to date with your payments (road tax, insurance or even income tax) the cops can catch you simply by driving by you. so chances are you're already caught before you even park somewhere.

[@ContraVsGigi]

There is also the situation when the car broke down so the owner calls for towing service. Not these clips, as those were parked cars, but younsee them everywhere on the highways. Those are usually different, they are pulling the car on the flatbed.

[@tobiasmetzger1195]

Assuming the repos in Austria and Netherlands are done like here in Germany, you wont know whats a repossession and whats a regular illegally parked car or broken down car cause it looks the same and we usually even get the keys, if the police can find the person and the keys

[@amberflokstra88]

In The Netherlands, if your car is “repossessed” all it means is that you have a set amount of time to pay the balance, otherwise the car is sold. The car stays in your possession, you’re still allowed to used it. You’re just not allowed to sell it, add or remove value to it or to hide it. If you don’t pay, then they come to take it away. 90% of the time, the owner then just hands over the keys and the papers. But if they do, the cops get involved and the tow company takes its time to properly tow it. And the collection agency doesn’t tow it themselves. A professional towing company does, after they have been shown the court order. All the towing from the video are due to illegal parking, overstaying the maximum parking time, etc.

[@gorankovacevic9702]

pretty sure they were all parked illegaly

[@mariolosberg4257]

Im from Eu , but just hate small roads and parking spots we have here, they sucks...

[@3gor73]

Hi Ian some info on the small tracked vehicle it is remotely operated by the recovery worker is used to get vehicles that are inaccessible for a tow truck. EasTract is able to take a vehicle even if the car is locked, damaged or burnt out, from any location (underground parking, small courtyard, in a filed, in the mud or on the snow, etc…) where a truck can not go because of it size. It is also able to remove automatic and 4×4 vehicles without causing any damage to gearboxes or four wheel drive systems. The EasTract is then loaded onto the recovery truck with its load with a vehicle of up to 2.5 tons.

[@rogerwilco2]

2.5 tons. Well, that's the problem then. A lot of cars in the USA will weigh more than 2.5 tons.

[@iallso1]

I worked with tow truck drivers, removing vehicles from bus lanes and from obstructing vehicle entrances. The trucks used had the device that went around the front wheels, a couple of which had a quick lift mechanism. However the driver still had to either enter the vehicle disengaged the hand brake and put the vehicle in neural or dolly the rear wheels. Either way the vehicle needed to be strapped down before it was moved. Videos I have seen from the US have shown tow truck drivers go in lift the front wheels and literally drag the vehicle away without stapping or checking it can roll.

[@IanDarley]

The Aston, M3 and Ferrari were in London, illegally parked. They are superfast, my pal's missus stopped to buy cigs on the way to work, she was no longer that two minutes and the car was gone.

[@icoborg]

good

[@stevekenilworth]

yes but also very high % supper cars are rented or big debt so that is option to . places like Bradford seen lots clips sub letting suppers cars and they have no insurance because of it

[@frankhooper7871]

I'm surprised by that; here in Ipswich they won't even ticket a car until it's been there for 5 minutes - hence why there are always cars parked on double-yellow lines near me for loading: ie loading a packet of fags.

[@Tommy-he7dx]

Repos do happen but they need to go through the courts first, by the time that happens people either pay up or return the car themselves.....saves on the fees. When you see cars towed, it's either a Break down, Illegal parking or police confiscation for some reason.

[@gregorturner9421]

i had a repo dude turn up in australia. he took some photos of the car. then took pity on my and said ill come back tomorrow in the meantime call the company they will be understanding. 30 min later a repayment plan was worked out that i could afford. the repo guys prefer those sort of outcomes than towing a car.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Agree, here you get checkpoints where they check for no tax or insurance, and will have a line of tow trucks waiting. The ones that take half a dozen to a dozen vehicles at a time and they will rapidly fill up and be driven off leaving a lot of people standing/sitting on the pavements with a pile of belongings beside them waiting for a lift from someone else. Illegal parking is often someone left with a couple of clamps on their vehicles and a hefty bill to pay to unlock them, lots of breakdowns but they are usually the simple tow trucks where they are pulled onto the back and towed or the front wheels lifted and towed rather than the ones that take a whole lot of vehicles that the customs/excise or gardai use when hunting for customers. One reason I ALWAYS pay my tax and insurance even if the NCT/MOT/WoF is out of date. You can get away with that, no tax or insurance and your car is off the road.

