[Amended 4-25-1973, approved 4-26-1973; 5-23-1973, approved 5-24-1973; 10-12-1983, approved 10-13-1983; 3-9-1988, approved 3-10-1988; 5-9-2012, approved 5-10-2012; 11-13-2024, approved 11-14-2024]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any operator or the agent, servant and/or employee of such operator to charge more than $175.
B. 
Services to be included in maximum charges. The maximum charges for towing hereinabove set forth shall include the normal services required to prepare the disabled or impounded motor vehicle for such towing.
C. 
Charges for additional services. In addition to the maximum towing charges hereinabove set forth, the tow truck operator or the agent, servant and/or employee of such operator is authorized to charge an additional charge, not to exceed $25, for services necessarily rendered by such operator or his agent, servant and/or employee to prepare a disabled motor vehicle for towing. Such additional fee is to be limited only to those instances where a disabled motor vehicle is in an overturned condition or is in a ditch or where a flatbed truck is utilized.
D. 
Storage charges. It shall be unlawful to charge more than $20 for storage of a disabled or impounded motor vehicle for each 24 hours or part thereof of the first five days and $40 for each 24 hours thereafter. No charge shall be made for storage for that period of time during which the tow truck operator is making authorized repairs to a disabled motor vehicle.
No tow truck operator nor any agent, servant and/or employee of such operator shall distribute any business card to members of the police force for the purpose of soliciting business from the public.
A tow truck operator or an agent, servant and/or employee of such operator shall not remove a vehicle involved in an accident or otherwise disabled without an authorization on a form prescribed by the Commissioner, signed by the owner of the vehicle or other person in charge thereof. Such authorization shall be for the towing and storage of the vehicle only and shall show the rates to be charged for towing and storing said vehicle. Such signed authorization shall be retained by the licensed tow truck operator for a period of one year and shall be exhibited upon the demand of the Commissioner or his duly authorized representative. It shall be unlawful for a tow truck operator or an agent, servant and/or employee of such operator to use any other form than that prescribed by the Commissioner. If the owner or other persons in charge of such disabled motor vehicle is physically unable to give such authorization for the towing and/or storage of said disabled vehicle, such vehicle shall not be towed away from the scene of the accident or disablement except as permitted by law or upon the order of a uniformed police officer.
A duplicate of the bill for towing and/or storage of a disabled or impounded motor vehicle shall be retained by the towing car operator for a period of one year. These bills shall be exhibited upon demand of the Commissioner or his duly authorized representative. Upon payment of the bill given to the owner of the disabled or impounded vehicle or his authorized representative, the operator shall acknowledge receipt of payment of such bill.
No tow truck shall display any light other than white or yellow so as to be visible from a point in front of the vehicle at any time except when at an actual scene of an accident or other emergency or while actually engaged in towing a disabled vehicle.
[Amended 4-25-1973, approved 4-26-1973]
The operator of a tow truck shall not have installed in said tow truck a radio set capable of receiving signals or messages transmitted on the frequencies allocated for police use, nor shall such operator or any agent, servant and/or employee of such operator make use of such signals so transmitted in connection with such operator's tow truck business.
It shall be unlawful for a tow truck operator or an agent, servant and/or employee of such operator to make repairs for a consideration on any motor vehicle involved in any accident and removed by a tow truck without first entering into a signed agreement with the owner or other person in charge of said motor vehicle, setting forth the cost of repairs, and in those cases where such agreement is made, no fee or charge shall be made for the estimate of the cost of repairs. The form to be used for such agreement shall be retained by the tow truck operator for a period of one year and shall be exhibited upon demand of the Commissioner or his duly authorized representative. In any case where the owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle involved in an accident is to be hospitalized, the agreement herein provided for shall not be entered into with such injured party until the expiration of at least 24 hours from the time of such accident unless the injured party has, before the expiration of said time, been discharged from the hospital. The authorization form to repair, required hereunder, must be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner.
It shall be unlawful for any operator or an agent, servant and/or employee of such operator to drive or cruise along any street or highway within the City for the sole purpose of soliciting tow truck jobs. It shall be deemed to be presumptive evidence of the violation of this chapter when any tow truck arrives upon the scene of an accident without having first been summoned thereto either by the owner or operator of the motor vehicle involved in said accident or a member of the Police Department of the City of Mount Vernon.
It shall be unlawful for any tow truck operator or an agent, servant and/or employee of such operator to refuse to tow a disabled motor vehicle if the owner or person in charge of said motor vehicle is able and willing to pay for such services, or to refuse to tow such disabled vehicle to a repair shop designated by the owner or person in charge of said motor vehicle if such designated repair shop is within the City of Mount Vernon, unless the tow truck is otherwise engaged in service or is not in service.
Every tow truck shall be identified by lettering permanently painted or placed on the exteriors of both doors of the vehicle, on the panels below the windows, stating the name of the tow truck operator and the words "tow truck," which lettering shall be of such height as prescribed by the Commissioner on the application form.
Every operator shall maintain a daily manifest upon which shall be recorded all tow jobs made each day, showing time and place of origin, who ordered the tow and the destination of each trip and amount of fee. All manifests shall be completed and returned to the tow truck operator by his driver upon the conclusion of his tour of duty. The forms for each manifest shall be furnished to the driver by the tow truck operator and shall be in a form approved by the Commissioner. Every tow truck operator shall retain and preserve all manifests in a safe place for a period of at least one year, and they shall be made available for inspection by the Commissioner or his duly authorized representative.