Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Friday, March 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - People are never pleased to walk outside and discover their vehicle being towed. It's a regular hazard that Keenan Miller, a tow truck driver, must deal with on the job.

"It's not very nice," said Miller with a laugh, "the owners get pretty ticked off if they come out and see us towing their vehicle."

It's a don't-shoot-the-messenger situation for Miller. If a person is illegally parked, it can be reported by anyone who notices, usually a business or homeowner, said Miller.

They report it to municipal enforcement, which sends someone to check it out. If it is indeed illegally parked, Age Automotives is called out to deal with it - and any irate vehicle owners that come with it.

They get about two or three calls a day to pick up bylaw-breaking cars, but it's not a big deal, said Miller. He loves his job.

"I get to do stuff I've always enjoyed," he said. "I enjoy driving, I enjoy doing stuff outside, and I love working with vehicles."

When asked if he had worked with any particularly flashy vehicles, Miller laughed.

"Just brand new ones," he said. "It is Yellowknife, after all."

Miller began as a shop hand and gradually moved up to driver status after six months on the job.

It doesn't require much extra training, he said, just a class 5 driver's license and a bit of mechanical know-how.

His first trip alone at the wheel of the Ford 450 tow truck was out to Rae to tow a vehicle back to Yellowknife.

"I was pretty nervous," he said.

Soon he got the hang of it and was running the shop when the owner was out of town.

His first day all on his own was the worst day he's ever had, he said.

"I had four-and-a-half hours of work backed up and it was -35," he said.

He survived and said his best day on the job came out of that - the day he realized he was capable of running the whole show by himself if his boss wasn't around.

Out at the Age Automotives shop, Miller has just returned from a job.

It's a windy -25 C day and while he's happy to be out in the sunshine and fresh air, he's just glad it's not colder.

"When you have to crawl underneath the vehicle to hook something up and it's -40 C and snowy... you get cold really fast," he said.