[@tihomirrasperic]

6:44 In Croatia, that truck has a popular name "spider" if your car goes missing and it was parked in an illegal place, a spider must have taken your car the fine is €500-800 depending on the weight of the car but what is vile is that they put handcuffs on the tires and wait for the owner to appear for 5-6 minutes then they charge him "only" €250, and then they look for a new victim for "blackmail" *** but don't think they are not fast, they need less than 5 minutes to arrive, put 4 handcuffs on 4 wheels and take the car once they did it in 3 minutes (as if they were in F1) *** I know it was in the newspaper in Zagreb one person had their car taken away 200 times in one year due to parking in the city center

[@GunRunner106]

had to get my car once, after it had been pulled; over here in germany, was some 100ish eur to get it out of the place, still sucked. over here it depends on how far the towing company had to come out and back moving your vehicle and gets proportionally more expensive....

[@TheExcessus]

people should just park legally...

[@bojanvidic3722]

It is not 600-800. It is 60-80€ plus traffic violation ticket issued by police which is 50-90€ (if police officer was on site). If you wait with pickup, every day is an additional 6.6€. It is not blackmail and drivers are not victims....just park legal on legal parking spots and everything will be fine.

[@huskytail]

It's called the same in Bulgaria. In Sofia it used to be that the second your parking expires, the municipal agents are already waiting to put the "brackets" on your wheel and very often even tow your car not long after. Our car got taken away 15min after the parking payment expired 😅.

[@deank9043]

And it's not exactly new tech, "spiders" are around as far as I can remember... 40+ years

[@einarbolstad8150]

Different type of towing, but if you want to see some "hardcore towing", check out Ice Road Rescue shot in Norway. It's on National Geographic over here in Europe, perhaps in the US too.

[@marcuswardle3180]

The “High End” cars at the beginning of the video were in Kensington, London. There are a lot of wealthy people in a very small area. They all have expensive cars and think they can park where they wish. There are also a lot of Embassies in the area so Embassy staff just park where they want and know they don’t have to pay any fines.

[@BIOSHOCKFOXX]

The first one about Aston, I remember that video separately. A guy parked his Aston in a place where you can't park, but he felt entitled and privileged. You can see in corner that the place is not marked for parking, as well as yellow line, which indicates that you can't park there, because most likely it's a place meant for operational vehicle or that it is a driveway and anyone parking there will be blocking it. Same with Ferrari, yellow line, you can't park there.

[@bsdpowa]

in my home town step stopped towing cars ages ago because people kept suing for damaged rims, you instead get a fine on the spot unless your car is blocking emergency vehicles

[@terryross1754]

In Europe, it is illegal to 'snatch' a vehicle like your repo guys do. The police would fine them for towing an unsecured trailer. Speed is not an issue. The car must not get damaged. There has to be notification and an exchange of paperwork. The car owner gets multiple opportunities to avoid losing the vehicle. There are some repo's, but most of what you saw is just illegal parking. Even if you return to the vehicle, German police will make you stand and watch while they take it away.

[@autobootpiloot]

It's not illegal at all to tow a vehicle like they do in the US. I know for sure it's legal in the Netherlands and in Germany. A lot of flatbeds even have these hoops to scoop up the driven wheels for when they already have a car on the bed. It's used a lot to clear highways when a car is broken down. They do have to put a strap on the wheels so it doesn't fall off and they have to put lights on the back of the towed vehicle.

[@julianfkeller]

@@autobootpiloot i think he means the circumstances under which 'repo-men' operate, not the method of towing they use.

[@autobootpiloot]

@@julianfkeller Then the police would not "fine them for towing an unsecured trailer" but for theft of a motorvehicle.

[@shajukun198]

​@@autobootpiloot Most of the US repo guys just claw under and drive away, and that is illegal. U have to secure the load. Yeah it's not illegal to pull cars with a claw like that. But not securing dem onto the claw is in Europe. I guess that's what the first guy meant

[@tobiasmetzger1195]

​@@shajukun198thats also illegal in the US. But if nothing happens, nobody will care. And in Europe we do the same, if we wanna be quick.

[@StephenWestrip]

That first method is faster than you would think. It takes longer to take the photos all around than it does to attach the wheel clamps and raise it up.

[@ramadaxl]

I used to see that fairly often around Leicester square in London...always made me laugh when somebody would come running out waving their arms around as the transporter was driving away.

