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A typical shift

Much of the work is on call. A dispatcher sends you to a breakdown, a collision or an illegally parked car. You assess the vehicle, set out cones and lights, winch or lift it onto the truck and take it to a shop, a yard or a driveway. Snowstorms and freezing rain are your busiest nights. Some shifts are quiet and some run 12 hours without a proper break, and a lot of the job happens on the shoulder of a highway with traffic passing a metre away.