Let's say you're running a few errands downtown on a Friday afternoon.

You circle around looking for a parking spot and you finally see one.

It kind of looks like the curb is red, but you decide to take the risk.

A few hours later, you come races, your hands start to get clammy.

Did I forget where I actually parked?

Did someone steal my car?

Should I call the cops?

But somewhere across town, the guy who's in possession of your vehicle doesn't have much sympathy for your plight.

A lot of the pain is brought on the owner by themselves.

People get really upset, but it's like, you know, if you didn't park where you weren't supposed to, you wouldn't have gotten your car towed.

Bill Georgis is the president of Mike's Recer Service, based in Saginaw, Michigan.

It's one of more than 35,000 towing companies in the U.S.

They make up a 12 billion dollar a year industry.

We cover the entire gamut of towing.

We tow people who break down with a passenger car or a personal vehicle

and then we also do impound toes which is going to be drunk

driving or stolen vehicles or where somebody parks where they are not supposed to.

Whether you get stuck on a desolate road at 2 o'clock in the morning or

park in a red zone, a tower will be there to whisk your vehicle away. And when

they send you the bill, they don't expect you to thank them.

We go from Hero to Zero in about 30 seconds.

For the Freak economics radio network,

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