[@homobohemicus]

That tight historical road with the small van being removed is Prague (02:33)... That is on the way up to the castle and anything blocking the street is a danger in case fire or rescue vehicles needed to pass there

[@PedroConejo1939]

Certainly in the UK, some wealthy car owners can easily pay - or ignore - parking fines. Getting your car lifted is slightly more astringent.

[@alanmorris9425]

You're generally talking about wealthy citizens from the Gulf States, who will self-insure. Often, they will import their supercars if they're in the UK for an extended stay.

[@iallso1]

3:53 that side load truck was les than a minute from arriving to departure.

[@vegbjo87]

The. Volvo is being "towed" from a contraption that is remote control operated. Very usefull ik tight spaces or if it is to dangerous and send in personel. We had a fire in a parking garage connected to the the Airport in Stavanger/Sola in Norway where this robot was the only piece of machine that could remove vehicles because the parking garage was partially collapsed and it was necessary to remove most of the vehicles before starting to demo the structure.

[@jezza4814]

Because we drive manuals we use the handbrake when we park which locks the rear wheels so cars can't be towed from the front.

[@ralfb.4762]

4:23 The video runs faster here. You can tell by the 'fast-walking' passers-by. He doesn't hoist the car onto the flatbed that quickly, even if he does a bit faster than normal.

[@Mora71]

In the USA you have to be fast, because the owner of the car can come and pull a gun, in EU that chance is way way smaller 🙂

[@LagartoPT]

In EU he would be pulling a gun to a police officer and that never ends well. If you look at the images there's allways a police element near the car unless the tow truck was called by the owner. In some country's this job can be done by municipal police.

[@Tschacki_Quacki]

Why would you pull a gun? They will give back the car immediately if you tell them, that you are the owner. You still have to pay full price 😅

[@liamwagner6597]

@@Tschacki_Quacki Because in the US they're live another kind of breed and they own guns.

[@psychotropnilachtan8869]

@@Tschacki_Quacki In US It its already lifted then its going to the tow yard and you will have to pick it up there. Tow drivers couldnt care less and dont even have authority to give you a ticket or whatever ^^. And if its repossession then you will never see the car again so people freak out frequently.

[@Fetguf]

If you do the US repo thing in EU, it would most likely results in a charge for the repo driver for theft.

[@mickmcnich]

In the UK a finance company cannot just repossess a vehicle from the street. They need a court order to do so. Most of the towing shown here are parking violations or road tax/insurance infringements.

[@whynotagain3639]

Yes the tax infringement could technically be considered as a repo though. If the owner doesn't pay the extortionate car pound fees the car will eventually be repossessed. Also bailiffs can take your car away, so yes it definitely happens in the UK.

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

If you’re behind of insurance or road tax in Denmark the police just shows up and confiscate the license plate, and as such leave the car stranded. Only a hardened criminal would drice a car without license plates and as such, without insurance. The bad thing is that the vehicles vin is registered too so you just can’t order a new set of plates. You have to pay the amount of money you’re behind before you may get a new set of plates. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@whynotagain3639]

@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 in the UK if you don't pay your road tax, the car will be clamped for a week or two, if you then don't pay the clamp release fee or the road tax in that time. The car will be taken away by one of those trucks.

[@Jamie_D]

Well that was a good test showing those chains were nice and strong, surviving that high tension jolt

[@stuinNorway]

The lift hooks attach in seconds. Literally 2 J-shaped hooks (rubber coated to avoid damaging alloy wheels), with 2 rubber coated spacers that hold them out from centre of wheels. This means straps go up to the H-frame on the crane with no risk of rubbing paintwork. The entire frame can be adjusted forwards and backwards to allow for different weight balances. Best I've seen was from the truck parking alongside the illegally parked car to leaving with the car, under 60 seconds.

[@whynotagain3639]

The robot with the Volvo SUV and Range Rover was in the UK. However I've yet to see one, I'll be as shocked as Ian when I do see one. The crane lift flatbed trucks are very common and have been used for decades, literally nearly 30 years. I'd hire one to move my Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4x4 each time I moved house.

[@samuelbhend2521]

Second one is basically just a normal standard sidelifting Forklift, like every Sawmill or even big Carpentrycompanys use, just mounted o a Truck.

