[Amended 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
A. It is hereby declared and found that it is of vital
importance to the traveling public that disabled vehicles be removed
from the highways as promptly as possible, that any delay in such
removal may result in retarding the movement of traffic unnecessarily
and may cause street accidents and that the towing of disabled motor
vehicles in the streets of the Village of Lynbrook is a matter affecting
the public interest and, consequently, should be subject to supervision
and administrative control for the purpose of safeguarding the public
against fraud, the imposition of exorbitant and unconscionable towing
charges, the misuse of public property or any similar abuse.
B. It is also declared and found that it is of vital
importance to those using private parking facilities within the Village
of Lynbrook that the towing of vehicles from private parking facilities
be regulated and subject to supervision and administrative control
for the purpose of safeguarding the public against fraud, the imposition
of exorbitant and unconscionable towing charges or any similar abuse.
C. It is also declared and found that the towing and storage of motor vehicles which are the subject of police action, accidents or, pursuant to Chapter
240, Article
V of this Code, deemed derelict, abandoned or scofflaw, constitutes a significant public need which should be conducted under Village supervision for the safety, health and welfare of the residents of the Village and that said supervision should be administered in an economically prudent manner.
[Added 11-18-1996 by L.L. No. 10-1996]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
ACCIDENT
Any incident or occurrence in which one or more vehicles
come into contact with each other or another object thereby causing
personal injury or property damage.
DRIVER
Any person driving a tow car upon the public highways for
hire.
FOR HIRE
Includes any incident where a fee, charge or other consideration
is directly or indirectly imposed for towing, carrying or removing
any vehicle and shall be inclusive of repairs made on a towed vehicle
for a consideration, although no charge is expressly imposed for the
towing of such a vehicle.
OPERATE
Includes the control and direction of the use of a vehicle
for towing from places within the Village of Lynbrook.
OWNER
Includes a person owning, leasing or controlling one or more
tow cars and driving, operating or causing any such vehicle to be
operated upon the public highways for hire.
PERSON
Includes an individual, partnership, unincorporated association,
corporation or other entity.
RESTRICTED LICENSE
That license issued to the owners of towing cars authorizing
the holder thereof to engage in all tow car operations, except that
he may not respond to a call to the scene of an accident or remove
a disabled vehicle from the scene of an accident, nor may be solicit
the person in charge of a vehicle involved in an accident, at the
scene of such accident, for the towing of such vehicle, whether directly
or indirectly on his behalf or on behalf of any other person, firm
or corporation; nor may be, at the scene of an accident where towing
is required, make an estimate of the cost of repairs, or to offer
to make such an estimate, or to offer to make such repairs, although
no charge is imposed for towing. No such solicitation shall be made
at the scene of the accident nor from private property in the vicinity
of the scene of the accident.
SCENE OF ACCIDENT
Any area where one or more motor vehicles have collided,
including any area of a street to which a vehicle is moved to prevent
obstruction of traffic, and will remain so until the vehicle or vehicles
are removed either under their own power or by a properly licensed
tow car.
TERMINAL
Any place of a licensed tow car business located within the
Village of Lynbrook.
TOWING
The moving of a vehicle from public or private property by
another vehicle for hire or where the towing service is performed
by a person engaged in the servicing or repairing of vehicles.
[Amended 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
TOWING CAR, TOW CAR or TOW TRUCK
A vehicle which is either towing or is equipped with a crane,
winch or similar device designed to raise, remove or carry a motor
vehicle, or the front or rear end thereof, or a flatbed truck.
[Amended 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
UNRESTRICTED LICENSE
That license which is issued to the owners of towing cars
authorizing the holder thereof to engage in all tow car operations.
The Village Clerk shall have authority to limit the number of unrestricted
towing car licenses to be issued hereunder to any one licensee in
accordance with such reasonable standards as he may establish.
VEHICLE
A motor vehicle as defined in § 125 of the Vehicle
and Traffic Law of the State of New York, a bus as defined in § 104
of such law, a tractor as defined in § 151-a of such law,
a trailer as defined in § 156 of such law or a truck as
defined in § 156 of such law or a truck as defined in § 158
of such law.
[Added 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
VILLAGE
The geographical area of the Village of Lynbrook.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate
any tow car owned or controlled by him or to permit same to be operated
upon the public highways of the Village without having first obtained
and then having in force an owner's license therefor, as hereinafter
provided.
[Amended 7-15-2002 by Ord. No. 4-2002]
Applicants for a restricted license will be
required to pay a nonrefundable fee in such amount as set by the Board
of Trustees by resolution. A restricted licensee will be licensed
for normal towing but will not be permitted at scenes of accidents.
The applicant, to qualify, must demonstrate that:
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the license applicant operates and maintains a bona fide terminal
within five miles of any boundary of the Village of Lynbrook.
B. Applicant will provide a twenty-four-hour service
for the removal of any vehicle from said terminal at the request of
the vehicle owner upon payment of all appropriate fees due to the
licensee.
[Amended 12-2-2002 by L.L. No. 6-2002]
Applicants for an unrestricted license will
be required to pay a nonrefundable filing fee in such amount as set
by resolution of the Board of Trustees and will be allowed at the
scene of accidents. The unrestricted licensee will qualify, provided
that:
A. The licensee owns, operates and maintains a bona fide
terminal within the Village of Lynbrook.
B. Such terminal maintains twenty-four-hour service to
answer emergency calls regarding motor vehicles.
