[HISTORY: Adopted Liberty Village Board 7-5-1978 as L.L. No
6-1978; amended in its entirety 12-4-1989 by L.L. No. 12-1989. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This local law shall be known and may be cited
as the "Road Service and Towing Local Law" of the Village of Liberty.
[Amended 8-15-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
No person, firm or corporation shall operate
a truck or other type of motor vehicle designed and capable to service
or tow other motor vehicles for hire within the Village of Liberty
unless a permit therefor shall be first obtained from the Village
Clerk of the Village of Liberty, New York, as hereinafter provided,
except that tow truck operators from outside the Village of Liberty
may remove a motor vehicle from any place in the Village without a
license, upon request of the owner.
No such permit shall be issued unless an application
therefor shall have been filed with the Village Clerk upon a form
prescribed therefor, which shall include:
A.
The name and business address of the applicant and,
if he is a natural person, his age and residence address, where the
tow truck will be dispatched from if different from the address of
business, also the date of birth if a natural person, and where vehicles
will be towed to if different than the place of business.
B.
The registration number of the service or tow truck
to be operated.
C.
The amount of liability insurance for personal injury
and property damage on said service truck, the name of the insurance
company, which must be licensed to do business in the State of New
York, and the policy number. The limits shall not be less than $1,000,000
combined single limit; not less than $150,000 for property damage;
and not less than $100,000 per person for underinsured/uninsured coverage.
[Amended 8-15-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
D.
The schedule of maximum prices the licensee agrees
to charge during the term of the license for servicing or towing motor
vehicles from points within the Village of Liberty and for storage
of such vehicles at its garage or service station. Such schedule may
be based upon the distance that each motor vehicle is to be towed,
the weight of the vehicle towed and upon the time of day or night
such services are performed or upon the distance to service a motor
vehicle and upon the time of day or night such services are performed.
[Amended 2-23-2005 by L.L. No. 5-2005]
A.
No such permit shall be issued unless the applicant
agrees to charge no more than the following maximum rates for towing,
regardless of distance, within the Village of Liberty:
B.
All licensees shall be required to post in their garage
or service station a schedule of the maximum rates for towing as herein
set forth and such schedule shall also be carried on the truck to
show to the owner of the vehicle, if requested.
[Amended 2-23-2005 by L.L. No. 5-2005]
A.
No such permit shall be issued unless the applicant
agrees to charge no more than the following maximum rates for road
service, regardless of distance, within the Village of Liberty:
(1)
For all motor vehicles, the sum of $50.
B.
All licensees shall be required to post in their garage
or service station a schedule of the maximum rates for road services
herein set forth, and such schedule shall also be carried on the truck
to show to the owner of the vehicle, if requested.
[Amended 2-23-2005 by L.L. No. 5-2005]
No such permit shall be issued unless the applicant
agrees to charge no more than a maximum of $60 per day for inside
storage, and no more than $40 per day for outside storage. There shall
be no storage of any kind of any unlicensed or unregistered motor
vehicles.
Every permit issued pursuant to this local law
shall expire on the first day of January following the issuance thereof
and is not transferable from one operator to another nor from one
truck to another, without the prior consent of the Village Board.
[Amended 8-15-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
The permit fee payable to the Village Clerk
for each permit or renewal thereof shall be set by the Village Board
by resolution.
On each side of every tow truck, there shall
be legibly inscribed in letters not less than three inches high the
name and address of the owner of such service or tow truck or of the
person or firm or corporation having the permit therefor and the permit
number assigned to such tow truck by the Village Clerk.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation operating a licensed service or tow truck to charge any
party more than the maximum prices set forth in its application for
the servicing, towing and storage of disabled motor vehicles. Nothing
herein contained shall prohibit such person, firm or corporation from
making a reasonable extra charge for performing the services described
in § 65-4A(5) above. The schedule of maximum prices to be
charged may be revised at the time application is made for renewal
of the license.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to service or tow away any motor vehicle which has been
involved in an accident without prior consent of the owner or operator
or police officer at the scene of the accident, and no motor vehicle
shall be serviced or removed from the scene of an accident where the
police officer requires or requests that an examination be made of
the damaged vehicle to determine whether the car was defective or
where the police officer requires or requests that photographs and/or
diagrams of the scene be made.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to drive along any public street or highway within that portion of
the Village of Liberty outside any incorporated Village or City therein
for the purpose of soliciting towing and/or repair work.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to solicit towing or repair work at the scene of any motor vehicle
accident on private property or on a public highway within that portion
of the Village of Liberty outside any incorporated Village or City
therein.
The Village Board may revoke any license or
licenses issued under authority of this local law to any applicant
whom the Village Board shall determine, after a public hearing, to
be an undesirable person or incapable of properly conducting a road
service or tow truck business or has violated the provisions of this
local law.
A violation of this local law is hereby declared
to be a misdemeanor, and any person, firm or corporation violating
the same may, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding
$250 or by imprisonment not exceeding three months, or by both such
fine and imprisonment.
A.
A licensee whose garage or service station is located within a five-mile radius from 167 North Main Street, Liberty, New York (Village Hall) who has received a permit pursuant to this Chapter 65 shall be called by the Village or the Liberty Police Department (or an officer thereof) on a rotating basis. When the owner or driver of a disabled vehicle indicates a choice of a specific licensee, that licensee shall be called, and no tow truck shall be assigned from the rotating list. No licensee shall respond to the scene of an accident except upon notification by the police officer in charge in police headquarters or upon request of the driver or owner of a disabled vehicle.
[Amended 8-15-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019]
B.
In the event that a licensee called does not respond
as quickly as is necessary, in the opinion of the police officer in
charge at the scene of an accident or other emergency, the police
officer may call another licensed tow truck. At no time shall it be
more than 15 minutes from the time the licensee is called.
C.
Such additional rules and regulations regarding the
rotation of tow trucks as they may be hereafter promulgated by the
Village Board of Trustees shall take effect immediately after service
of a copy thereof on holders of all licenses for tow trucks in the
Village. Service upon a licensee may be made by sending, by ordinary
mail, a copy of the additional rules and regulations to said licensee's
business address.
The invalidity of any section or provision of
this local law shall not invalidate any other section or provision
thereof.
