[Added 9-14-2006 by Ord. No. 819]
It is the purpose and objective of this article
to enable the Board of Supervisors of Whitemarsh Township to provide
for the removal of abandoned, junked, disabled or weather-bound vehicles
of all types that have been deemed a hazard to the public and to provide
a safe storage of such vehicles until disposition.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any motor vehicle which is inoperable due to mechanical failure
or malfunction but is not a junked vehicle.
The authority of the Chief of Police, any peace officer or
official having such authority by law to impound any motor vehicle
for any lawful reason(s).
A vehicle defined as a "junked vehicle" by this Code.
Every vehicle which is self-propelled.
Any person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle or
who has the legal right of possession thereof.
A garage, parking lot or any type of facility owned by a
person other than a governmental entity for storing or parking 10
or more vehicles, which is in full compliance with the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles/Salvor Unit.
The business of towing or removing disabled, wrecked or junked
vehicles on the public street or right-of-way.
Any person engaged in the towing business.
Any person engaged in the towing business holding a valid
permit from the Township for the operation of a towing business.
Any motor vehicle used for the purpose of towing or removing
disabled or wrecked vehicles.
Every device defined as such by this Code.
Any motor vehicle which is disabled due to collision with
another vehicle or object.
A.
General requirements. Every person desiring to engage
in the towing business in the Township shall, at the times of his
or her application, first be authorized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
to operate as a salvor and shall be so qualified in accordance with
75 Pa.C.S.A. § 7301 et seq. (relating to authorization of
salvors). Further, the applicant shall be in complete compliance with
the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pertaining
to salvors as said rules and regulations are set forth in Chapter
253 of Title 67 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
B.
Permit to operate: application; fee; nontransferable;
expiration date. Every person desiring to engage in the towing business
in the Township shall make application in writing, on a form provided
for that purpose, to the Township Manager or his or her designee for
a permit to engage in the towing business and for a permit for each
towing vehicle proposed to be operated, and such application shall
contain the name, address, telephone number, the number and types
of towing equipment operated and the true owner of the company concerned,
along with other pertinent information. Every application when filed
shall be sworn to by the applicant and accompanied by a permit application
fee and an annual licensing fee as established by the Township Board
of Supervisors. No permit shall be transferable, and every permit
shall expire on the 31st day of December of the calendar year in which
it is issued.
C.
Issuance of permit. The Township Codes Department
shall issue a permit to engage in the towing business to all applicants
complying with the provisions of this section and shall issue a permit
to all wreckers of such applicants so complying.
D.
Permit requirements.
(1)
All towing vehicles shall be in compliance with the
rules and regulations of the Department of Transportation of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania with respect to equipment lighting, emergency equipment
and safety features. This article hereby incorporates, by reference,
herein the provisions of the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania as the same are set forth in Chapter 253 of Title
67 et seq. and in 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 7301 et seq. as the same
are amended.
(2)
Insurance will be maintained as follows:
(a)
Every towing company shall be bonded in such
amount as is required of salvors by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(b)
Every towing company shall obtain and keep in
force at all times public liability and property damage insurance
or surety bond providing the same coverage, issued by some insurance
or surety company authorized to do business in the Township by the
Township, which shall be in such form, with such schedules and endorsements
as may be prescribed by the Township, covering all towing vehicles
which may, at any time, be operated by or for or which may be under
the control of the towing company. Such coverage shall be accomplished
by a waiver-of-description endorsement on each policy, which shall
be attached to and become a part of the policy.
(c)
As evidence of such coverage, there shall be
filed with the Township a certificate of insurance in the form and
manner prescribed by the Township, which shall be executed by a duly
authorized agent of the insurer. Such coverage shall be in no less
amounts than the following:
[1]
Public liability and property damage for death
or injury to any one person: $300,000.
[2]
Total liability in any one accident: $300,000.
[3]
Property damage: $50,000.
[4]
Cargo coverage: The cargo coverage filed shall
provide adequate coverage to the minimum extent of $2,000 to cover
the towing company's legal liability for loss or damage to property
of any person or persons other than the assured carried in, upon or
attached to the motor vehicle and/or trailers or dollies operated
by or for or under the control of the towing company. The original
policy is to be retained by the assured and kept available for inspection
by any authorized representative of the Township.
(d)
All insurance coverage must be filed with the
same name, initials, trade name or corporate name and address as listed
on the application for the permit. Subsequent name and address changes
and policy number changes shall be reflected on the certificate by
the filing of an endorsement by the insurer.
(e)
Every insurance certificate required by and
filed with the Township shall be kept in force and effect unless and
until canceled by 30 days' prior written notice by the insurer, which
time shall commence from the date the notice is actually received
by the Township, and the prescribed certificate of insurance shall
contain a statement to this effect.
E.
Inspections. All inspections to qualify for a permit
shall be made by the Chief of Police or a designee inspector within
the Township Police Department. The inspector shall fill out an inspection
sheet and sign the same. If the towing vehicle does not comply with
the specifications of this chapter, the inspector shall make a notation
on the inspection form of this fact. The inspection forms, as set
out in this section, shall be kept by the Township Codes Department.
