[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Lloyd 9-20-2017 by L.L.
No. 6-2017.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 96.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This local law also repealed former Ch.
A110, Towing List, adopted 8-16-2016 by L.L. No. 7-2016.
It is hereby declared and found that it is of vital importance
to the traveling public that disabled vehicles be removed from the
highways as promptly as possible; that delay in removal results in
traffic congestion and may cause additional accidents; that the towing
of disabled motor vehicles from the highways of the Town of Lloyd
is a matter affecting the public interest and consequently should
be subject to supervision and administrative control for the purpose
of safeguarding the public against traffic problems and confusion
at the scene of accidents, fraud and excessive rates and similar abuses.
To serve these ends, the Town Board establishes a towing list for
use by the Town of Lloyd Police Department ("Town Police").
A.
It is the intent of the Town Board of the Town of Lloyd to establish
a fair and uniform policy for towing of vehicles from accident scenes
consistent with statutory and decisional law. The following issues
have been taken into consideration in the development of this policy:
B.
Towing companies participating in the Town towing program must demonstrate
to the Police Department that they can give prompt, safe and professional
service.
C.
The needs of the towing industry must be met by providing them with
a consistent program for the equitable distribution of tow calls within
the Town. This provides the towing industry with clear and concise
requirements for continued service to the Town Police. This policy
also allows for a fair and equitable means to resolve disputes between
the tow company and the Town Police.
D.
This chapter also establishes appropriate administrative procedures
to deal with those companies who do not meet the standards set forth
herein.
The Town Board requires that any towing company which applies
for a position on the Town Police towing list must meet the following
standards:
A.
All towing companies must maintain minimum insurance coverage as
follows and must provide evidence of such insurance (except as to
worker's compensation) in the name of the listed towing company
naming the Town of Lloyd as additional insured:
B.
All towing companies in the form of a limited liability partnership,
limited liability company, corporation or other form of organization
must provide evidence of good standing with the NYS Department of
State to confirm that the listed company is the same as the one identified
in the license and insurance and to avoid duplication of listings.
C.
All towing companies must maintain a valid inspection and registration
for each of their tow vehicles. The companies must provide the following
to the Town of Lloyd:
D.
All towing companies must own, lease or sublease either a lighted,
fenced and locked or indoor locked vehicle storage facility in which
to store towed vehicles out of public access. Such storage facility
shall be in compliance with applicable zoning and building code requirements.
(1)
The vehicle storage facility shall be under the control of the applicant
and shall not be used by any other towing company.
(2)
All records required by this chapter must be maintained at said location.
(3)
All towing companies shall have staff at the vehicle storage facility
to provide for vehicle redemption at least between the hours of 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
(4)
An inventory list for the cars on site shall be maintained.
E.
All towing companies must maintain adequate equipment to perform
the required towing tasks. Each driver shall maintain a valid operator's
license for the class of vehicle being driven to and from the tow
scene.
(2)
All towing companies must have their vehicles marked in compliance
with NYSDOT and/or USDOT regulations. (See 17 NYCRR § 820.1
and 49 CFR Part 390.)
(3)
Towing companies must have at least one tow truck with a gross vehicle
weight of 10,000 pounds or one flat bed with a gross vehicle weight
of 15,000 pounds.
F.
All towing companies must comply with the twenty-minute response
time to the scene of the tow after receiving the request for service.
The twenty minutes runs from the initial call from the Town Police
to the tow company, regardless of whether voice contact is made.
G.
All towing companies must make their facilities and equipment available
for scheduled inspections on two weeks' notice. These inspections
will be made to ensure that each company maintains the required Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registration, vehicle registrations, vehicle
inspections and vehicle insurance. The Town reserves the right to
conduct inspections at any time of any tow trucks, insurance documentation
and operator's license used by any company on the list.
H.
Towing companies on the list must apply for and receive a sticker
from the Town of Lloyd Police Department, which must be displayed
on the tow vehicle by all companies on the list.
I.
