By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Editor’s Note: This is part two in a planned series exploring the impact of Troy Caldwell’s death on his community and the need for greater roadway safety.
If the friends and colleagues of Troy Caldwell have their way, tow trucks in the state of Kentucky will soon be able to display the same flashing blue lights as police officers and other first responders. But the lights would only be visible from behind, to alert vehicles who are approaching the scene of an accident or disabled vehicle, and only when the vehicle was stopped. They wouldn’t be visible from the front, and couldn’t be mistaken for a police officer pulling someone over.
“The Law stipulates when blue lights can be used,” Representative Richard White said of the proposed Troy’s Law, named for Troy Caldwell, a tow truck driver who tragically lost his life in September of 2024. White, A Kentucky State Representative who represents District 99 in the Kentucky House of Representatives, said if the bill passes it will allow tow truck operators to use rear facing blue lights only when the vehicle is stationary.
The bill, HB 115, is an amendment to the existing KRS 189.920, to allow wreckers to be equipped with a flashing, rotating, or oscillating blue light, to be used only when removing a vehicle or debris from the highway. It would also explicitly prohibit a wrecker from using a blue light when towing a vehicle.
“It will allow them to use the blue lights when they are working an accident scene,” White said. Once the vehicle is moving, the lights will have to be turned off, but by that time the operator will of course be safely inside of the vehicle.
White gives Carter County tow truck operator Bubba Johnson the credit for raising awareness of Troy Caldwell’s death and how the added protection of rear facing blue lights might have prevented it. White said it was very disturbing to learn that 42 wrecker operators had been killed across the country last year, as well as 22 EMS workers.
“I think people are getting so used to these yellow and red lights that they don’t give them the respect they need,” White said.
“We have the support of the local sheriff, but I think there is some push back,” White said of the proposed bill, noting that some think it might reduce the effectiveness of the blue lights for police forces.
Still, White believes that if the proposed bill can get a hearing it will pass. Anyone interested in the progress of the bill should contact their state legislators through various means such as email, or by calling their office. There is also a telephone number dedicated specifically to that purpose, 1-800-372-7181.
“Once we get a hearing and go to committee, I don’t believe it will have any trouble passing,” White said.
“Troy was killed in Bath County in September of last year,” White added. “And earlier this month there was a gentleman in Western Kentucky that was hit. That’s two in the State of Kentucky in six months.”
Tow-truck operators face many of the same obstacles as other first responders, as they regularly assist other emergency services and police forces. Proponents of Troy’s Law believe that it will add another much-needed layer of protection and help improve their safety dramatically.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
They should have the right to have them blue light because I got a filling that if they were already on there tow trucks my brother Troy Lee Caldwell would still be here today and there life matter just the same as anyone else do in my eyes they help more people than anyone In law enforcement so there for they need to make it back home to there family but the sad thing is some don’t Troy’s law will keep tow truck operator coming home safe