As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
CRUISING
The operation of a tow truck in a Township street to solicit
vehicle towing or storage business, except in response to a police
request.
DIRECTOR
The Police Director or agency head of the Bloomfield Police
Department.
LICENSEE
A towing operator having a license granted by the Township
pursuant to the provisions of this article.
OWNER
An individual or entity who or which owns or leases and/or
operates, parks or abandons a vehicle within the Township.
POLICE
The police of the Township or of any other jurisdiction having
authority in the subject matter.
TOWING OPERATOR
An individual or entity engaged in the Township or providing
towing services and storage services.
TOWING SERVICES
The on-site vehicle repair and/or towing service rendered
by a towing operator.
VEHICLE
Any powered or nonpowered object operated, or intended to
be operated, in a Township street.
The licensee shall have in effect, prior to application and
at all times during the terms of the license, the following insurance:
A. Garage keeper's liability policy in the amount of $750,000 for any
one claimant and $1,000,000 for more than one claimant, with $500,000
coverage for property damage for any one event.
B. Liability insurance issued by a financially sound insurance corporation
of or authorized to transact business in the state insuring the licensee
and every tow truck operator against liability imposed by law for
damages because of bodily injury, including death, sustained by any
person and injury to or destruction of property, including the loss
of use thereof, caused by accident and arising out of the ownership,
maintenance or use of the tow trucks of the licensee and from the
licensee's towing and storage of vehicles. The amount of the limits
of liability coverage to be afforded by such policy shall be $1,000,000
for bodily injuries in each accident (combined single limit) and $500,000
for property damage in each accident.
C. The licensee shall supply a certificate of insurance to the Township
Administrator or their designee describing every policy of insurance
and identifying the Township as an insured party. Each such certificate
of insurance shall contain a provision that no cancellation of the
policy shall become effective until after the expiration of 30 days'
written notice of such proposed cancellation forwarded by the insurance
company to the Township Administrator.
D. The form and content of the insurance policy and certificate of insurance
shall be submitted to the Township Attorney for review and approval.
No license shall be issued to an applicant hereunder unless
they or their employee shall be available or on call on a twenty-four-hour
basis to tow disabled vehicles.
No license shall be granted to an applicant unless and until
they have appointed the Township Clerk their true and lawful attorney
for the purpose of acknowledging service out of any court of competent
jurisdiction to be served against the applicant.
An applicant for a license under this article must be in total
compliance with all United States Department of Transportation Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and failure to be in compliance
and/or remain in compliance shall be grounds for denial or revocation
of a license.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a fine of not more than
$1,000 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 90 days, or both,
in the discretion of the Judge, and shall be prohibited from receiving
a license for a period of three years from the date of said conviction.
Upon the second or subsequent conviction under the provisions of this
article, a person shall be subject to the above penalty, in the discretion
of the Judge, and shall be prohibited from receiving a license for
a period of 10 years from the date of the second or subsequent conviction.
A licensee must assist, at the request of the Police Department,
said Department in notifying, in writing, the operator and/or owner
of a vehicle towed or stored of the location of the vehicle and the
requirement that towing charges and/or the storage rates be paid prior
to the release of said vehicle.
The licensee shall have in effect, prior to application and
at all times during the terms of the license, the proper insurance
for the principal place of business the wreckers and tow trucks and
all its storage space.