By Bubba Johnson
Bubba’s Towing
Some days in Frankfort carry more weight than others. Not because of ceremony or politics, but because of what’s at stake for the people of Kentucky.
One of those days came recently when Representative Richard White and Representative Patrick Flannery, joined by dedicated co-sponsors, filed House Bill 282, known as Troy’s Law. The filing marked an important step forward, not just for the towing industry, but for every working family in the Commonwealth who depends on safe roads and responsible leadership.
Frankfort is the foundation of Kentucky’s lawmaking. It is where real-life struggles are meant to be heard and turned into real-world solutions. When lawmakers gather here, they are entrusted with more than votes and bills. They carry the responsibility of representing the people who keep this state moving—the blue-collar men and women who clock in early, clock out late, and hope nothing goes wrong before they make it home.
That includes the towing industry.
Tow operators are often invisible until the worst moment of someone’s day. When a car breaks down on the shoulder. When an accident shuts down a lane. When a family is stranded, scared, cold, and unsure of what to do next. That’s when we show up.
We are the ones who stand just feet from moving traffic so others can get home safely. We work in the dark. In the rain. In the snow. On highways where one distracted driver can end a life in seconds. Every call we respond to is someone else’s emergency. Every shift we work carries risk. Every time we step out of our trucks, our families pray we come back.
Troy’s Law exists because that risk has grown too high to ignore.
At its core, Troy’s Law is about fairness, safety, and respect. It recognizes the essential role tow operators play in keeping Kentucky’s roads clear and its people safe. It also acknowledges a simple truth: visibility saves lives.
House Bill 282 would allow tow operators to run blue lights alongside their amber lights while working active traffic scenes. That is the full request. There are no budget demands. No grants. No funding attached. No special treatment.
Just one more layer of protection.
Across the state of Kentucky, construction zones operate with blue lights present whenever workers are on the side of the road. Those lights slow traffic, grab attention, and give drivers extra reaction time. Their safety matters—and it should. But Troy’s Law asks a fair question: why should the men and women working active traffic scenes every day be treated differently?
This is not about convenience.
This is not about appearance.
This is about visibility.
This is about reaction time.
This is about lives.
Blue lights change driver behavior. They force attention. They slow speeds. They buy seconds. And on the side of a highway, seconds are often the difference between going home safe and not going home at all.
For the towing industry, Troy’s Law is deeply personal. It represents coworkers lost, close calls survived, and families permanently changed. It represents the reality that too many tow operators have been injured or killed while simply doing their jobs. It represents a promise that those losses mattered enough to demand change.
But Troy’s Law is also about the work happening right now inside the Capitol. Advocacy does not happen overnight. It takes showing up, having difficult conversations, and standing in rooms where decisions are made and saying, clearly and respectfully, “This matters.” It takes lawmakers who are willing to listen. The filing of House Bill 282 shows what happens when leadership listens and acts.
This moment in Frankfort is a meaningful step forward—not just for Troy’s Law, but for every working family who depends on strong representation and common-sense laws that protect those who serve the public every day.
Tow operators help Kentucky get home. Now we are asking Kentucky to help protect us.
It is time for courage.
It is time for unity.
It is time for lawmakers to stand with the people who keep this state moving.
Support Troy’s Law.
Stand with the towing industry.
And help ensure that the men and women working the side of our roads get home to their families the same way they help others get home to theirs.