(1)
In addition to a permit authorizing a person to engage
in the towing business, there shall be issued a permit for each approved
towing vehicle owned by the permittee. Each permit for a towing vehicle
shall state that such towing vehicle has been inspected by the Chief
of Police or his designee inspector and approved by the Township and
shall be affixed securely to the inside of the windshield of the appropriate
towing vehicle. No person shall operate a towing vehicle commercially
on the public streets of the Township unless a permit to engage in
the towing business has been issued to the owner of such towing vehicle.
No permit shall be transferable, and every permit shall expire at
midnight on the 31st day of December of the calendar year in which
it was issued.
(2)
Each towing vehicle permit (sticker) shall be issued
in a color different from the previous permit year.
F.
Operation without permits. No person shall operate
a towing vehicle commercially on the public streets of the Township
unless a current inspection permit has been duly issued for such vehicle
by the Township Codes Department. No person shall operate a towing
vehicle on the public streets of the Township unless the permit duly
issued to such towing vehicle is posted on the windshield of such
towing vehicle as provided in this section.
A.
Response. A towing company responding to the scene
of an accident or collision may do so only if it is responding to
a call by the Police Department or an individual. The prohibition
of this section shall be inapplicable, provided that it is necessary
to prevent death or bodily injury to any person involved in an accident
or collision. If a towing company's driver is called to an accident
by an individual, he must advise the Police Department of the person's
name, the type of vehicle and the exact location of the accident or
collision prior to arrival.
B.
Designation of substitute. One towing company may
not authorize another towing company to handle calls for the other
in the event that it is not available to respond. Nothing in this
section is to prevent a towing company in the area, passing by, on
no other business, from stopping to assist another towing company
handling the wreck scene, provided that the dispatched towing company
has arrived at the scene.
No person shall solicit in any manner, directly
or indirectly, on the streets of the Township, the business of towing
any vehicle which is wrecked or disabled due to accident or police
action on a public street, regardless of whether the solicitation
is for the purpose of soliciting the business of towing, removing,
repairing, wrecking, storing, trading or purchasing said vehicle.
A.
Preferences. The police officer investigating the
accident shall ask the individuals involved if they have a towing
company preference from among permit owners, and if they have such
a preference, he or she shall instruct the dispatcher to call the
preferred towing company.
B.
Rotation. A rotating list of all towing company permit
owners qualifying under this section shall be maintained in the Township
Police Department. The list shall provide for rotation among towing
company permit owners on a weekly basis, Sunday through Saturday.
In the event that the individual has no preference or is unable to
designate a call preference or the individual's preference does not
answer or is unwilling or unable to provide a towing company immediately,
then the investigating officer shall call the towing company designated
on said rotating list. Said rotation shall, as nearly as possible,
equitably distribute the towing company calls to the above-mentioned
towing company permit owners. If there is no answer or the owners
are unwilling or unable to provide a towing company immediately, then
the investigating officer shall call the next owner on said rotating
list and shall continue in this manner until a towing company is dispatched
to the accident in question.
A.
Eligibility. In order to be placed on the rotating
list, a towing company permit owner must comply with the following
requirements:
(1)
The permit owner must have facilities complying with
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles/Salvor
Unit, or must show proof of a contractual agreement between the permit
owner and the owner of a facility which meets the requirements of
the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles/Salvor Unit. This facility
must be located within a five-mile radius of the Township Building
and must be secured by a locked gate and a fence of at least six feet
in height.
(2)
All vehicles towed or removed by the towing company
permit owner in response to a rotating list must be stored at the
above-mentioned facility unless the towing company permit owner is
requested by the owner of the vehicle or a police official to transport
the vehicle to another location.
(3)
The towing company owner must make any vehicle stored
at this facility available to the vehicle owner between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and shall have a sign clearly visible at
the entrance, clearly readable from the street, setting out the name
of the storage facility/lot, the street address and telephone number(s)
where the facility owner/operator can be reached to release stored
vehicles to owners. Access to stored vehicles shall not be unreasonably
denied between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., where the facility owner/operator
is available to release the stored vehicle.
(4)
The towing company permit owner/driver must be available
on a seven-day-per-week, twenty-four-hour-per-day basis and shall
respond to all calls by the Police Department within 20 minutes of
the initial call. The towing company permit owner/driver shall remove
any vehicle regardless of its condition or degree of damage.
(5)
In addition to removal of vehicles, the towing company
permit owner/driver, shall perform cleanup at the accident scene,
including but not limited to the removal of hazardous substances,
broken glass, metal and other debris as required by the police officers
on the scene and shall at all times maintain proper equipment on the
towing vehicle for such purpose.
(6)
The towing company shall not charge a fee for the
towing of any vehicle owned by Whitemarsh Township.
(7)
The towing company permit owner/driver shall not provide
advice regarding repair alternatives as to any towed vehicle.
(8)
The towing company shall pay its employees in accordance
with the prevailing wage standards established by federal and state
government.
