The Village Board hereby determines that providing regulations
for the prompt and safe removal of disabled and abandoned vehicles
from public roadways within the Village is necessary for the public
health, safety and general welfare of residents and traveling public
within the Village. This chapter will not supersede any specific orders
issued by police agencies addressing specific situations (such as
vehicles impounded for criminal investigative purposes).
Whenever used in this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the context, the following terms will have the meanings
indicated:
ACCIDENT
Any incident or occurrence in which one or more vehicles
contact each other or other objects, thereby causing personal injury
or property damage.
DRIVER
Any person driving a tow truck for hire upon public roadways.
EXTENDED SITE CLEANUP
Removal of debris from the scene of a motor vehicle accident
or incident at the point of impact as well as along the path of pre-impact
and/or post-impact, where vehicle disintegration and/or other property
damage occur as a result of the motor vehicle accident or incident.
FOR HIRE
Any incident where a fee charge or other consideration is
directly or indirectly imposed for towing, carrying or removing of
a vehicle, including any case where any person makes repairs on a
towed vehicle for compensation, even if no charge is expressly imposed
for towing such vehicle.
GVWR
The gross vehicle weight rating of a tow truck, consisting
of the weight of the unladen tow truck plus the heaviest load that
it is designated to carry.
HEAVY DUTY
GVWR of 26,001 pounds or greater and designed to tow or transport
large buses, trucks, trailers and heavy construction equipment, as
well as passenger vehicles unable to be recovered by other means.
IMPOUND
The towing of a motor vehicle at the direction of a police
officer accompanied by an instruction to secure and store the vehicle
pending further investigation until released by the police officer
or department.
LIGHT/MEDIUM DUTY
GVWR of 8,600 to 26,000 pounds and designed to tow or transport
automobiles, pickup trucks, small vans, medium-size trucks, buses
and recreational vehicles, as well as smaller vehicles.
OFF-ROAD RECOVERY
The retrieval from areas off roadways, such as ravines, of
a disabled or abandoned motor vehicle entailing the use of specialized
equipment or tow truck, including but not limited to booms, dollies,
cranes/rotators and/or inflatable lifting apparatus.
OPERATE
The control and direction of the use of vehicles for towing
for hire for places within the Village.
OWNED
Owning, leasing, renting or controlling one or more tow trucks
for hire and driving or operating or causing any such vehicle to be
operated upon the public roadways.
PERSON
Any individual, sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, association,
corporation or other organization, and the singular or plural, masculine,
feminine or neuter thereof, unless the contrary is clearly expressed.
RECOVERY
The process of winching and/or lifting a damaged vehicle
back to a normal towing or loading position while preserving the condition
of the vehicle.
REGISTERED MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR SHOP
Any person who for compensation, is wholly or partially engaged
in the business of repairing or diagnosing motor vehicle malfunctions
or repairing motor vehicle bodies, fenders or other components damaged
by accident or otherwise and currently registered with the Commissioner
of Motor Vehicles according to the Vehicle and Traffic Law of New
York State.
SERVICE CALL
A request for assistance from a tow truck which does not
involve towing but is limited to rendering emergency assistance for
such categories as battery charges, flat tires, lockouts or gasoline
supply.
STANDARD SITE CLEANUP
Removal of debris from the scene of a motor vehicle accident
or incident at the point of impact, the final resting point of the
vehicle and the associated debris field.
TOWING
The moving or removing of disabled or abandoned motor vehicles
by another vehicle for hire. Towing includes recovery unless the context
indicates otherwise.
TOW TRUCK
A motor vehicle for hire which is either equipped for carrying,
lifting and removing of any disabled motor vehicle or used in the
business of removing disabled motor vehicles.
WINCHING
The process of moving a motor vehicle by the use of additional
chains, nylon slings and additional lengths of winch cable from a
position that is not accessible for direct hookup by conventional
means for towing and/or loading onto a tow vehicle. Winching is not
considered the pulling of a vehicle onto a flatbed carrier or lifting
a motor vehicle by conventional means.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business
of towing within the Village of Greenwood Lake unless a license therefor
shall first have been obtained from the Village Clerk as hereinafter
provided, except no license shall be required for persons whose business
consists solely of towing to and from registered motor vehicle repair
shops.
