The purpose of this chapter is to establish rules and regulations,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.49 et seq., and the Predatory Towing
Prevention Act, P.L. 2007, c. 193 and P.L. 2009, c.39 (A3812/S2567), for the towing and storage of motor vehicles from public
roadways by towing companies engaged in such business.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to those businesses
that engage in towing and storage of motor vehicles within the Borough
of Chatham.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ABANDONED VEHICLE
A motor vehicle, which the owner or operator leaves on a
public roadway, or other public property, or on private property without
consent of the owner or person in charge of the property, for more
than 48 hours, without notifying the Borough Police Department or
attempting to repair and remove the same. A vehicle which has remained
on or along a highway or other public property for any period without
current license plates shall be presumed to be an abandoned vehicle.
It is further unlawful for any person to abandon a motor vehicle on
or along any limited access highway without the consent of the State
Department of Transportation or other entity having jurisdiction over
the limited access highway. A vehicle which remains on or along such
a limited access highway for a period of more than four hours or for
any period without current license plates shall be presumed to be
an abandoned motor vehicle. Vehicles used or to be used in the construction,
operation or maintenance of public utility facilities and which are
left in a manner which does not interfere with the normal movement
of traffic shall not be considered abandoned vehicles for the purposes
of this section. Vehicles lawfully left in a rest area for not more
than 12 hours shall not be considered abandoned vehicles.
CRASH VEHICLE
A motor vehicle which has been involved in a motor vehicle
crash.
DISABLED VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle which is unable to operate under its own
power.
HEAVY-DUTY RECOVERY
The recovery of any motor vehicle 25,001 pounds gross vehicle
weight rating or over which requires the vehicle and/or its contents
to be uprighted and/or recovered from either on or off the traveled
portion of a public roadway.
HEAVY-DUTY TOWING
The towing of any motor vehicle 25,001 pounds gross vehicle
weight rating or over.
IMPOUNDED VEHICLE
A vehicle which, at the direction of the Borough Police Department,
is taken into police custody because the operator was engaged in violation
of the law.
JUNK VEHICLE
A motor vehicle incapable of being operated safely or of
being put in a safe operational condition except at a cost in excess
of the value thereof, for which a junk title may be required.
LIGHT-DUTY RECOVERY
The recovery of any motor vehicle less than 7,000 pounds
gross vehicle weight rating which requires the vehicle and/or its
contents to be uprighted and/or recovered from either on or off the
traveled portion of a public roadway.
LIGHT-DUTY TOWING
The towing of any motor vehicle less than 7,000 pounds gross
vehicle weight rating.
MEDIUM-DUTY RECOVERY
The recovery of any motor vehicle between 7,000 and 25,000
pounds gross vehicle weight rating which requires the vehicle and/or
its contents to be uprighted and/or recovered from either on or off
the traveled portion of a public roadway.
MEDIUM-DUTY TOWING
The towing of any motor vehicle between 7,000 and 25,000
pounds gross vehicle weight rating.
MOTOR VEHICLE
All vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power,
including trailers and recreational campers, excepting such vehicles
as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles.
SMALL CLEAN-UP
Minor motor vehicle debris or material within the area surrounding
the vehicle or within public road or highway and shall not include
hazardous materials or debris.
STORAGE RATES
The fees charged for the storage of motor vehicles and shall
accumulate by the calendar day.
TOWING LIST
A rotating list of all towing companies for removal and transportation
of a motor vehicle.
TOWING TRUCK
A motor vehicle employed by a towing company for the purpose
of towing, transporting, conveying or removing motor vehicles from
public roadways.
TRACTOR TRAILER
The tractor and trailer portion of a motorized vehicle, and
both the tractor and trailer combined shall equate to one vehicle
for purposes of recovery, removal and release.
Whenever a police officer orders the removal of a motor vehicle from private or public property, the police officer shall utilize the towing list established in §
256-5 of this chapter.
