The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
AUTOMOBILE
A private passenger automobile or motorcycle.
BASIC TOWING SERVICE
The removal and transportation of an automobile from a highway,
street or other public or private road, or a parking area, or from
a storage facility, and other services normally incident thereto,
but does not include recovery of an automobile that has left the roadway
and does not include any additional labor required to clean up the
scene.
DAYTIME HOURS
The hours from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., prevailing time.
OUTSIDE STORAGE
An automobile storage facility that is not indoors and is
secured by a fence, wall or other man-made barrier that is at least
six feet high.
RECOVERY OF VEHICLE
The recovery of an automobile from a position off the roadway;
the recovery of a vehicle on the roadway which is overturned or on
its side or in any other position other than its normal position.
Recovery charges are in addition to any towing charges.
TOW VEHICLE
A vehicle equipped with a boom or booms, winches, slings,
tilt beds, wheel lifts or under reach equipment specifically designed
by its manufacturer for the removal and transport of private passenger
automobiles.
TRUCK
Any motor vehicle, including buses, other than an automobile
as defined above. Trucks up to 6,999 pounds gross vehicle weight rating
(GVWR) shall be subject to light-duty towing rates; vehicles between
7,000 pounds GVWR and 29,999 pounds gross vehicle weight rating shall
be subject to medium-duty towing rates, and vehicles over 30,000 pounds
shall be subject to heavy-duty towing rates.
WAITING TIME
Time spent at the scene standing or waiting for extrication
of victims, police investigation, etc., after 1/2 hour.
WINCHING
Moving a vehicle by use of the cable or winch from a position
that is not accessible for direct hookup by conventional means of
loading onto a tow vehicle. It shall not include pulling a motor vehicle
onto a tilt bed or car carrier, or lifting a vehicle with a conventional
tow sling.
YARD TOW
Removal of the vehicle from the towing operator's storage
yard for the benefit of another towing operator who is taking the
vehicle from the storage site, and whose tow vehicle is physically
unable to gain access to the vehicle while it is inside the storage
yard.
Whenever a police officer orders the removal of automobiles from private or public property, the officers shall utilize the rotation lists established in §
230-3 of this chapter.
At every annual reorganization meeting, the Borough Council
shall establish by resolution a list of automobile towing contractors
and a list of truck towing contractors to be utilized by the Police
Department on a rotating basis. An operator may, if qualified, be
on both lists. Such lists shall be utilized by members of the Police
Department on a nonexclusionary and nondiscriminatory basis. Only
those towing contractors who meet the minimum standards of operator
performance set forth in this chapter shall be included on such lists.
There shall be no limit on the number of operators on either list.
Operators may be added to the list at any time.
A. Equipment. All towing operators shall meet the following requirements:
(1) For classification as an automobile towing service the operator must
possess one flatbed-style tow truck and one hoist-type tow truck with
a wheel lift and one other vehicle with wheel lift or flatbed capability.
(2) For classification as a truck towing service, the contractor must
have one heavy-duty tow vehicle capable of towing a fully loaded tractor-trailer
weighing 80,000 pounds.
(3) All tow vehicles must carry the following equipment:
(h)
Pry bar or similar tool; and
(i)
Oil Dri or similar liquid absorbent.
(4) All towing vehicles must have amber emergency warning lights mounted
on the vehicle so as to warn approaching traffic of their presence.
The size and location of these lights must conform to New Jersey Division
of Motor Vehicles standards. The operator must have an amber light
permit.
(5) All towing vehicles must carry a copy of their rate schedule. Said
schedule must also be displayed in a conspicuous manner at the operator's
place of business.
B. Facilities. Each operator must have an outside storage lot and place
of business within five miles of the Mountain Lakes Borough corporate
line. The towing business and outside storage lot must comply with
all zoning ordinances and regulations in the municipality in which
they are located.
C. Availability and response time. Each operator must be available 24
hours a day, seven days a week, and must respond within 20 minutes
during daytime hours and 30 minutes during nighttime hours of the
original telephone call request by the Police Department.