[@martinpoulsen6564]

Main advantage with these over regular stingers and rollbacks is that these don't care whether it's auto, manual, brakes engaged, flat tire or anything, even if it will get aligned with it, just so long as it'll reach

[@jamieridler1921]

That "tow truck fail" looks more like a recovery than a straight-up tow. Looks like the truck tipped backwards, trying to drop, or pick up, that skip, and the truck in front, the recovery truck, was pulling the tipped truck back onto its wheels.

[@holgerrenz3314]

Repo is usually done her by a bailiff and not just by a tow truck driver. Most cars are towed for illegal parking, especially when they are parking on a handicap parking space.

[@Jackty89]

That fail isn't a fail, look more like a normal truck that got lifted up by heavy load when unload, the tow truck just pulled it back to the ground

[@darren100880]

its harder to tow a car in the UK at least like you do in the USA as most cars are manual and we apply our hand brake so all 4 wheel could be locked up and the tow driver could cause a lot of damage so its safer to just pick it up.

[@alanmorris9425]

You certainly don't tow an automatic car with its drive axle on the road. It's a recipe for damaging the transmission

[@kenbrown2808]

@@alanmorris9425 exactly. an automatic transmission actually mechanicaly locks the transmission in park, so even moving the car with the transmission in park is worse than a manual transmission car.

[@alanmorris9425]

@kenbrown2808 and even if you could release the transmission from the Park position, you run the risk of damaging the transmission due to a lack of lubrication

[@alanmorris9425]

@@darren100880 handbrake only works on the rear wheels.

[@darren100880]

From all the US tow truck videos I've seen the tow driver usually backs up to the car lifts the drive wheels off the floor and drives away towing the car because the handbrake isn't used as much where as most of our cars are manual so we always apply the handbrake and there's no quick way of know if the car has been left in gear or not so you run the risk of causing damage to either the gear box or rear tyres so it's easier to just pick it up.

[@stefanstock953]

greetingd and love from Germany again...great reaction like always...i just saw a shorts where a whole damn Tram got towed......a Tram !!!

[@xuser48]

Check how busses and trucks are recovered in Europe.

[@patrickwouters6568]

Hello Ian 👋🏼 Patrick from Luxembourg 🇱🇺 here. Knowing your interest in Swedish trucks, I sincerely suggest you watch a video edited by a Canadian driver who became such a fan of Scania trucks, he traveled to Sweden to visit the factory and buy one to export to North America. Being present in the region, he was invited to visit an exhibition where the most beautiful Scandinavian trucks were exhibited. Here is the name of his KZbin channel: Bruce Wilson, and the title of the video is: "Americans Attends Finnish Truck Show! Totally NEXT LEVEL" Enjoy it! 😊

[@Sadlander2]

Hey Patrick. Diddeleng hei! D'Welt ass kleng!

[@patrickwouters6568]

@@Sadlander2 Hey Sergio! Déiffergeng hei! 😉

[@Tschacki_Quacki]

I think the crane towing is very common because a ton of truck drivers are already certified and used to operate them. A lot of companies require those crane trucks for deliveries. The guys who deliver wood or floor boards to our company, operate the exact same trucks and cranes. They could immediately switch to a towing company. There are also some cars that get damaged if they are not pulled correctly. Delivery on bed eliminates the risk from any car specific quirks for towing.

[@RushiAnton]

yeah nah they're not repos it's parking offences!

[@seankendall8599]

The Aston and the Ferrari in the UK would almost certainly be parking related

[@martinwebb1681]

Yes, for sure. A regular sight in London seeing luxury cars being removed on the back of these police recovery vehicles because of illegal parking.

[@johnsmith-de9wv]

hello ,have you seen the video about the" Shap" pass ,It's called the" Story of Shap", and it is about british commerce by road and how trucks took over from canal traffic and railway to some extent but basically in one area ,a pass over steep moorland in northern England and how the winter weather affected goods being delivered . The Atkinson trucks you will see were the Scanias of their day ,Enjoy

[@alexnohandle]

In general, repossession is not a thing in Europe. If someone ows you money, you press charges against them and let the police handle it. Only exception might be if a bank lends you money to buy property and you accept a contract that allows the bank to be the official owner of the property until you've finished paying the loan, in which case the bank is allowed to sell the property to minimise their loss. But even then, they would have to have the police make you vacate the property.

[@m-arky66]

The ones in London have been around for decades, saw them at work in late 80's around Wembley stadium. That one at 9:40 is a remotely operated lift for removing suspect vehicles in the UK, the back to front "disabled" bay lettering is the giveaway.

