Except as provided in §
173-13 herein, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to operate or permit to be operated a tow car for hire within the limits of the Incorporated Village of Stewart Manor without having in force and effect a license issued by the Village Administrator. For the purposes of this chapter, a "tow car" shall include any vehicle which is used or equipped with a crane, winch or similar device designed or used to raise, remove or carry a motor vehicle or the front or rear end thereof. The towing of a motor vehicle in the streets of the Village by a tow car shall be presumptive evidence that said tow car is being operated for hire. Licenses shall be issued on a calendar-year basis and shall be renewable annually in accordance with this chapter.
Each tow car operated for hire under a license issued by the
Village Administrator must be registered annually with the Village
Administrator and assigned a registration number.
The license to operate a tow car for hire and the registration
of each tow car for hire in the Village of Stewart Manor shall expire
on the 31st day of December of the year such license and registration
were issued, regardless of the date of issuance.
The maximum prices to be charged by registered tow cars for
the towing and storage of disabled motor vehicles removed from the
Village of Stewart Manor shall not exceed the maximum amounts prescribed
in § 183-23 of the Code of the Town of Hempstead.
On each side of every tow car registered with the Village of
Stewart Manor, there shall be legibly inscribed, in letters not less
than three inches high, the name and address of the owner of such
tow car and the registration number assigned to such tow car by the
Village Administrator.
It shall be unlawful for any person to tow away any motor vehicle
which has been involved in an accident without the prior consent of
the owner or the police officer at the scene of the accident, and
no car shall be removed from the scene of the accident where the police
officer requires or requests that an examination be held for the purpose
of finding out whether the car is defective.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive along any street
or highway in the Incorporated Village of Stewart Manor for the purpose
of soliciting towing work.
The Board of Trustees may promulgate and prescribe rules and
regulations consistent herewith for the proper administration and
enforcement of this chapter.
The Board of Trustees may suspend a license to operate a tow
car for hire for the violation of any provision hereof or of any rules
and regulations promulgated hereafter or for the failure of the owner
or operator of any registered tow car to tender services to the owner
or driver of a disabled vehicle who is ready and willing and presumptively
able to pay for towing and storage.
The provisions or this chapter shall not apply to cases where,
without solicitation, the owner of a motor vehicle shall have specifically
requested that the same be towed by an unregistered tow car.
Any violation of this chapter or any part thereof shall constitute
an offense against this chapter, and any person, firm or corporation
violating any such provision shall be liable for a fine not to exceed
$250 for each offense or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or
both.