Japan makes driving a tow truck a competitive sport, and the public is invited to watch. During the annual JAF Road Service Competition, emergency responders compete against each other in various events, including pulling an overturned car back onto its wheels as smoothly as possible.
The Roadside Assistance Olympics, organized by the Japan Automotive Federation (JAF), similar to Japan’s AAA, brings together emergency responders from Tokyo and nine other prefectures. What follows isn’t a Battle Royale-style brawl with people hitting each other over the head with road signs, but a friendly competition to educate the public about JAF’s role in protecting motorists.
In the first competitive event, a tow truck equipped with a winch is used to pull an overturned car back onto its four wheels. While that sounds relatively simple for trained professionals, the goal is to slowly and carefully bring the shiny side up to prevent further damage to the car. Seen in this light, it is a complicated operation that requires a thorough knowledge of where to attach the winch and in which direction to pull it. Competitors are also judged on their ability to lift a motorcycle lying on its side without dropping it in the other direction and load it onto a trailer.
This isn’t exactly a snippet of the competition, but it does give you a taste of what a JAF wreck recovery looks like:
And this is how they pick up motorcycles:
Activities are also planned for children. JAF employees in particular will teach elementary school students how to change a wheel using real tools.
Although the Road Service Competition is not a new event, it will be open to the public for the first time in 2024. The competition will take place on November 24 at the parking lot of Aeon Mall Makuhari New City in Chiba City. is close to Tokyo and admission is free.