All tow truck drivers must maintain a valid license with the necessary
and required tow endorsement, and proper classification for the vehicle
being driven to and from the scene with proper endorsement, e.g.,
air brake if applicable. For the heavy duty list each tow truck driver
must maintain a valid CDL-A license and any additional required endorsements
for the vehicle being towed including tankers, hazardous materials,
doubles and triples, etc.
J.
The towing company shall remove any debris at the scene from the
vehicle being towed, including glass. Debris shall not include hazardous
materials which require manifested disposal pursuant to DEC guidelines.
A.
All applications (initial and renewal) to be placed on the tow list
shall be submitted in writing to the Town of Lloyd Police Department,
on forms provided by the Police Department.
B.
Applications shall contain the following information:
(1)
Application fee and/or renewal fee, in the amounts established from
time to time by resolution of the Town Board;
(2)
A description of the vehicles owned by the towing company, including
manufacturer, model and model year and the DOT registration number;
(3)
Proof of the required insurance;
(4)
Place and location of the storage yard and contact phone number,
including after-hours contact information.
C.
Grounds for rejecting an application, whether original or renewal,
is:
(1)
Material false statements or misrepresentations;
(2)
Conviction of a felony in connection with the operation of a motor
vehicle of any tow truck operator;
(3)
Conviction of a felony in connection with the operation of a towing
business of the company's owner or principal;
(4)
Conviction of a felony involving fraud or corruption of the company's
owner or principal;
D.
Tow companies are under a continued duty to consistently maintain and meet the requirements outlined in § A110-4B and C. They are under an affirmative duty to report any changes in status, specifically as they pertain to § A110-4B and C. To the extent a company falls out of compliance with said requirements, the company must report the same to the Town Police within 10 days of discovery of the failure to meet the requirements.
B.
Priority for contacting towing companies shall be made in the following
sequence:
C.
Towing companies will be placed on the towing list in alphabetical
order.
D.
In the event of a multiple-car accident scene where Town Police determine
more than one company is necessary, order and selection of the cars
to be towed will be determined by the Town Police, in the interest
of safety, so that the vehicles are removed promptly.
E.
Tow calls from the towing list shall be made from the top of the
list. Once a tow company has responded to a call, or failed to respond,
its name shall be placed at the bottom of the rotation list.
F.
A towing log shall be maintained at the Town Police Department and
available for public inspection during regular business hours. After
a tow company has been contacted, or failed to answer, the call shall
be logged onto the tow log.
(1)
The log shall include the name of the tow company, the time the call
was made and whether or not the company responded.
(2)
Upon the tow company's arrival at the scene, the officer at
the scene shall advise the police dispatcher of the time of arrival
of the tow company. The arrival time shall then be recorded on the
tow log.
G.
If a tow company accepts a job, it must arrive on the scene no more
than 20 minutes from the time it was contacted.
H.
The heavy duty list and light duty list will each be limited to 11
tow companies.
(1)
As of September 1, 2017, there are 11 companies on the tow list for
light duty tows and two companies on the tow list for the heavy duty
tows. In 2018, those companies will receive priority for inclusion
on the tow list under this chapter, assuming each tow company complies
with all application requirements and the payment of the permit fee
within the time limits set by the Town Board.
(2)
For years 2019 and forward, any towing company submitting any application
for the renewal of an existing and valid permit issued under this
chapter shall maintain its spot on the list, assuming the towing company
submits their renewal application and pays the permit fee within the
time limits set by the Town Board.
(3)
When a tow list has reached the maximum of 11 permittees, any new
applications received shall be date stamped and remain on file with
the Town Clerk. Upon the opening of a spot on the tow lists, the first
application to have been filed will be reviewed and processed for
possible inclusion on the tow list.
B.
Notice of suspension may be served either personally or by overnight
delivery at the tow operator's place of business as set forth
on the application. Suspension without notice shall not be enforceable.
C.
In the event of suspension, tow truck operator may appeal the suspension
and/or removal to the Town Board within 20 days thereafter.
D.
Upon the determination that the tow truck operator failed to respond
to three calls within a three-week period, absent reasonable cause,
may result in suspension from the tow list for a period of up to four
weeks.
