[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Whitesboro as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-9-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000]
From and after the passage of this article, it shall be unlawful
for any person operating a tow truck wrecker service within the corporate
limits of the Village of Whitesboro or any agent working on behalf
of such operator to be within 1,000 feet of any accident or to cause
any wrecker to approach nearer than 1,000 feet of the scene of any
accident of any automobile or other vehicle within the corporate limits
of said Village until the Police Department has had an opportunity
to investigate said accident and has directed and authorized said
person(s) and/or wrecker to approach within said prohibited distance.
Any person, firm, or corporation or other entity engaged in
the wrecker or tow service or any other person violating this article
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $250 for
the first offense and/or imprisonment of up to 15 days. The limit
for the fine shall increase by $250 for each conviction of any defendant
with five years of the date of the subject offense.
[Adopted 12-31-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
This article is intended to help ensure public safety when vehicles
are obstructing public rights-of-way within the Village and to establish
a rotating towing list for providers to ensure orderly services and
to establish maximum fees and standards for members of such list.
The Village of Whitesboro hereby authorizes the Village Police
Department to cause vehicles to be towed from the public right-of-way
in the following circumstances:
A.
Public emergency when a vehicle is impeding emergency services that
require the public right-of-way to be unobstructed, such as firefighting,
emergency medical services, snow storm, flooding or flood remediation.
B.
Abandoned or inoperable vehicles; vehicle operated by a driver who
is incapable of driving due to such causes as illness, injury, suspension,
revocation, driving while impaired from drugs or alcohol or having
no license and such vehicle is deemed to be a hazard to the public
and no other appropriate driver has the consent of the owner of the
vehicle to drive.
C.
Illegally parked vehicles.
The Village Board is hereby authorized to establish a list of
persons or businesses to be used on a rotating basis by the Village
of Whitesboro Police Department whenever towing services are required
pursuant to this article.
A.
All towing services shall provide and maintain facilities for secure
storage of towed vehicles.
B.
Towing service shall be available for assignment on a twenty-four-hour
per day/seven days per week basis.
C.
The towing service must be able to arrive at the location in which
its service is needed within 20 minutes from the time in which it
was first called.
D.
The towing service operator shall maintain and equip its towing vehicle(s)
in accordance with the laws of the State of New York and such additional
requirements as may be prescribed by the Village Board.
E.
The towing service shall remove any glass or other debris/materials
from the highway which originates from the vehicle being towed with
no additional fee charged to the owner/operator or the Village of
Whitesboro.
F.
All towing service operators must have a certificate of insurance
coverage that will consist of a minimum of $250,000 for bodily injury
for each person, $500,000 for bodily injury per occurrence, and $50,000
for property damage for each occurrence.
G.
All towing service operators will keep a logbook listing the date
and time the vehicle was picked up; the location from where the vehicle
was towed; the time it was released to the owner or owner's representative;
the make, model, vehicle color, and the license plate number; the
services provided and the fees charged. This logbook will be subject
to inspection by any police officer or the Police Commissioner and
will be delivered to the Village of Whitesboro within 24 hours of
any request thereof.
H.
The tow operator shall also provide extra services upon request to
include winch outs, lock out service, and removal of off-road vehicles,
such as ATVs, snowmobiles, or motorcycles, at reasonable costs to
the owner/operator of any such vehicle.
I.
Towing services will notify the Whitesboro Police Department, orally
and in writing, of any towed vehicle left unclaimed for more than
48 hours after notification by the Police Department of the registered
owner of said vehicle.
J.
Towing services shall indemnify and hold the Village of Whitesboro
harmless from any claim or liabilities which occur as a result of
performing towing or wrecker services at the request of the Village
of Whitesboro, including the reasonable cost of attorneys for the
defense of any such claim. By applying for the privilege of being
on the rotation list hereof, the towing service hereby agrees to the
terms and conditions hereof.
K.
Upon request for a rotation tow service, the service next on rotation
is the only service authorized to respond. Other tow services, whether
on the rotation list or not, cannot respond in the place of such tow
service. In the event the tow service on the rotation cannot respond
to the call, then the one next on the list shall be called to respond,
and so forth, until a tow service does respond to the call.
A.
Applications can be obtained from the Whitesboro Village Clerk. After
completion, the application is to be submitted to the Village Clerk,
containing all of the information required. The applications are valid
for one calendar year, commencing on January 1 of each year. There
shall be no more than five towing services participating on the towing
rotation list at any one time with application preference given to
towing services located within the corporate limits of the Village.
B.
All tow services must reapply annually prior to December 1 to ensure
that all interested tow services have the opportunity to participate
in the rotation for the next calendar year.
C.
There is a yearly application fee of $75 to be paid to the Village
Clerk upon time of application to be paid upon by good funds.
D.
In the event more than five towing services apply to be on the rotation,
preference shall be given to towing services located within the limits
of the Village. If more than five towing services apply from within
the Village of Whitesboro, or if there are any slots available after
all eligible Village towing services have filed applications, the
remaining slots on the rotation list shall be selected on a lottery
basis to be drawn at a public meeting of the Village Board of Trustees
in the month of December. Such list shall be maintained for the next
calendar year. In the event a provider is removed or surrenders its
right to be on the list, the next provider on the lottery drawing
will be placed on the towing rotation.
The Village Board is hereby given authority to promulgate such
other rules or regulations, as it deems necessary, consistent with
the intent of this article and to modify the application fee as the
Board deems appropriate.
[Amended 1-9-2018]
After removal of any vehicle as provided in this chapter, the
vehicle will be stored in a suitable location. Towing and storage
charges will be at the expense of the owner. Such person in charge
of said vehicle may redeem same upon payment to the tow service of
the amount of all expenses actually and necessarily incurred. In effecting
such tow and storage, standard tow charge shall not exceed $125. If
a flatbed tow is required, the tow charge shall not exceed $150. Storage
charges shall not exceed $25 per day, and the first 12 hours of storage
shall be at no charge. These fees may be modified by resolution of
the Village Board as deemed appropriate by the Board from time to
time.
A.
Any person engaged in wrecker or tow services who violates § 268-9 shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $250 for the first offense and/or imprisonment for up to 15 days. The limit for the fine shall increase by $250 for each conviction of any defendant within five years of the date of the subject offense.
B.
The Chief of Police shall notify the Village Board if any of the
tow services on the rotation list materially violate any part of this
article, including any and all requirements hereof, or violates the
limitations placed on the charges allowed herein on one or more occasions.
The Village Board, after notice and opportunity to be heard, may suspend
or remove the towing service from the rotation list and add a towing
service from the existing list of qualified tow service operators.
This article shall take effect December 31, 2014.
