[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Lavallette 8-8-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-10 (974). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 89.
To establish rules and regulations, pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.49 et seq., for the towing and storage of motor
vehicles from public roadways by operators engaged in the business
of towing and storing motor vehicles.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to
those businesses that engage in towing and storage of motor vehicles
within the Borough of Lavallette through the Police Department.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A motor vehicle which the owner or operator leaves on a public
roadway and fails to notify the police or does not attempt to repair
and remove the same within a reasonable period of time.
A motor vehicle which has been involved in an accident.
Any motor vehicle which is unable to operate under its own
power.
The recovery of any motor vehicle over 10,000 pounds gross
vehicle weight which requires the vehicle to be uprighted or recovered
from either on or off the traveled portion of a public roadway.
The towing of any motor vehicle over 10,000 pounds gross
vehicle weight.
A vehicle which, at the direction of the Police Department,
is taken into police custody because the operator of the vehicle was
engaged in a violation of the law, including but not limited to the
operator being arrested on a DWI charge, the operator having been
arrested for driving without registration or insurance, or the operator
having been arrested for stealing the motor vehicle, or the vehicle
having been involved in a serious accident.
The towing of any motor vehicle up to and including 10,000
pounds gross vehicle weight.
All vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power,
including trailers and recreational campers, excepting such vehicles
as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles.
Fees charged for the storage of motor vehicles.
A rotating list of all towing services registered with the
Borough of Lavallette kept by the Borough Chief of Police or Public
Safety Director.
Fees charged by a towing service for removal and transportation
of a motor vehicle.
A business engaged in the towing and storing of motor vehicles
which has been approved for the towing list.
A motor vehicle employed by a towing service for the purpose
of towing, transporting, conveying or removing motor vehicles from
public roadways.
A.
No towing service shall be placed upon the towing
list for the towing or storing of motor vehicles within the Borough
unless the towing service shall first register with the Borough. In
order to be placed upon the towing list for light-duty towing, a towing
service must be located within 15 miles of the geographic center of
the Borough of Lavallete or within the Borough of Lavallette. Registration
applications shall be made available by the Borough Police Department.
A towing service that has met all the specifications and requirements
of this chapter and has registered with the Borough shall be placed
on the towing list by the Chief of Police or Public Safety Director;
however, the maximum number of towing services on the Borough's towing
list shall be five such services. Services shall be placed on the
Borough's towing list on a first-come first-served basis. Vacancies
shall be filled in the same manner. Each towing service must submit
its schedule of basic towing and storage rates with its registration
application. The rates and fees for towing and storage of motor vehicles
shall not exceed the rates set by this chapter.
B.
The towing service owner or its authorized representative
shall sign the registration application form indicating that the full
requirements of this chapter have been met by the towing service applicant.
C.
If any information provided by a towing service in
its registration application changes, the towing service is responsible
for notifying the Police Department of the change in the registration
information within 30 days of such change. Failure to comply with
this provision will be deemed a violation of this chapter.
No towing service shall operate within the Borough
unless it carries liability insurance in the following amounts:
A.
Garage liability/comprehensive general liability insurance
policy in an amount not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit
covering bodily injury and property damage liability, including but
not limited to personal injury, products' liability, independent contractor
and completed operation coverage;
B.
Garage keeper's legal liability insurance policy in
an amount not less than $100,000;
C.
For heavy-duty towing and heavy-duty recovery vehicles,
$1,000,000 combined single limit with endorsement MSC-90;
D.
Automobile liability insurance policy in an amount
not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit covering bodily injury
and property damage liability, including but not limited to owned,
nonowned and hired vehicles;
E.
Worker's compensation insurance as required by law,
including but not limited to statutory New Jersey worker's compensation
benefits and employer's liability coverage;
F.
All policies shall provide an endorsement for collision
coverage for motor vehicles and cargo towed by towing service vehicles;
and
G.
On all liability policies, the Borough of Lavallette
shall be added as an additional insured, and insurance policies and/or
certificates shall indicate such coverage as primary coverage notwithstanding
any insurance carried by the Borough.
A.
Fees and rates for the towing and storage of motor
vehicles shall be established by resolution of the Mayor and Borough
Council, which rates shall be based on the usual, customary and reasonable
rates of operators towing and storing motor vehicles in the Borough.
