As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ADDITIONAL LABOR
Charges for additional and/or temporary employees enlisted
by the tow vehicle operator to facilitate the unloading, relocation,
and/or removal of vehicles, their cargos, debris, or other obstructions
impeding traffic exceeding the labor required for a basic towing service
as defined by the chapter.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES
Charges for post-towing services including, but not limited
to, services such as physical inspection, mechanical inspection, etc.
These charges shall not be applied to vehicle owners or their agents,
but to the City and only upon the specific request and authorization
of the service by the designated Police Department supervisor.
AUTOMOBILE
A private passenger automobile. (For purpose of this chapter,
this definition shall include light pickup trucks, vans, and sport
utility vehicles.)
BASIC TOWING SERVICES
The removal and transportation of a motor vehicle from a
highway, street, other public or private road or parking area, or
from a storage facility, and other services normally incidental thereto.
"Basic towing services" does not include recovery of an automobile
from a position beyond the right-of-way or berm or from being impaled
upon any other object within the right-of-way or berm, or from an
overturned position.
BUS
Any motor vehicle designated, constructed, and used for the
transportation of passengers, except passenger automobiles and station
wagons.
DIRECTOR
Police Director of the City of Trenton.
GARAGE
A building where motor vehicles are sheltered, stored, repaired,
and made ready for use, and it is specifically not intended to include,
within the meaning of this definition, a gasoline service station
used principally for furnishing gasoline, oil-lubrication service,
and minor service for motor vehicles.
INSIDE SECURED
A motor vehicle storage facility that is completely indoors,
having one or more openings in the walls for storage and removal of
motor vehicles and is secured by a locking device on each opening.
To qualify in the context of this chapter, the inside secured facility
must have all governmental approvals and must have a capacity for
a minimum of five automobiles.
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
Any occurrence in which a motor vehicle comes in contact
with another object for which the motor vehicle must be towed or removed
for placement in a storage facility. This includes all situations
that are accidental to the vehicle owner even if they are caused by
the intentional acts of a perpetrator, where the perpetrator was not
the vehicle owner or not otherwise involved with the owner.
MOTOR VEHICLES
Any vehicle propelled otherwise than by muscular power, except
such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks, and motorized bicycles
under 49 cc.
OUTSIDE SECURED
A motor vehicle storage facility that is outdoors and is
secured by a fence, wall, or other man-made barrier that is at least
six feet high and is protected by security measures approved by the
Director. These security measures should include motion sensors monitored
on a twenty-four-hour basis, recording video cameras capable of monitoring
the entire storage facility and lighting at night for the facility.
To qualify as an outdoor-secured facility, in the context of this
chapter, the outside-secure facility must have all necessary government
approvals and must have capacity for a minimum of 700 automobiles.
RECOVERY WINCHING
Recovery winching includes, but is not limited to, the recovery
of a motor vehicle that is overturned, over an embankment, off the
roadway and not recoverable by basic winching, in water, impaled on
an object, crashed into a building, or otherwise not accessible to
immediate hook-up by conventional towing equipment.
STORAGE CHARGES FOR TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR PERIOD
The maximum allowable amount to be charged by a storage facility
for a twenty-four-hour period or fraction thereof. A new twenty-four-hour
period begins at 12:01 a.m. with the exception of the first twenty-four-hour
period of storage, where only one day's storage can be charged
for the first twenty-four-hour period of storage. Storage is charged
on a per calendar day.
TOW VEHICLE
Those vehicles equipped with a boom or booms, winches, slings,
flat beds, wheel lifts, or under-reach equipment specifically designed
by its manufacturer for removal or transport of motor vehicles.
TRUCK
Any motor vehicle designed and used primarily for the transportation
of property.
VEHICLE REMOVAL CHARGE (YARD FEE)
Charge for a motor vehicle towed into a storage facility
of the primary tower that is not movable and must be towed out of
the primary tower's storage facility to a public street for towing
by a secondary tower. In the context of this chapter, a motor vehicle
that is not movable is defined as motor vehicle without keys, mechanically
disabled, or unable to be moved under its own power.
VEHICLES SUBJECT TO TOWING
When used in this chapter to describe a motor vehicle, shall
mean any motor vehicle that requires removal by a tow vehicle including,
but not limited to, motor vehicles damaged in an accident, motor vehicles
recovered after theft, abandoned motor vehicles, confiscated motor
vehicles, and vehicles that require towing service by order of the
Police Department due to being unregistered, uninsured, illegally
parked, or whose operators are unable to safely operate the motor
vehicle without being in violation of the law of any federal, state,
or local statutes or ordinances.
WINCHING
The process of moving a motor vehicle by use of a cable from
a position that is not accessible for direct hookup by conventional
means for loading onto a tow vehicle. Winching is not pulling a vehicle
onto the bed of a carrier, nor lifting a motor vehicle with a conventional
tow sling.
The Director shall review the application and conduct an investigation
as he/she deems necessary, including a police background check, to
determine whether the applicant meets the minimum standards and qualification
as defined in the general requirements section of this chapter.
The tow vehicle operator must maintain the following records
in written and electronic form for each vehicle towed and/or stored.
A. Day, month, year, and time of service.
B. The year, make, and model of vehicle.
C. The registration plate number and state of registration.
D. The full vehicle identification number (VIN).
E. The Trenton Police Department's report number for the incident
involving the tow.
F. The location from which the vehicle was towed.
G. The place to which the vehicle is towed and stored.
H. The authority for the towing.
I. An accurate description of the visible damage to the vehicle prior
to towing.
J. The distance of towing, if applicable.
K. The operator of the towing vehicle.
L. Any and all charges to the vehicle owner to include basic tow service,
storage, and any additional fees for special services as defined in
this chapter.
The tow vehicle operator agrees to reimburse the City $5 per
vehicle for the clerical and administrative costs associated with
authorizing the release of towed vehicles.
The tow vehicle operator agrees to provide the City Police Department
with a partially completed copy of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
form titled Report of Possession of Abandoned Vehicle by Public Agency
for any vehicle in its possession for which it is requesting a clear
or junk title. This form shall contain the following information for
each vehicle: the make, year, body type, vehicle identification number,
model, weight class and present odometer reading for each vehicle.
Failure to provide this information shall result in an administrative
fee of $50 that shall be paid to the City Police Department by the
tow operator for each application for the acquisition of a clear of
junk title that is not accompanied by a partially completed form.
The Director shall develop a complaint-hearing procedure that
will allow any citizen to file a complaint against a tow vehicle operator,
alleging violations of this chapter, any revised ordinance of the
City of Trenton, the Trenton Police Department Towing Application
and Agreement. The Director shall designate personnel within the Police
Department to investigate the complaint, or cause the complaint to
be investigated, render a decision with regard to the complaint received
of the tower's business practices, and take the required action
to address the complaint. The Director shall be empowered to render
a final decision, and that decision shall be binding on both the tower
and the owner of the vehicle.
No reward, gratuity, gift, or any type of remuneration or consideration
shall be offered to any member of the Trenton Police Department, any
City Official, and/or any employee of the City of Trenton by any authorized
tow vehicle operator or its representatives/affiliates, prior to or
during the application process and/or during the life of the contract.