E.
In the event of lapse of registration, insurance coverage, inspection
sticker or loss of license, the company shall be immediately suspended
and the suspension shall continue until the requirements are brought
into compliance or otherwise cured.
F.
To the extent a company suspended from the list, and the list has
15 companies on it at the time of suspension, the company's position
will not be filled until latter of when the twenty-day appeal period
has run or the appeal has been dismissed.
G.
A company suspended due to a lapse of registration, insurance coverage,
inspection sticker or loss of license may present evidence that the
defect has been cured within the twenty-day window and, if the Board
determines the defect has been cured, the Board shall reinstate the
company.
H.
If a company suspended due to a lapse of registration, insurance coverage, inspection sticker or loss of license does not present evidence to the Board that the defect has been cured within 20 days of the date of the notice of removal or suspension, the Board shall review and process outstanding applications, if any, as described in § A110-5H.
A.
The Town Police shall conduct annual inspections of the towing companies'
facilities as identified on the application.
B.
Such inspection shall be scheduled at least two weeks in advance
with a notice in writing served by facsimile, email or personal delivery.
C.
Inspections shall verify:
D.
The results of these inspections shall be in writing and placed on
file in the tow truck operator's file maintained by the Police
Department.
E.
Reinspection shall occur within two weeks to insure that any noted
deficiencies have been corrected; follow-up inspections shall also
be placed on file as stated above.
F.
Within 45 days of the scheduled inspection, the Police Chief shall
submit a memorandum to the Town Board listing all facilities inspected,
the results of the inspection and any reinspection.
B.
Vehicle owners or representatives must be able to retrieve their
vehicles Monday through Friday during normal business hours. The towing
company may charge up to $50 for an after-hours release at the vehicle
owner's request.
C.
Towing companies must provide one permanent day and/or night phone
number. Absent mitigating circumstances, towing companies will not
contact Town Police and attempt to leave phone numbers of on-call
tow truck operators.
D.
Towing companies and their personnel must comply with all applicable
rules and regulations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Law as well
as the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Town of Lloyd
Code.
E.
Towing companies must comply with General Business Law §§ 399-x
and 399-xx requirements as they pertain to forms of payment that must
be accepted by tow companies.
F.
Request forms.
(1)
The Town Police shall complete an owner's/operator's request
form for any tow request.
(2)
If the owner/operator expresses a preference but is physically unable
to sign the form, it should be signed by a person who has witnessed
the request, such as an EMT, fireman, vehicle passenger, etc.
(3)
The Town Police shall submit the form to the Chief or officer in
charge for review and filing.
(4)
The forms shall be retained at the station for one year.
G.
Police officers and employees of the Police Department are prohibited
from making any recommendation to motorists who have no preference
for a towing company. Town Police shall inform the motorist that a
list comprised of companies which have all met certain criteria is
maintained.
A.
Towing companies shall maintain records of all charges for tows dispatched
pursuant to this chapter and such records shall be available for review
by the Town Police upon request.
B.
The Town Board shall establish by resolution a schedule of maximum rates and charges permitted to be charged by towing companies for tows dispatched pursuant to this chapter, subject to annual review. Charges in excess of such authorized rates are prohibited and constitute grounds for removal pursuant to §§ A110-10 and A110-11.
A.
No tow truck operator or company shall respond to the scene of any
motor vehicle accident within the Town of Lloyd unless a specific
request for the services of such tow truck operator has been requested
by the person in charge of a disabled vehicle, a police officer or
other emergency personnel. It shall be an affirmative defense that
the tow truck operator was justified in arriving at the scene of the
motor vehicle accident when he or she was not specifically requested
to be there when his or her presence was required as an emergency
measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury.
B.
No tow truck operator or company shall charge fees in excess of the maximum authorized rates set by Town Board resolution, pursuant to § A110-9B.
C.
All tow truck operators and companies must comply with all rules
outlined in this local law. Violation of any provision of this local
law may be deemed a punishable offense.
The penalties will be set from time to time by Board resolution.