[@JohnHazelwood58]

In our area in Germany you can leave an emergency phone number in your car. Before your car gets towed, they give you a call. If you are near by and can and do remove the car yourself in a few minutes, they won't tow you. You still have to pay a small fine (10-15€), but's nothing compared to the tow prices, of course!

[@kenbrown2808]

in Los Angeles, there is a regulation that if your car is being towed for being illegally parked, you can demand the tow driver unhook it. you still get the parking fine, though.

[@Geker3]

In Prague (video form 2:30) these cars are parked illegally. It's accually big business because these cars go to special parking lots and if the car owner wants his car back he/she has to pay a fine for illegal parking to police and also the service of parking their car elsewhere. And those parking lots charge around 40 USD per day of parking.

[@KjetilBalstad]

The most insane car towing I've seen was in Nesebar Bulgaria. From the tow car stopped until they drove off it took less than a minute. And, rarely did it take less than 10 minutes before the tow car showed up because all illegal parking in the area seamed to trigger an immediate towaway and there were three companies competing in taking in these cars as they earned money from the owner directly getting it back from the compound.

[@jameslewis2635]

Most of the first video was based in on the UK until the flatbed with the forklift mechanism appeared. Over here flatbeds with cranes are not uncommon in the construction industry, it's just that this particular variant has a cradle that is adapted to make lifting cars easier. It doesn't take very long at all for such an operation, we are talking about 5 minutes between the flatbed stopping and then pulling away. More common recovery vehicles are either vans with towing equipment or flatbeds that tilt up with hydraulic mechanisms combined with a winch. The forklift mechanism looks a lot more convenient but it also looks a lot more likely to damage the car or something else if used carelessly.

[@adpop750]

4:28 it's sped up, you can tell by how fast pedestrians move in the background😎

[@rayjennings3637]

In the clips of American tow trucks that I've watched, the operators never strap down the car on the bits that lift the wheels. Another observation is that although it's not shown in the clips shown here, in Europe it's normal practice to take shots of the car before the lift to show any damage present before-hand, I've never seen that in clips from the US. The last method was in the UK.

[@CatsLilaSalem]

My city has lots of places with a towing ruling for parking at the wrong place/too long for example, but i did never see it happen so very interesting to watch

[@jillosler9353]

You ought to watch a video of a 60 foot long narrowboat being lifted off a tow truck and settled into a canal or river - using straps!

[@countk1]

Somewhat 15 years ago, traffic situations changed in front of my parents shop. People couldn't park in the street anymore as ambulances/firetrucks had trouble getting through. Three for these "fork lift" trucks were constantly removing cars as the drivers just didn't care. One driver was even waiting for the tow truck to drive away and park on that same spot.

[@rugbygirlsdadg]

In London they tend to use the trucks with cranes because there's not enough space in a lot of cases to use a towing truck.

[@SG_82]

3:30 bippety-boppety... your car is now my property.

[@George_Something]

😂😂😂

[@j.vanderson6239]

Europe is crazy, but fun !!

[@Sepa1984]

In many European countries, lenders or leasing companies can reclaim vehicles if the borrower fails to make payments. This process is often referred to as "repossession" or "recovery." Unlike in the United States, the legal barriers in Europe are often higher, and there are stricter regulations governing the process. In some countries, the creditor must first obtain a court ruling before they can reclaim the vehicle.

[@kenbrown2808]

it might be that in europe, deadbeats are more respecting of repossession. here, they will ignore the court order, and the repossession company has to actually FIND the car and take it.

[@Plinfut]

I've never seen those in the Netherlands and I'm surprised they don't secure the cars before driving off. Towtruck Tim is a great channel about how it's done here, though more focused on breakdowns and accidents than illegal parking.

[@ChristiaanHW]

i've never seen that robot in action either. but one of the vehicles being carried by the robot is a Dutch police van (10:43), so i assume we have those robots here too. might be just a pilot project to see how useful they are, so just a couple of cities that use them to test it out.

[@Plinfut]

@@ChristiaanHW or even just a protype demo in the factory parking lot. But I did notice the robot was somewhere in the Netherlands indeed.

[@martinwebb1681]

@@ChristiaanHW ... Yes the first one was in England, UK, and the second one was in the Netherlands.