B.
Fees and rates for the towing and storage of motor
vehicles shall be reviewed by the Chief of Police or Public Safety
Director on an annual basis and shall be revised, if necessary, by
resolution of the Mayor and Borough Council. The Chief of Police or
Public Safety Director shall advise all towing services placed on
the towing list of any such revisions.
C.
The fees and rates set by this chapter, and any subsequent
revisions thereto, shall be submitted to the Division of Consumer
Affairs for review and shall be made available to the public during
normal business hours of the Borough.
A.
All towing services placed on the towing list shall
be available to respond to a call in accordance with the towing rotation
schedule of on-call status established by the Chief of Police or Public
Safety Director.
B.
All towing services shall respond to a call in any
part of the Borough within 45 minutes. If a towing service does not
respond within 45 minutes of a call, the towing service next on the
list shall be called and entitled to provide services as needed, and
the first towing service shall lose any claim to compensation.
C.
All drivers and operators of towing vehicles shall
be properly licensed to operate a motor vehicle within the State of
New Jersey and are subject to driver's license checks by the Borough
Police Department at the time of registration and at least on an annual
basis thereafter. All towing vehicles shall be properly registered
and inspected in accordance with any applicable law.
D.
All vehicles must be towed in a safe manner.
E.
All towing services shall be capable of providing
reasonable roadside services to disabled vehicles, such as but not
limited to jump-starting, changing of flat tires, and providing fuel.
Such services will only be performed if they can be done so safely,
as determined by the police officer on the scene. All towing services
shall charge only reasonable rates for such roadside services. Charging
of excessive fees for roadside services shall be grounds for the removal
of a towing service from the rotating list.
F.
All towing services shall make available a copy of
their basic rates and provide a business card to all owners and operators
of motor vehicles which will be towed.
G.
All towing services shall keep accurate records of
all motor vehicles towed and stored at the direction of the Borough
Police Department. A copy of such records shall be provided to the
Borough upon request.
H.
Towing services shall not remove any motor vehicle
which has been abandoned or involved in an accident in any public
roadway without first notifying the Borough Police Department.
I.
The Police Department shall not call a towing service
to remove a vehicle from private property. The Police Department shall
provide property owners with all available information regarding the
ownership of motor vehicles on their property, and the property owners
will then be responsible for making their own arrangements to remove
the vehicles.
J.
The towing service shall notify the Police Department
of all vehicles found by the towing service to have been abandoned
and not claimed within 14 days after being stored. The Police Department
shall, upon notification, expeditiously process the vehicles in accordance
with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code concerning abandoned and unclaimed
motor vehicles.
A.
A towing list will be kept with the Chief of Police or Public Safety Director. The towing list shall include all towing services which have registered with the Borough. A towing service shall be placed on the bottom of the towing list upon registration with the Borough. The towing list shall be a rotating list as provided in Subsections B, C and D of this section.
B.
When the need arises, the Police Department will call
the towing service on the top of the list, which is on-call on the
towing rotation schedule. The towing service called, if it shall perform
any of the services covered by this chapter, shall be placed at the
bottom of the towing list and not called again until all other on-call
towing services on the towing list have been called.
C.
If a towing service is unavailable to perform required
services when called by the Police Department, for whatever reason,
said towing service shall be charge with a call and placed at the
bottom of the towing list, and the next available on-call towing service
shall be called. The towing service that responds in its place shall
remain at the top of the list.
D.
If a towing service, after being dispatched, is retailed
and does not perform any duties or services covered by this chapter,
the towing service shall remain on the top of the towing list. However,
if a towing service arrives at the scene of an incident in which its
services are required and cannot perform said services, it shall lose
its place on the towing list, and the next on-call towing service
on the list shall be called.
A.
All storage facilities operated or used by towing
services shall meet all local zoning and code requirements and must
be located within 15 miles of the geographic center of the Borough
of Lavallette or within the Borough.
B.
All towing services shall have indoor storage facilities
at their disposal for motor vehicles which have been involved in criminal
activity and impounded by the Police Department.
C.