Except as herein otherwise provided, every person who wants
to operate a tow truck or otherwise engage in the business of towing
upon the public roadways within the Village shall apply to the Village
Board on a form provided by the Village Clerk. The applicant shall
subscribe the application under an oath and provide the following
information thereon:
A. The name and address of the applicant and the address of the place
in which tow trucks are proposed to be garaged and dispatched. For
an unincorporated association, the application shall include the names
and addresses of each member thereof. For a corporation, the application
shall contain the names and addresses of each officer, director and
shareholder.
B. All crimes, if any, in which the applicant, member, officer, director
or shareholder has been convicted, stating the name and location of
the courts in which convicted and the dates on which such convictions
were had and the penalties imposed therefor.
C. The experience of the applicant or, if an unincorporated association
or a corporation, of its members, officers, directors and shareholders
in the towing of vehicles for hire.
D. The number of vehicles proposed to be operated by the applicant and
a description of each such vehicle, including the make, model, GVWR,
year of manufacture, New York registration number and vehicle identification
number.
E. The name, address and driver's license number of each driver
employed by the applicant.
F. The location and description of any and all registered motor vehicle
repair shops proposed to be used by the applicant, with a photograph
of each.
G. Whether the applicant wishes his name to appear in the towing roster
for light/medium towing and/or heavy-duty towing as detailed herein.
H. Proof of insurance in a form approved by the Village Board and in
the minimum amount of $2,000,000 single limit general liability coverage
naming the Village of Greenwood Lake as an additional insured.
I. Proof of valid registration and inspection of each tow truck to be
operated.
J. Any other relevant information which the Village Board may require
from time to time as it deems appropriate.
Within seven days after receipt of an application, the Village
Clerk shall refer the application to the Village of Greenwood Lake
Police Department for investigation. The Chief of Police shall cause
an investigation to be made of the applicant and of his proposed business
operation to be licensed. All applicants shall execute consents for
release of information as may be required. The Chief of Police may
delegate the inspection to an independent person, who may or who may
not be engaged in business in the Village, who shall be qualified
by experience and training to make such inspection and who shall report
to the Chief of Police. Within 14 days after referral, the Chief of
Police shall report to the Village Board the results of the investigation.
Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Village Board approving
the application, the Village Clerk shall issue a license to the applicant,
a copy of which must be kept in all towing vehicles at all times while
conducting operations under the license. All licenses issued hereunder
shall expire on the 31st day of December next succeeding the date
of issuance, unless sooner suspended or revoked by the Greenwood Lake
Village Board as hereinafter provided. Licenses are not transferable,
delegable or assignable.
No license shall be issued or renewed which shall permit the
use of any vehicle as a tow truck unless or until the Chief of Police
has inspected and certified it as conforming to the requirements of
this chapter and having been duly inspected as required by the Vehicle
and Traffic Law of New York State.
On each side of every truck, the owner shall display, by painting,
magnetic sign or other similar means, the name, address and telephone
number of the licensee by letters and numbers of not less than three
inches high. Leased trucks must also have the licensees' name,
address and telephone number similarly affixed to each side of the
truck.
Any license issued hereunder may be renewed annually for an
additional one-year period upon filing of an application containing
all the information required by the provisions of this chapter for
original applications, upon payment of the required fee, and upon
satisfactory completion of the required inspections and investigations.
No person shall drive a tow truck who is under the age of 18
years and who has not in his possession a CDL A, B, C or Non-CDL C
class driver's license with a tow truck endorsement duly issued
to him to operate a tow truck vehicle in the State of New York.
A tow truck license hereunder shall be issued subject to the
following conditions:
A. Licensees, their agents and servants shall keep and maintain towing
equipment which is adequate to perform such towing in a reasonably
competent manner.
B. Each licensee hereunder shall record the details of each disabled
vehicle towed, serviced or transported by him or his agents or servants
or employees, with full information concerning the details surrounding
the hire, the name of the owner of the towed vehicle and the name
of the patron engaging him, which records shall be kept open for inspection
at all times to a duly authorized representative of the Police Department
of the Village or of the Village Board.
C. Insurance and indemnification. The licensee shall assume all responsibility
and liability for damages to persons or property that may accrue during
the operation of any of the licensee's vehicles through the negligence
of itself, its agents or employees, or from any other cause, and agrees
to hold harmless the Village of Greenwood Lake. For such purposes,
the licensee shall obtain and maintain, at the licensee's own
cost and expense, for the term of the tow license, protective liability
insurance in accordance with the minimum requirements. This insurance
is to protect the Village of Greenwood Lake and all employees of the
named insured. There shall be no coinsured parties covered by this
policy. The policy shall cover liability of the named insured for
damages for any actions resulting from the use of the license, including
omissions and supervisory actions of the Village. The subscribing
company shall agree that no policy insured shall be changed or canceled
until 30 days' notice has been given to the Village. Failure
to maintain proper insurance on file with the Village will result
in immediate suspension or termination.