[@keithgrant7950]

The first 3 are London and illegally parked over stayed the time limit. I had a job in the late 80's operating a lorry mounted crane of the sort shown and I got 10 minutes of instructions and then had to get on with it, the only difference is that in my day you sat on a small seat at the top of the upright of the crane as that is where the controls were, not on the side like today, so it was easier to judge where the object to be lifted was.

[@uroskostic8570]

East Serbia, we have same TOW truck. Parking services usually are part of city government. If you have parked illegaly, they will take your car the same way as on video. If you parked on public payed parking spot, and you didnt pay and you have Serbian plates, they will put ticket on your windshield. If you parked without paying with foreign plates, they will lock your wheel until you pay. Parking on disabled spot will end in towing. There are also cars with 360 view cameras, that observe parked cars, on marked parkings and automatically creating ticket if you didnt pay.

[@MaXxProsTe]

3:05 Seems like Czech republic somewhere under the Prague castle 😀

[@Gr8Buccaneer]

keep in mind,lots of cars use the handbrake when parked or even have it with 1st gear in it,so lift it up wont cause damage to the gearbox or engine.not sure about the US,of course the owner of the car,gets a ticket and has to pay the towing costs,but damage to the car that comes from the towing,has to be payed by the towing company..at least in germany.

[@kenbrown2808]

the US nearly always have an automatic transmission, and they have a pawl which engages in the gearbox to mechanically lock the transmission. however, in the US, if you are towed for illegal parking, unless you can prove the tow company deliberately damaged your car (I.E. vandalism) then any damage is considered the natural consequence of your bad parking.

[@sergeleon1163]

What also is different between the US tow trucks it only works when you can access the car from the front side, as I can't see how they would do the fast tow when the cars are street parked in line along a (small)road and the car you have to get is in the middle and boxed in between other cars in the parking line, then the claw and the forklift version can still get the car from between the other cars. Also Repo from unpaid car (lease) bills wouldn't be something you would normally see in Europe, it would be likely parked in wrong place, too long, unpaid parking bills/police tickets, too much outstanding taxes, police repo from criminal, needs to be removed for emergency etc.

[@kenbrown2808]

here, if it was necessary to pull out a car from a line of parked cars, the truck would simply use a pulley to pull the car sideways. your lift trucks are definitely more elegant. I'm curious to see how the wheel straps actually connect, though. the videos didn't show that.

[@vereybowring]

I've seen one of the robo sled type a couple of streets over from where I live in Scotland - guy there rents sports cars and switches them every few months. The hire company uses a full sized semi and the sled so the car is fully protected when loaded in the trailer.

[@racamon]

Illegal parking is an issue when the city and town streets are narrow. That is why tow trucks work tirelessly (pun intended). In Serbia (small European country), we don't have that forklift type, just the ones in first clips, that we call "spiders", because those claws, or arms, look like a spider jumping on top of a prey with all legs to grab it. The forklift type truck is not very practical. It is good for cars parked on the side of the road, but on parking lots it has no usage.

[@mikeneale9790]

The remote controlled removal at 9:38 was in South Road, Waterloo L22, 200 yards from where I was working at the time. The video was taken from the upstairs of the Tattoo parlour next to Home Bargains.

[@Sadlander2]

I have never seen anything like that. Is that a private company?

[@mikeneale9790]

@@Sadlander2 Apparently the machine is a French built 'Eastract' operated by a towing company called Recovery North West (RNW). I can't say if it's they have a permanent contract with Sefton Council or they were merely demonstrating it.

[@petitus90]

Im a towtruck driver in europe. And the reasons most cars are towed is because they broke down, didnt pay road tax, didnt pay traffic fines or arent insured.

[@gertfink6939]

Funny Austrian Numberplate in the back ...greetings from Graz

[@okoeroo]

We had the US method in NL too. Still do. But sometimes you have front wheel drive and parking brake on. This could be bad for the engine. Hence the flat beds

[@Vaipu]

Never seen those kind of tow trucks in Finland, normally seen only where you lover the bed on the ground and winch it on.

[@kenbrown2808]

yes, that's the most common tow truck in the US, now, too.

[@kenbrown2808]

the white truck with the fail is their equivalent of our roll off dumpster trucks. they pick up the container from behind the truck and lift it onto the bed of the truck. obviously, that one was loaded too heavy.

[@unkyduck]

There's a clip around of boom truck repos, they lift them out over garden walls

[@ulvsbane]

That robot thing is great to get cars from low parking garages where the tow truck can't get in, or maybe rather out if it has another car loaded. Just send in the robot to bring the car outside. Edit: and the second later they showed on in a parking garage, lol.

