For a century now, AMA has been working tirelessly to keep Albertans safe on the road through public awareness campaigns and advocating on behalf of Albertans. From the introduction of new rules aimed at curbing predatory towing to the continued expansion of our safe driving Get Back in the Habit campaign, AMA continued its advocacy work in 2025 and celebrated significant breakthroughs.
Know Before the Tow
In late 2024, AMA launched Know Before the Tow, an awareness campaign to help motorists feel confident in refusing aggressive or unsolicited tow services. While most towing companies in Alberta are reputable operators, predatory “accident chasers” continue to prey on unsuspecting motorists, resulting in inflated costs and other headaches.
As part of this campaign, we encouraged the provincial government to take action against predatory towers. We’re now pleased to report that the province has enacted new laws aimed at protecting motorists from these predators. The first new law was announced at an event we hosted with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors in August 2025. Motorists have always had the right to choose a preferred towing company and the right to access their vehicle at a towing facility at any time, and now that right is backed up by a $1,000 fine for anyone found preying on someone at a collision scene.
The second new law provides consumer protections requiring upfront disclosure of towing and storage fees and the requirement to obtain explicit driver consent before providing services—changes that reinforce the standards already upheld by reputable towing operators. The penalties for violations reflect the seriousness of this issue, with fines up to $300,000 and even potential jail time.
The City of Calgary also introduced a bylaw that imposes a $10,000 fine on predatory towers for entering any accident or breakdown scene uninvited. There has since been strong effort from law enforcement in Alberta’s two largest cities, where the issue of predatory towing has been most prevalent. In Edmonton, police have so far arrested and charged 11 drivers.
The problem of predatory towing hasn’t been solved completely, but the issue has been much reduced thanks to our work in this space. We will continue to advocate for motorists’ rights at collision scenes for as long as this problem remains.
9 pm Routine
In 2024, there were 22,300 reported instances of break and entry in the province, and while this represents a decrease from previous years, this number shows that it is indeed still a serious problem. That said, break and entry is typically a crime of opportunity and one that homeowners can take some fairly easy steps to protect themselves against.
In 2025 we launched our “9 PM Routine” campaign where AMA encourages households to institute a daily routine (at 9 pm or really any time before bed) in which family members make sure house and vehicle doors are locked, windows are locked, bicycles and other valuables are securely stored in a locked garage, and security systems are armed. The video promotes this as a fun, collaborative way to ensure safety ahead of when most home thefts typically occur.
