Robert E. Watson
Education and Military:
1963 1965 Mount San Antonio College
1964 1966 Los Angeles Trade Tech
1966 1972 United States Air Force (Staff Sergeant); March Air Force Base, (Air crash
rescue, hazmat and paramedic training)
Special Training / Certifications:
Air Bag Recoveries 15 years
Heavy Duty Recovery 20 years
Light Duty Recovery 20 years
Hazardous Material handling 50 years
BigRig RollOvers 20 years
Police Impounds 25 years
Air Crash Rescue 6 years
Propane and Tanker recovery 10 years
Propane Trainer – Heavy Duty 4 years
Rotator Crane 10 years
Helicopter Recoveries 10 years
Memberships / Affiliations:
Southern Division of California Tow Truck Association ("CTTA") 10 years
Volunteer Fire Department – Upland, CA 10 years
Heavy Duty Director, California Trucking Association (“CTA”) 4 years
American Trucking Associations – Endorsed provider 5 years
Lake Norman Rotary Club 3 years
Cornelius Executive Board 3 years
California Highway Patrol Advisory Committee – CTA 3 years
I-95 Corridor Committee – ATA 3 Years
Towing History:
1970 – 1975 Manufacturer of Tire Service Trucks
1975 – 1992 Owner of Tire Outpost – Retail automotive service center providing towing, tire needs for tractortrailers, tow trucks, as well as
passenger vehicles.
1992 – 2005 CEO, TopWest End, Inc,
A towing company qualified to handle all aspects of towing, including, but not limited to, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, heavy machinery, bigrig rollovers and hazardous material spills (hazmat). Member of the California Highway Patrol towing rotation for Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, as well as certain areas in Los Angeles County. TopWest End, Inc. operated four (4) storage facilities, and also was
approved to serve as Police Impound facilities for the three (3) counties we served.
TWE was also contracted with Riverside Counties for vehicle abatements. As president of “TWE,” I managed and oversaw the recovery, preparation for towing, towing, storage and handling of any and all vehicles which TWE was directed by law enforcement to recover and/or take into possession. I oversaw and quoted rates for big rig and heavy duty tow calls. As a small business owner, I was a member of the
California Trucking Association and served on the State Boards which lobbied for trucking legislation. I sold my business in July of 2005.
2000 – 2006 President and CEO of The American Towing Alliance LLC
I was one of two founding partners of ATA. ATA was a national call center whose mission was to bridge the trucking and towing industries by receiving and dispatching “managed” calls involving accidents, rollovers, and disabled Big rigs and Heavy Duty Equipment throughout the continental United States. ATA dispatched certain qualified towing members to respond to and handle all calls. ATA was comprised of 1500 towing members and were all required to possess and be qualified to utilize the most effective means in the recovery, preparation for towing, towing, storage, and handling of tow calls to which they respond. Said measures include, but are not limited to, cost effectiveness, loss prevention and safety of tow operators and general public.
As president of ATA, I supervised the professional recovery network, prepared the calls for towing and oversaw the actual recovery, storage and handling of the vehicles which ATA tow operators were dispatched to and subsequently took into their possession. In addition, I managed the quoted rates for big rig and heavy duty tow calls and supervised hazmat incidents. Through the American Trucking Association, I had the opportunity to represent approximately 37,000 trucking companies headquartered in the continental United States and Canada. Additionally, through ATA, I required our top rated towers to participate in a national heavy duty training program to learn how to effectively utilize
state of the art recovery and towing procedures and equipment.
During my years at ATA I handled the Greyhound Bus account. There were approximately 500 calls a year. I attended classes with Greyhound concerning the new models of buses on a yearly basis. I also handled the Werner account which generated over 5,000 calls a year.
I retired from ATA in March of 2006.
Recovery Resolution Specialists, Inc. (“RRS”)
In 2009, I created Towing Insurance Specialty LLC (TIS). I transitioned that business into Recovery Resolution Specialists, Inc. (“RRS”) in 2012.
RRS is the only enterprise in the nation that handles claims relating to hazmat, tractor/trailer accidents, cargo management, and provides expert witness testimony. At the inception of my business, we handled over $5,000,000 in claims. In 2021, that number exceeded $50,000,000 in claims. RRS is a member of the National Heavy Claims Council: (NTHECC) and represents the following customers: Sentry Insurance, Nationwide, Hanover, Great American, Chubb, Canal, Westfield, Markel Insurance, Northland Insurance, Travelers, American Southern, National Causality, Zurich Insurance, Hanover, Great West Insurance, and many more including Third Party Administrators that process claims for Lloyd’s of London, etc.
RRS also handles claims for Werner Trucking, Prime Trucking, Schneider Trucking and hundreds several more independently trucking companies. RRS has also helped many independent towers with receiving funds from trucking companies and insurance companies for services provided.
I sold RRS in 2022 and continued to assist with the transition of the business until early 2023.
Watson Expert Group
Watson Expert Group was founded in 2023 to provide litigation support for individuals and companies that are currently in dispute regarding a tow bill. I am an expert witness for big rig accident management hazmat and procedural integrity in the following states:
Kansas
Michigan
Tennessee
Kentucky
Maryland
Pennsylvania
California
Oklahoma
North Carolina
Illinois
South Carolina
Washington
Arizona
Virginia
New York
Wisconsin
Missouri
Ohio
Vermont
Georgia
New Jersey
Arkansas
Nebraska
Texas
Louisiana
New Mexico
West Virginia
Florida
North Dakota
Massachusetts
Connecticut