All storage facilities shall have a business office
open to the public between normal business hours at least five days
a week, excluding holidays.
D.
All outside storage facilities shall be secured and
fully enclosed by a sturdy fence having a minimum height of six feet,
with a lockable gate for ingress and egress, and shall be lighted
from dusk to dawn.
E.
An additional retrieval fee, as set by resolution
of the governing body, may be charged for release of vehicles from
the impound lot after normal business hours.
F.
All towing services shall be responsible for ensuring
the proper and safe storage of all motor vehicles towed pursuant to
this chapter, and shall be liable for any damage incurred by such
motor vehicles while in transit to or while stored in the storage
facilities, excepting only damage caused by law enforcement officers
during a motor vehicle stop or investigation.
A.
All towing services engaged in light-duty towing shall
have at least one rollback truck and one wrecker, with necessary brooms
and equipment to do the complete removal. Each truck must have a manufacturer's
capacity of at least 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and a manufacturer's
boom capacity of four tons. Proof of capacity must be supplied to
the Police Department at the time of registration.
B.
All towing services engaged in heavy-duty towing shall
have one heavy-duty wrecker with a manufacturer's capacity of not
less than 27,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and a boom capacity of
not less than 25,000 pounds independently or 24 tons jointly; air
brakes so constructed as to lock rear wheels; and heavy-duty underreach.
C.
All towing services engaged in heavy-duty recovery
shall have two heavy-duty wreckers with manufacturer's capacity of
not less than 27,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and boom capacity
of not less than 25,000 pounds independently or 24 tons jointly; two
power winches with pulling capacity of not less than 25,000 pounds
each; at least 200 feet of cable at least 9/16 of an inch diameter
on each drum; double boom to permit splitting, or single boom hydraulically
elevated and extendable with a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree swivel
on the end of the boom; air brakes so constructed as to lock rear
wheels; heavy-duty underreach; and two snatch blocks with a twenty-five-thousand-pound
rating and two scotch blocks.
D.
All towing vehicles must have radio equipment with
a twenty-four-hour dispatch service or a cellular telephone for the
purpose of maintaining communications with the Police Department radio
desk.
E.
All towing vehicles must be equipped with at least
one five-pound ABC-type fire extinguisher, safety chains, substances
for application to small liquid spills, and stiff push brooms to clean
up debris at the scene.
F.
Proof of towing vehicle and equipment specifications
shall be provided to the Borough with the registration application.
G.
All towing vehicles are to conform with all applicable
state and federal laws and shall be subject to inspection by Borough
officials during normal business hours at the time of registration
and on an annual basis thereafter.
A.
If a motor vehicle operator or owner wishes to have
his vehicle towed by a particular towing service, his request shall
be honored, providing the police officer in charge at the scene has
not already dispatched a towing service or the police officer has
determined that the motor vehicle in question will not be removed
in an expeditious or safe manner and will jeopardize the public safety,
in which case the motor vehicle operator or owner shall be required
to utilize a compensated dispatched towing service.
B.
The owner or operator of any motor vehicle required
to be towed or stored shall have the right to remove all personal
items and effects from the motor vehicle unless the Police Department
has placed a police hold on any such items.
C.
Upon request of the motor vehicle owner or his representative,
a towing service shall provide a detailed and itemized bill for all
services rendered.
All towing services shall be responsible for
collection of all fees for services rendered.
A.
All violations of this chapter and all complaints
by the public or Police Department against any towing service shall
be forwarded to the Mayor and Borough Council.
B.
The Mayor and Borough Council, in their discretion,
shall determine if any complaint or violation against a towing service
is of such a serious nature as to warrant a hearing and possible disciplinary
measures. If the Mayor and Borough Council decide that a hearing is
required, it shall upon proper notice to all interested parties, conduct
a hearing in which all parties may present evidence. If, after a hearing,
the Mayor and Borough Council find that a towing service has violated
any provision of this chapter, they may, depending on the seriousness
of the offense:
(1)
Fine the violating party not more than $1,000.
(2)
Suspend the violating party from the towing list for
not more than three months for a first offense; not more than six
months for a second offense; not more than one year for a third offense.
(3)
Permanently remove the violating party from the towing
list for any violation after its third offense.
