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A lot has been covered about safety in the past, in various publications, but there is one thing that needs to be said, WE NEED TO BE SAFER !!!.
We all do things at times to save time or to make it seem easier to do our jobs. It may seem faster if you do not attach the safety chains to the towed vehicle, but are you prepared to chase it down the road so that you can keep it from hitting another car. The wheel lift straps, they just will not help keep the car in the lift if they are not on the vehicle. First good bump or hill, guess where the car is going to be. Not with the truck !!!.
Of course in either situation the tow lights, if you are using them will either get ripped apart, or they will drag over the car, and scratch the paint.
So the plan is to use the wheel lift straps, and the safety chains (2 of them), and tow lights, because if you do not the insurance company that you are covered with, will most likely raise your rates, because of the claims that you will be filing. Oh yes, don't forget that after awhile they might cancel you.

Now I know that in some states, laws say that you are to use the overhead lights on the tow truck, but in reality this is against the law. Section 393.17b of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations states " the rearmost towed vehicle of the combination must be equipped with 1 side marker light on each side, 2 tail lamps, 2 stop lamps and 2 turn signal lamps ". Well for all those areas where you do not use tow ( drag ) lights, you might be in for a shock if someone was to hit the towed vehicle get hurt and sue. If the lawyer is any good then you are in for a big problem and a big expense.

Well onto other areas, is your fire extinguisher charged and in a ready to access place. Under the rest of the stuff in the bottom of your tool box is not the best place. How about behind the drivers seat in it's bracket, mounted to the wall, or inside the tool box in it's bracket on the wall. At least the valve can not be knocked off while you are driving. It is hard to see through the haze that it would make in a small enclosed cab, in addition to the fact that it is not good to breath that stuff.
What about a decent first aid kit, that is stocked !!! not just rags and a couple of band aids. I know that a couple of times I had a need for one. It should contain some eye wash also. You might need it when you have a battery blow up in your face, or get gas or diesel in them. You might save your sight then. And I don't know of any blind tow truck drivers. (I just know some that drive like they are blind.)
Also in the kit, have you included some rubber or latex gloves, you know like the doctors use. The increasing threats to you should be cause enough that you want to use them. Bloodbourne diseases are something to keep in mind. You do not want to contact bodily fluids and get sick or worse yet, have something that can kill you decide to take up residence in your body.
A side factor is that you hands will be clean when it comes time to write the tow bill. No more dirty invoices that the customer and the accounting office have to look at.
What about a Safety vest, or at least some clothes that have the reflective materials on them. You do not want to become a accident statistic. The highway workers wear them for safety, and so should you. They should be worn any time that you are out " playing in traffic ".
There are several levels of visibility now, classed out in 3 levels. Make sure you are using the best possible combination of safety devises to be seen.

How about your work practices, I know that when you are out at a accident, clearing the roadway, the pressure is on. You have to get it done quick, after all the name of the new game is incident management. Getting the traffic moving quickly, so you might just be a little careless. Using controls on the side of the truck away from traffic is another fantastic safety habit.
You might load the car onto the carrier, and then clean the roadway. What do you do with the pieces of metal that are left on the road. Well you could try to throw them into the vehicle on the carrier, but if one of the pieces hits something in the car. Well you might wind up wondering why you are sleeping on the roadway when you wake up 10 minutes later. Sounds like a funny story, well let me tell you the pictures are not real pretty. You could get run over, while you are taking " your nap " or you might just lay there bleeding, until someone finds you or you wake up on your own.
And a trip to the emergency room is not that much fun either. I know , been there done the above !!!. GOT PICTURES.

Ok another area that we need to consider is that the amount of warning lights that we use on scene of a accident or disablement. There is a report on the theory of " moth to the flame ". It was done many years ago by the fire services that recommended that the minimal use of warning lights and flood lights was actually safer than using all the available lights. Many of the stories were about vehicles entering the accident area, and the people looking at all the lights and then causing another accident or of hitting the rescue people, because they were blinded, or driving into where they were looking.
If you are working at night, maybe try to use your lower work lights, and less strobes or beacons. Flashers work good on highways because they allow the approaching traffic to see you, and they do not cause the problem as much as all the overhead lights will.
As you can see there are areas that we all need to be safer in, and I know the list is not complete, tire chocks, first aid training, driving skills training, towing certification, in house training, and just plain common sense are also major things to consider, along with truck colors and light bar colors. So I just that the major thing is for us to " ALL BE SAFE OUT THERE ".