D. The licensee must furnish and use an invoice/rate card in a format
approved by the Village Board, which shall include a rate schedule.
The tow trucks of licensees shall be equipped at all times with
the equipment required by the Department of Transportation (DOT),
including but not limited to emergency flashing amber lights, fire
extinguishers, a winch with steel cable, DOT triangular road reflectors,
red railroad-type flares, a broom, a shovel and an approved first
aid kit and all other equipment prescribed by law and/or standard
industry procedures for light/medium-duty towing and heavy-duty Towing,
as applicable. All equipment shall be maintained in good condition
and in satisfactory working order.
Every licensee who wants to add to the number of tow trucks
he is duly licensed to operate shall pay to the Village Clerk the
required fee established by the Village Board and file a written application,
under an oath, with the Village Clerk, stating:
A. The name, address and driver's license number of the licensee.
B. Proof of required insurance, valid registration and inspection.
A licensee who does not answer a call for assistance or who
fails to arrive at the designated location where assistance is requested
within the required twenty-minute daytime and twenty-five-minute nighttime
response time, or who is otherwise unavailable when called, shall
lose his turn on the towing roster and must wait for the roster to
be called in its entirety before he is eligible to be called again.
It shall be unlawful for any person who is not designated from
the towing roster, or who does not have the prior consent and direction
of a police officer at the scene or the owner of the vehicle, to tow
away any motor vehicle which has been involved in an accident. The
police officer at the scene of an accident will determine when a vehicle
shall be removed. If no police officer is present at the scene of
an accident, no vehicle shall be towed unless a police officer has
been notified or has been at the scene.
It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit towing or body
work at the scene of any motor vehicle accident on a public street
or highway or on private property within the Village of Greenwood
Lake. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive along any public
street or highway within the Village for the purposes of soliciting
towing work.
Each towing firm responding to a call for service must supply
the owner/operator of the vehicle who is at the scene with a card
containing the towing firm's business name, address, phone number,
hours of operation and a written summary of the expected charges.
Nothing within this chapter shall prevent a vehicle owner from
choosing to call a tower who is not on the Village towing roster;
provided, however, that should that tower be unable to respond in
what the police officer at the scene feels is a reasonable period
of time, and the police officer at the scene has safety concerns regarding
the vehicle's location, the officer may supersede the desires
of the owner and call a tower based upon the roster.
It is hereby found that the presence of abandoned motor vehicles
on roadways within the Village is a public nuisance and danger and
a potential traffic hazard. All licensees shall be obligated, at the
direction of the police, to remove any and all abandoned vehicles
and secure the vehicle in its impound lot until disposition is made
pursuant to law. The Village shall not be liable to the licensee for
the cost of such towing, storage or impounding. The licensee agrees
to accept, as total compensation for any and all obligations resulting
from towing, storage and impounding such vehicles, the rights granted
to the licensee under the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Disposition of
all impounded vehicles shall be according to the Vehicle and Traffic
Law. Any vehicle impounded by order of the police shall not be released
to the owner without written authorization from the Police Department.
The Police Department shall have the power to require tow trucks
to remove vehicles where:
A. There is obstruction of a public right-of-way or private property.
B. A vehicle has been vandalized or presents a fire or safety hazard
or an attractive nuisance.
C. An abandoned vehicle bears no discernible registration or identification
data.
D. An abandoned vehicle is not licensed or operable.
E. A vehicle is violating any emergency no-parking provisions as set
forth in the Village Code.
F. Any other condition where permitted or required by law.
A licensee called to the scene of an accident must, if deemed
necessary by the police officer on duty at the scene, perform standard
site cleanup or extended site cleanup, provided that he is furnished
with police protection against moving vehicles at the scene. A licensee
may recoup from the vehicle owner/operator any expenses incurred in
connection with the disposal of hazardous wastes and the reasonable
labor costs for extended site cleanup of the site, provided that such
labor charges are not more than the schedule of charges established
and/or approved by the Village Board.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed $250 or
by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 30 days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. Each violation of any of the provisions of
this chapter and each day there is a violation thereof shall be deemed
and taken to be a separate and distinct offense. In addition, the
Village Board, after a hearing, may revoke or suspend any license
issued hereunder or may refuse to renew any license previously issued
hereunder for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.