(9)
The towing company shall maintain a clean business
record and none of its owners, officers, directors or employees shall
have been convicted of any crime involving a breach of honesty, theft,
fraud, or receipt of stolen property.
(10)
The towing company permit owner/driver shall
comply with this article at all times.
B.
Eligibility determinations. Eligibility for Township
rotation shall be determined initially by the Chief of Police on the
foregoing requirements. Similarly, the Chief of Police summarily removes
the towing company permit owner from Township rotation upon his or
her determination of that owner's subsequent ineligibility. Any such
decision of the Chief of Police may be appealed to the Township Board
of Supervisors by giving notice of such appeal within the ten-day
period following the action of the Chief of Police.
C.
Contracting. The Board of Supervisors of Whitemarsh
Township shall be authorized to enter into agreements with one or
more towing companies in accordance with the terms of this article.
D.
Towing fees. The Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors
shall adopt a fee schedule for the towing of vehicles in accordance
with this article. Such schedule of fees may be subject to change
at any time in the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
The impounding of any vehicle in any vehicle
storage facility which is in full compliance with the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation Bureau of Motor Vehicles/Salvor Unit
shall be at the direction of the Chief of Police, any peace officer
or official having such authority by law. Police officers requiring
access to any vehicle stored in a storage facility lot as part of
an official investigation shall be permitted such access on a twenty-four-hour,
seven-day-per-week basis.
This article shall be cumulative of all laws
of the commonwealth and the United States governing the subject matter
of this article.
A.
Violations. Any person, either by himself, herself
or agent, who shall do any act or thing prohibited by the terms of
this article or in any way violate the provisions thereof, upon conviction,
shall be fined not more than $600 or imprisoned for a period not to
exceed 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. It shall not be
necessary for the complaint to allege or for proof to be made that
the act was knowingly done, nor shall it be necessary for the complaint
to negate any exception contained in this chapter concerning any prohibited
act, but any such exception made therein may be urged as a defense
by any person charged by such complaint.
B.
Suspension. If any such offense is in violation of
this article:
(1)
The Chief of Police shall suspend the towing company
permit owner from the Township rotation list for a period of 30 days
from the first violation.
(2)
In case of two of such violations within a twelve-month
period, the Chief of Police will suspend the towing company permit
owner from the Township rotation list for a period of 90 days.
C.
Appeal. Any such action on the part of the Chief of
Police may be appealed by the towing company permit owner to the Board
of Supervisors of the Township by giving written notice to the Township
Manager within 10 days after such action by the Chief of Police.
The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to
allow a towing company without a permit to haul wrecked or disabled
vehicles when police investigation is finished and the same is not
in any way interfering with traffic.
While at the scene of an accident, the towing
company or towing companies which have been dispatched shall be under
the direction of the police officer investigating the accident and
shall carry out his or her instructions, including the cleaning of
glass and debris.
A.
Revocation. A towing company permit may be revoked
by the Township Manager upon a determination that:
(1)
The towing company for which such permit was issued
or any employee or agent of such owner or the applicant for such permit
or any employee or agent of such applicant has violated any provision
of this article within the 60 days immediately preceding the date
of revocation.
(2)
The towing company for which such permit was issued
or the applicant for such permit is failing to comply and to maintain
such towing company in compliance with the requirements set forth
herein for the issuance of such permit.
(3)
The towing company for which such permit was issued
or any employee or agent of such owner or the applicant for such permit
or any employee or agent of such applicant has been convicted, within
60 days immediately preceding the date of revocation, of a moving
violation of the traffic laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or its political subdivisions, provided that such moving violation
occurred while the violator was driving or operating a towing company
for which a permit has been issued under the provisions of this article.
(4)
The towing company for which such permit was issued
or any employee or agent of such owner or the applicant for such permit
or any employee or agent of such applicant has used information received
from a broadcast on the shortwave radio frequency of the Police Department
or Fire Company for his or her own benefit or for the benefit of another
person in connection with the operation of towing business within
the 60 days immediately preceding the date of revocation.
Requirements for towing. No towing company shall
commence to tow any vehicle unless the conditions enumerated in at
least one of the following subsections are first met:
A.
The towing company is requested by the custodian of
the vehicle to be towed. "Owner" or "custodian of the vehicle," as
used herein, shall include any person legally entitled to possession
of said vehicle.
B.
The towing is to be performed pursuant to the direction
of a duly constituted law enforcement officer.
C.
The vehicle is to be towed from private property upon
the direction of the owner of the property or an agent of the owner
of such property to remove such vehicle therefrom. Such direction
shall be in writing and shall identify the vehicle and the time and
place of pickup of the vehicle and the destination or delivery point.
A.
Inspection of records. The authorized representatives
of the Township shall at times have the authority to inspect the books
and records connected with the towing and storage operations of any
towing company, and the towing company shall make its records available
to the Township's representative upon request by the representative
during normal business hours.
B.
Inspection of facilities. The authorized representatives
of the Township shall at times have authority to inspect the towing
company's equipment and facilities used in providing storage and towing
services during normal business hours.