[@lbernau]

I once broke down on a highway and had to leave my car in the emergency lane to go call a tow truck. When the tow truck arrived, a tow truck working for the police had already picked it up and taken it to the police inpound where I could pick it up the following monday. (This happened on a friday).

[@MikeJones-iq7gj]

9:00 is a skip lorry, it has an overhead bar with chains on it to attach to the corners of the skip and lift it over the back of the truck, I'm guessing you dont have them in the US

[@luke_McLellan]

The Robot thing is used a lot for broken down vehicle's in tight multi story car parks.

[@marcosalvestomasini]

I had my car recovered by that robot the RNW one. It's a recovery company from Liverpool, and at the time my rear axle dropped and the car could not be driven or pulled to a recovery truck the normal way, so they send out that robot thing.

[@sugoruyo]

What you’re seeing here is mostly cars being removed for illegal parking, this is typically done by private companies contracting with the police, at the instruction of the police themselves and usually with the instructing officer present.

[@YenRug]

The one with the truck stuck up in the air, that's a skip truck, we use skips for rubbish/construction waste disposal. They'll go out with up to 5 empty ones for delivery, but collection is usually a single full skip unless you've got a special build one.

[@kenbrown2808]

the US version of the same has a loading system that tips up like a tipper truck and then the skip is slid off or on with a chain drive. as you might expect, our skips are also much bigger. (or if you are familiar with a rollback tow truck, they work like that.)

[@Notmyname1593]

Having worked with industrial machines myself, it seems funny to me how impressed some people are over lifting something as light as a car. 1 or 2 tons is nothing.

[@autobootpiloot]

You should take a look at how river barges load their cars on the ship. My car is airborn every week.

[@jmi5969]

9:00 I order these skip trucks probably 3-4 times a year, and each time the old lady answering the call questions me about the nature of my trash and instructs me sternly to put the heaviest (by density) stuff on the bottom and the lightweight junk on top, and that she will summon all evil against me for disobedience... Yes, these things topple too often, and sometimes their buckets do hoops if not loaded properly.

[@jkasaunder228]

You'll find alot of high end sports cars, hyper cars and such abandoned in London at certain times of the year, after the rich people from the UAE come for a holiday. Sometimes they import their own cars, quite often they buy several while they are here. They have so much money that they don't really care about them, So simply park them up and go home.

[@Pankocik]

The basic HDS crane can lift 4.3t and has a reach of 12m, but there are also much stronger versions with a lifting capacity of up to 20t

[@CTommyB]

We call them “spiders” in Croatia

[@rosen9425]

The repo guys in the US are plenty fast with their towing rigs. They are in and out way faster than shown in these clips. There's a space difference of course which plays as role.

[@GR34456]

The tracked ones are mainly used on electric cars but can be used on all vehicles.

[@victorwild3225]

The long straps are for vans to clear the roofs

[@ukdnbmarsh]

that little robot that picked the car up was on UK plates

[@JakaRacman-f3d]

In Slovenia straps crane trucks are nicknamed "spiders".

[@sweettreat4933]

Where i live in the UK you'll only be towed for bad parking or if you've broken down and sent recovery to get your car to a mechanic.

[@QookieCrumbles]

This looks like a fast way to steal a car

[@owenb6914]

You have to wacht an episode of iceroade rescue. It is a series about a few truck towers in Norway witch resceu fallen over trucks or stranded trucks.

[@kenbrown2808]

Canada has two shows: Highway Through Hell, and Heavy Rescue 401, that are similar.

[@LittlewingsTravels]

You need to check out tow trucks on La Reunion

[@huskytail]

That's actually funnier when you know it's because of bad parking 😂.

[@stigverhoeven8476]

Indeed parking issues!!

[@UncleHo5]

I had once a "spider"over a wheel because my car was parked on what they claimed to be grass. Which was not the case. I paid a fine to get the spider removed. The guys tried to make some pocket money because I didn't get any receipt, and when I told them that I call the municipality they returned the money so fast and took the metal spider with them.

[@Ryuuoo_]

12:10 only two bolts on that tire?

[@tadeuszprzyszlak]

not much repo here in europe. those are mostly towed away for traffic violations(parking in wrong places like handicapped zone etc), iits also handy when your car brakes down and its the only way to take it to the car shop/dealer/service