The police officers of the Borough shall have authority to remove
and impound, or order the removal and impoundment, of any vehicle
parked on any of the streets, highways or public property in the Borough
in violation of any provision of the law or of any ordinance of the
Borough, or following a motor vehicle collision where the vehicle
is immobilized on the roadway, is leaking fluids or presents such
other impediment or hazard to traffic and/or passersby, and/or when
the operator of said vehicle is unable to furnish the name of a preferred
towing service able to reach the scene in a reasonable period of time
based upon the officer's assessment of prevailing traffic and/or weather
conditions. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the
removal of abandoned vehicles, vehicles under investigative hold and/or
any towing situation which is regulated by specific statute or regulation.
A.
Removal and impounding of vehicles under this article shall be done
only by approved tow services and/or storage garages that shall be
designated from time to time by Council. Every such tow service and/or
storage garage shall submit evidence to the Borough Council that it
is bonded or has acquired liability insurance in an amount satisfactory
to Council as sufficient to indemnify owners of impounded vehicles
against loss or damage to those vehicles while in the custody of the
garage keeper for the purpose of towing or storage. The approved tow
service and/or storage garage shall submit to Council its schedule
of charges for towing and storage of vehicles under this article,
and, when the schedule is approved by Council, those charges shall
be adhered to by the approved towing and/or storage garage; no different
schedule of charges shall be adopted without approval of Council,
and no different charges shall be demanded of or collected from any
person whose vehicle is removed or impounded under this article by
an approved tow service and/or storage garage.
B.
Towing services and storage garages shall make impounded vehicles
available to police officers conducting legal investigations and shall
release or allow access to impounded vehicles only with written authorization
of the Mahanoy City Police Department.
C.
Towing services shall be responsible for the cleanup and removal
of debris, including fluids, from the scenes of collisions or other
towing incidents and shall equip their vehicles with necessary cleanup
equipment to include, but not be limited to, brooms, shovels, fluid
absorbent and the like.
D.
Council shall delete from its list of approved towing services and/or
storage garages any service or garage that demonstrates a pattern
of failure to comply with the provisions of this section, including
unapproved charges and/or repeated failures to respond to requests
for services under normal conditions.
Within 12 hours after the time of removal of any vehicle under
authority granted by this article, when the vehicle's owner was not
present at the time of the vehicle's removal, notice of the fact that
the vehicle was removed shall be sent by the Police Department to
the owner of record of the vehicle. The notice shall designate the
place from which the vehicle was removed, the reason for its removal
and impounding and the garage in which it was impounded.
The payment of any towing and storage charges authorized under
this article shall, unless payment is made under protest, be final
and conclusive, and shall constitute a waiver of any right to recover
the money so paid. If payment of any towing or storage charge is made
under protest, the offender shall be entitled to a hearing before
a Magisterial District Judge. Payment of towing and storage charges
shall not relieve the owner or operator of any vehicle from liability
for any fine or penalty for the violation of the provisions of this
chapter on account of the vehicle's having been removed and impounded.
The Police Department shall keep a record of all vehicles impounded
under this article and shall be able at all reasonable times to furnish
the owners or the agents of the owners of those vehicles with information
as to the place of storage of the vehicles.
Except for vehicles which are impounded for purposes of investigation
of Pennsylvania Crimes Code and Vehicle Code[1] offenses, as further defined in Police Department policy,
no vehicle shall be removed under the authority of this article if,
at the time of the intended removal, the owner or the person for the
time being in charge of the vehicle is present and expresses a willingness
and intention to remove the vehicle immediately.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A § 101 et seq. and
75 Pa.C.S.A § 101 et seq., respectively.
The Mayor and Police Department shall be responsible for disseminating the information in this chapter to towing services and storage garages interested in providing on-call services and for receiving and maintaining records of the information required under § 179-44, and for developing, implementing and maintaining records of a systematic and equitable on-call rotation of the interested towing services and storage garages which meet the established criteria.
