(a)
The Chief of Police must establish a list of towing services to be
used on a rotating basis by the Bureau of Police whenever towing services
are required by the Bureau of Police. The list shall be known as the
"accident/tow-away rotation list" and the requirements for participation
in the list shall be established in this article.
(b)
Authority to impound vehicle. When any vehicle is parked or abandoned
on any highway in the City during a snowstorm, flood, fire, or other
public emergency which affects that portion of the highway upon which
said vehicle is parked or abandoned, or when any vehicle is found
unattended on a highway in this City where said vehicle constitutes
an obstruction to traffic, or when any vehicle is abandoned on any
highway in this City where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited,
or any situation caused by said vehicle that may be deemed hazardous
or any emergency by the police, said vehicle may be removed by or
under the direction of any police officer of this City.
(a)
A towing service placed on the accident/tow-away rotation list shall
be licensed according to the requirements of this article and shall
be in conformity with all provisions of this article.
(b)
The licensing application form shall have a place where the applicant
can indicate the desire to also be placed on the accident/tow-away
rotation list.
(a)
Each wrecker/tow truck applying for the accident/tow away rotation
list shall be equipped with the following required equipment: flashing
or revolving amber lights on the truck; fully charged all-purpose
fire extinguisher; one dozen red flares; a set of dolly wheels or
flatbed; safety chains; rigid tow bar; lifting boom on rear; not less
than one-and-one-half-ton power winch equipped with 150 feet of three-eighths-inch
accommodating retrieval equipment; broom; pry bar and shovel. A licensee
shall permit inspection by the Utica Police Department to verify that
it has the required equipment.
(b)
The company name must be affixed on each side of the wrecker/tow
truck. All lettering setting forth the company name, address and phone
number shall be at least three inches in height and in a contrasting
color.
Each applicant for the accident/tow-away rotation list shall
submit a certificate of a current garage liability insurance policy
and current automobile liability insurance policy issued by an insurance
company authorized to do business in the state. Policy limits must
include not less than $1,000,000 for the injury or death, $50,000
for the property damage or a combined single limit of $500,000.
Each towing service operator on the accident/tow-away rotation
list shall agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City from
any claims or liabilities which may occur as a result of performing
service at the request of the Bureau of Police.
The towing service operator on the accident/tow-away rotation
list, upon completion of a tow, shall levy tow charges against the
rightful owner of the vehicle. No fee may be levied for response not
resulting in a removal of the vehicle. The tow facility must be able
to accept credit cards, checks and cash for payment of services. The
cost of the removal or towing shall be the responsibility of the vehicle
owner or operator and shall not exceed the rates established by this
chapter.
(a)
If, at any time, the towing service fails to maintain the requirements
of this chapter or violates any provision of this article, the towing
service may be removed from the rotation list by the order of the
Chief of Police. The Chief of Police or his designee has 48 hours
to notify the City Clerk's office if the towing service is ordered
removed from the rotation list. The towing service will also be notified
by the Chief of Police or his designee of their right to appeal that
decision to the Licensing Commission within 30 days after the date
of that decision.
There shall be no more than 15 towing services participating
on the accident/tow-away rotation list at any one time. Vacancies
on the list shall be filled on a first-come, first-served basis from
an established waiting list.
(a)
The towing service on the accident/tow-away rotation list must be
available for assignment on a twenty-four-hour basis, seven days a
week, 365 days a year.
(b)
The towing service must be able to respond to any call for service
in the City area within 25 minutes of receiving the call from the
Bureau of Police. The towing service must have a phone number on file
with the Bureau of Police where the towing service can be reached
at all times. There can be no more than two numbers per towing service
on file at any given time. Failure to answer all numbers listed for
that towing service when called by the Bureau of Police for a rotation
call will be considered as a rejection.
(c)
Upon request for the rotation tow service, the service next on the
rotation must be the service to respond. The Bureau of Police must
be informed of any acceptance by the towing service on the accident/tow-away
rotation list at the time the service is first called. The service
called can accept or choose to be skipped; it cannot designate its
replacement. In the event the tow service on the rotation cannot respond
to the call, then the tow service next on the list shall be called
to respond, and so forth, until a tow service does respond to the
call. If any tow service rejects more than three calls within a six-month
period for any reason, it will be suspended from the rotation list
for a period of one month. Rejection of five calls within a six-month
period shall result in suspension from the rotation list for a six-month
period. If there are more than six refusals in a six-month period,
the operator will be subject to review by the Licensing Commission
whether to permanently drop them from the rotation list.
(d)
A tow operator may not respond for another tow service; the tow operator
must respond with the requested rotation tow service vehicle.
(a)
All towing service operators on the accident/tow-away rotation list
will keep a log book in which will be listed the time the call was
dispatched from the Bureau of Police, the date and time the vehicle
was picked up, the location from where the vehicle was towed, the
make, the model and color of the vehicle and the license or vehicle
and the license or vehicle identification number. This log book will
be subject to inspection by any police officer.
(b)
The Bureau of Police must also keep a list on all calls made from the accident/tow-away rotation list. The police officer at the scene of the accident will notify the police dispatcher of the exact time the towing service arrived on the scene, and this information will be part of the log entry, as well as the information contained in Subsection (a) of this section. The police list is also open to inspection by the interested towing service.
Any motor vehicle picked up in the City be a towing service
on the accident/tow-away rotation list must be removed to a location
designated by the owner, person in charge of the motor vehicle or
police officer. When the owner, person in charge of the motor vehicle
or police officer does not designate a place to which the motor vehicle
is to be towed, the motor vehicle shall be towed to the depot, body
shop or garage designated in the licensee's application.
(a)
Storage area requirements. All towing services on the accident/tow-away
rotation list must provide a secure storage area with space for a
minimum of 10 automobiles at any one time. If the storage area is
outside, it must be surrounded by a six-foot-high, industrial-type
fence. All premises will be inspected by the Department of Codes Enforcement
and reports issued to the Chief of Police.
(a)
If the towing service on the accident/tow-away rotation list has
accepted a dispatched call and towing is not required, that towing
service will remain the first to be called for the next rotation call.
(b)
It shall be a violation of this section for any licensee on the rotation
list to refuse to tow a motor vehicle after having appeared on the
scene at the request of the Bureau of Police, provided that the wrecker
or tow truck equipment is capable of towing the vehicle. The tow service
will not be placed back on the accident/tow-away rotation list.
A business card containing the business name and phone number
in addition to the maximum rates will be given to the vehicle owner
or operator at the scene of the accident by the towing service on
the accident/tow-away rotation list.
The tow truck operator for the towing service on the accident/tow-away
rotation list will be responsible for cleaning the area of any debris
resulting from the towed vehicle, for no additional fee, pursuant
to the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1219 (c).
The Department of Public Works is not responsible for cleaning the
area. Any tow operator who refuses to clean the area may be immediately
removed from the rotation list.
It shall be a violation of this section for any person to have
any agent, servant or employee engaged in a towing or wrecking service
to solicit business within 200 feet of the scene of any accident.
The Bureau of Police has full authority to enforce this section. Violation
of this section will result in revocation of the violator's license
and any other penalty deemed appropriate.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit any owner
or operator of a motor vehicle from calling any tow truck or wrecker
of the owner's or operator's choice.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent any person
notice and opportunity to be heard.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in
the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
