Iowa DPS Update: Tow Ban Lifted for Most Highways and Counties; Total Crash Info Released

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has lifted its ban on towing stranded vehicles, which was issued for several counties, including Johnson County, during the height of Winter Storm Draco.

The Iowa State Patrol has issued a statement saying that if you have a stranded vehicle you should contact a licensed towing company to help with the retrieval of your vehicle. You can double check with local authorities if you want to make sure if the tow ban has been removed for your area.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety also issued some numbers of their total response to the storm:

Preliminary numbers from the Department of Public Safety’s six State Communications Centers indicate that beginning at 5:00 PM on December 19, 2012 and continuing through 3:00 PM, December 21, 2012 the Iowa State Patrol managed:

• 384 emergency calls received for assistance (wireless 911 and HELP line calls)
• 195 covered crashes (including three fatality crashes in Hamilton, Pottawattamie, and Sioux Counties)
• 563 calls for motorist assists
• 92 calls for wrecker services (many calls were for more than one motor vehicle, and only account for services to tow vehicles obstructing traffic flow)

Emergency calls received are likely higher as numerous calls on a single event may not have been logged due to the extremely high call volume and radio traffic occurring in the six centers over the past 48 hours.  Additionally, these figures do not include crashes that may have occurred, but have yet to be responded to by Troopers due to the large volume of reports.