C. The tow truck or trucks of such licensee are equipped
with a lifting boom or similar device, a minimum one-and-one-half-ton
power winch equipped with 100 feet of three-eighths-inch steel cable,
a fire extinguisher, a crow bar, an emergency flashing light, at least
one dozen flares, a heavy-duty broom and shovel and a dolly or wheel
device.
Every individual applicant for an owner's license
shall, at the time of submitting his application:
A. Submit two individual photographs of the applicant
taken within 30 days prior to the date of the application, 1 1/2
inches by 1 1/2 inches in size, and such pictures must be a true
likeness of the applicant and must show neck, shoulders and uncovered
head.
B. Be fingerprinted under the direction and supervision
of the Village Clerk and the Police Department. When the application
form has been completed, the applicant shall present himself or herself
to an officer of the Lynbrook Police Department to be fingerprinted.
A copy of such fingerprints shall be sent to the Division of Criminal
Justice Services, Albany, New York (hereinafter "DCJS"), requesting
a fingerprint search, together with the fee required by the DCJS,
in such form of payment as is acceptable to the DCJS, which fee shall
be provided by the applicant. The DCJS reply shall be reviewed by
the Chief of Police or member of the Police Department. No license
shall be issued to a person who has been convicted of a felony or
of any crime involving fraud or fraudulent practices or the illegal
use, sale or possession of marijuana or a controlled substance.
[Amended 4-12-1993 by L.L. No. 4-1993; 7-18-1994 by L.L. No.
6-1994]
If the Village Clerk shall find that the tow car service in the Village and, particularly, in the area in which the applicant proposes to operate is required by the public convenience and necessity and, from the statements contained in the application for a tow car owner's license, that the applicant is a fit person and capable of properly conducting such tow car business and conforming to the provisions of this chapter, then the Village Clerk, upon the certification of each town car proposed to be operated by the applicant pursuant to §
231-4 hereof and the furnishing by the applicant of proof of insurance, as hereinafter provided, shall issue a license stating the name and address of the applicant, the date of the issuance thereof and the number of vehicles the applicant is authorized to operate; and, at the same time, the Village Clerk shall issue for each vehicle licensed hereunder a license bearing the words "licensed tow car," an assigned number and the year of issuance; otherwise such application shall be denied.
In making the findings required by §
231-8 hereof, the Village Clerk shall take into consideration the number of tow cars already in operation in the Village, particularly in the area in which the applicant proposes to locate his depots and terminals, whether existing tow car service is adequate to meet the public need, the probable effect of additional tow cars on local traffic conditions and the character, experience and responsibility of the applicant and the adequacy of the service which the applicant proposes to give.
The Village Clerk may, in his discretion, before the issuance of a license under §
231-8, require the applicant and others having knowledge of the facts to submit to an examination under oath and to produce evidence relating thereto or hold a hearing upon such application, as hereinafter provided.
Any license issued under §
231-8 may be renewed annually for additional periods of one year each from the date of expiration upon the filing of an application containing all the information required by the provisions of this chapter for original applications, with the exception of any allegation as to public necessity.
No license shall be issued or renewed under §
231-8 which shall permit the use of any vehicle as a tow car unless and until it has been inspected and certified by the Village Clerk or his representative as conforming to the requirements of §
231-21 hereof.
Before the issuance to him of a license under
this section, each applicant shall file with the Village Clerk evidence
that he is insured against public liability in the limits required
by law, which insurance shall be maintained in force during the period
covered by the license.
The owner's license issued hereunder shall not
be transferable.
[Amended 12-2-2002 by L.L. No. 6-2002]
The fee for issuance of a tow vehicle driver's
license shall be in such amount as set by resolution of the Board
of Trustees.
The Village Clerk shall have the power to prescribe
reasonable rules and regulations for the proper and efficient administration
and enforcement of this chapter.
[Added 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
This chapter shall not be applicable to:
A. A vehicle dismantler registered pursuant to § 415-a
of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York when engaged
in towing in the course of the operation of the business of a vehicle
dismantler.
C. When performing towing services which are not offered
to the general public:
(1) A franchised public transportation operator.
(2) A bus company, as such term is defined in Subdivision
2 of § 2 of the Transportation Law of the State of New York,
to operate pursuant to Article 7 of such law.
(3) A public utility company or a public utility corporation,
as such terms are defined in Subdivisions 23 and 24, respectively,
of § 2 of the Public Service Law of the State of New York.
(4) An owner of a taxicab or limousine.
(5) An operator of a school bus, as such term is defined
in § 142 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of
New York.
(6) A motor vehicle rental agency.
D. An individual employed in connection with any towing operations described in Subsection
A,
B or
C above when operating a tow truck or assisting in the operation thereof in the course of his or her employment.
[Added 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
If any section, subdivision, sentence, clause,
phrase or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall
not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be
confined in its operation to the section, subdivision, sentence, clause,
phrase or part directly involved in the controversy in which such
judgment shall have been rendered.
[Added 11-18-1996 by L.L. No. 10-1996]
A. The foregoing provisions of this chapter notwithstanding,
the Village Board may grant a franchise to one or more persons licensed
hereunder for the towing and/or storage of motor vehicles which are
involved in police action, accidents, apparent abandonment or owned
by one deemed to be a scofflaw where the Board finds that the safety,
health and welfare of the residents of the Village will be advanced
thereby.
B. Any franchise granted to licensed persons hereunder
will not limit other licensed persons from performing any and all
nonfranchised operations authorized by their licenses.
[Added 8-10-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992]
A. Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be deemed a violation, and the violator shall be liable
for a fine of not more than $250 for each such violation.
B. In addition to the penalties provided herein, an offense
against this chapter may result in suspension or revocation of the
tow car owner's or driver's license.