[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Thompson 7-7-1981 by L.L.
No. 5-1981 (Ch. 226 of the 2003 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
No person shall operate a truck or other type
of motor vehicle designed and capable to service or tow other motor
vehicles for hire within that portion of the Town of Thompson outside
any incorporated village or city therein unless a license therefor
shall first have been obtained from the Town Clerk of the Town of
Thompson as hereinafter provided, except that tow truck operators
from outside of the Town of Thompson may enter the Town of Thompson
to remove a motor vehicle from any garage or private residence without
a license.
[Amended 4-5-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994; 10-21-2003 by L.L. No.
7-2003]
No such license shall be issued unless an application
therefor shall have been filed with the Town 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.
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 or tow 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
$100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each occurrence and not
less than $50,000 for property damage.
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 Town of Thompson 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.
E.
The applicant's registered repair shop certificate
number, and a copy of the applicant's registered repair shop certificate
shall be attached to the application form.
F.
Such other information or exhibits as shall reasonably
be required by the Town official to whom administration of these provisions
is delegated.
[Amended 9-3-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 4-5-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994; 5-5-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
A licensee shall not impose a charge for towing
of passenger cars, trucks and other vehicles in the Town of Thompson
in excess of the following rates:
A.
Passenger cars and trucks not exceeding 8,600 gross
vehicle weight (GWV):
[Amended 4-22-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008;
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Commercial vehicles and trucks or buses in excess
of 8,600 GWV: rates as set from time to time by resolution of the
Town Board. There shall be no maximum charge for trucks and buses
in excess of 14,000 GWV.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Additional reasonable charges may be made in addition to the charges provided for in Subsections A and B above for labor for the following services:
(1)
Righting an overturned vehicle.
(2)
Removing from the highway any motor vehicle incapable
of being towed.
(3)
Opening a locked vehicle.
(4)
Towing, pulling or hoisting vehicles from positions
off the highway.
(5)
Disconnecting the drive shaft.
(6)
The use of a torch or other cutting equipment.
(7)
Winching.
(8)
The use of dolly wheels.
D.
All licensees shall conspicuously post in their garages,
service stations or other places of business a schedule of the maximum
rates for towing as hereinabove set forth. Licensees shall also carry
or maintain a copy of such schedule in the towing or service truck
at all times and bring the same to the attention of the vehicle owner
before rendering any service.
E.
Any vehicle picked up for towing in the Town of Thompson
shall be towed to a legal destination within the Town of Thompson
(a registered repair shop or a legally zoned and approved automobile
storage area) unless the owner of the vehicle requests that the vehicle
be removed to a location outside of the Town of Thompson.
[Amended 9-3-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 4-5-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994; 5-5-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
A licensee shall not impose a charge for road
service in the Town of Thompson in excess of the following rates:
A.
For all motor vehicles, based on a maximum of 20 minutes
of work to service the same:
[Amended 4-22-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008;
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Additional reasonable charges may be made for road
service calls that require services in excess of the maximum twenty-minute
period.
C.
Licensees shall be required to conspicuously post
in their garages, service stations or other places of business a schedule
of the maximum rates to be charged for road service as herein set
forth. Licensees shall also carry or maintain a copy of such schedule
in the towing or service truck at all times and bring the same to
the attention of the vehicle owner before rendering any service.
D.
In no event shall a disabled vehicle be charged for
both towing and road service. The licensee shall be permitted to charge
the greater of a towing charge or a road service charge when a vehicle
is towed by the licensee, and the licensee shall not charge for towing
and, in addition thereto, road service.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 114-5,
Rates for Sundays and holidays, as amended, of the 1981 Code, which
immediately followed this section, was repealed 5-5-1998 by L.L. No.
3-1998.
[Added 4-5-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]
So long as the owner of the vehicle does not request that it be towed to a location outside of the Town of Thompson, in no event shall the mileage charges provided in §§ 225-3 and 225-4 be imposed for mileage in excess of:
A.
If the licensee's point of departure is outside of
the Town of Thompson, the distance between the location of the disabled
vehicle and the Town of Thompson Town line located closest to the
disabled vehicle measured along the nearest highway access between
the Town line and such disabled vehicle; or
B.
If the licensee's point of departure is in the Town
of Thompson, the distance between the location of the disabled vehicle
and the location of the licensee's registered repair shop within the
Town of Thompson or legal automobile storage area within the Town
of Thompson.
[Amended 9-3-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 5-5-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
A.
A licensee shall not impose a charge for storage of
motor vehicles towed to a licensee's garage, service station or other
place of business in the Town of Thompson in excess of the following
amounts:
[Amended 4-22-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008;
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
For the purposes of this section, "inside storage"
shall mean secured, fenced or protected storage for which the licensee
shall maintain a detailed record of each day of storage for each vehicle.
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
Every license issued pursuant to this chapter
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 Town Board.
[Amended 5-5-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998; 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003; 4-22-2008 by L.L. No.
4-2008; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1,
General Provisions, Art. I)]
The license fee payable to the Town Clerk for
each license or renewal thereof shall be as set from time to time
by resolution of the Town Board, which shall be issued to each service
or tow truck. A license shall be valid for an entire year or portion
thereof without reduction in fee.
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
On each side of every service or tow truck for
which a license has been granted 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 having the
license therefor and the license number assigned to such tow or service
truck by the Town Clerk.
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
Each person operating a service or tow truck
business may obtain a license for each service or tow truck he desires
to operate, provided that such person abides by the regulations set
forth herein.
[Amended 5-5-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998; 10-21-2003 by L.L.
No. 7-2003]
It shall be unlawful for any person operating a licensed service or tow truck to charge any party more than the maximum prices set forth in his application for the servicing, towing or storage of disabled motor vehicles or in excess of the maximum charges set forth in §§ 225-3, 225-4 and 225-6 of this chapter. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit such person from making a reasonable extra charge for performing the services described in §§ 225-3C and 225-4 of this chapter. The schedule of maximum prices to be charged may be revised by a licensee at the time of application for a renewal of such license or by filing a new schedule of maximum charges within 30 days after the adoption of any amendments to this chapter which increase the maximum prices allowed to be charged for servicing, towing or storing motor vehicles by licensees.
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
It shall be unlawful for any person to service
or tow away any motor vehicle which has been involved in an accident
without the prior consent of the owner or operator or the 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.
[Amended 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 7-2003]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive along
any public street or highway within that portion of the Town of Thompson
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 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 Town of
Thompson outside any incorporated village or city therein.
The Town Board may revoke any license or licenses
issued under authority of this chapter to any applicant whom the Town
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 who has violated the provisions of this chapter.[1]