Predatory towing practices are prohibited pursuant to P.L. 2007,
c. 193 and P.L. 2009, c. 39 (A3812/S2567).
A. While the majority of towing companies in New Jersey are reputable
service providers, some unscrupulous towing companies are engaged
in predatory practices victimizing consumers whose vehicles are parked
on public streets and on private property. Such practices are strictly
prohibited.
B. Predatory towing practices include charging unwarranted or excessive
fees, particularly in connection with towing vehicles from private
parking lots which do not display any warnings to vehicle owners,
or overcharging consumers for towing services provided under circumstances
where the consumer has no meaningful opportunity to withhold consent.
C. The legitimate business interests of towing companies and the needs
of private property owners for relief from unauthorized parking must
be balanced with the interest in providing appropriate protection
to consumers.
D. Therefore, wherever authority exists in the law to regulate towing
and towing companies it is in the public interest to create a coordinated,
comprehensive framework to establish and enforce minimum standards
for tow truck service providers.
E. It shall be an unlawful practice for any towing company to:
(1) Fail to provide a schedule of rates/fees.
(2) Fail to provide a schedule of rates/fees to any person who was not
present at the time the towing services were provided.
(3) Make, give or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage
or undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage to any person in
any particular locality, with respect to providing towing services.
(4) Give any benefit or advantage, including a pecuniary benefit, to
any person for providing information about motor vehicles parked for
unauthorized purposes on privately owned property or otherwise in
connection with towing from privately owned property motor vehicles
parked without authorization. Nothing in this section shall preclude
a towing company, acting on behalf of a club or association, from
charging members of the club or association a fee at a rate established
by contract between the towing company and the club or association,
which is lower than that rate specified in the towing company's
schedule on file with the Borough Clerk, provided that membership
to such club or association is generally available to the public.
(5) Fail, when so requested by the owner or operator of a vehicle subject
to nonconsensual towing, to release a vehicle to the owner or operator
that has been, or is about to be, hooked or lifted but has not actually
been moved or removed from the property when the vehicle owner or
operator returns to the vehicle, or to charge the owner or operator
requesting release of the vehicle more than a decoupling fee.
(6) Charge any rate/fee, other than those charges established by municipal
ordinance, or the rate/fee specified in the towing company's
schedule on file with the Borough Clerk, or to charge a rate/fee in
an amount or for a service not listed on the schedule on file with
the Borough Clerk at the time. Nothing in this section shall preclude
a towing company, acting on behalf of a club or association, from
charging members of the club or association a rate/fee established
by contract between the towing company and the club or association,
which is lower than the rate/fee specified in the towing company's
schedule on file with the Borough Clerk, provided that membership
in such club or association is generally available to the public.
(7) Refuse to accept payment in lieu of such as a debit card, charge
card or credit card, if the operator ordinarily accepts such payment
at his place of business. Terms of use for debit, charge and/or credit
cards shall be posted by the towing company in accordance with this
chapter.
Towing companies are required, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.8,
to remove debris surrounding a motor vehicle, or be subject to penalty.
Any towing company under contract to the Borough of Chatham, after
being called to remove a disabled motor vehicle, who fails to remove
from public roads or highways any minor motor vehicle debris or material
within the area surrounding that vehicle, shall be subject to a fine
of not less than $25 nor more than $50 if the debris or material is
likely to cause injury to a person operating a motor vehicle or substantial
damage to another motor vehicle. A towing company is not required
to remove any hazardous debris or material.
Section
256-12 does not apply to impounds.
A. If a motor vehicle operator or owner wishes to have his vehicle towed
by a particular towing company, their request shall be honored, provided
they are not blocking the roadway, and providing the police officer
in charge at the scene has not already dispatched a towing company,
or the police officer has determined that the motor vehicle in question
will not be removed in an expeditious or safe manner and will jeopardize
public safety, in which case the motor vehicle operator or owner shall
be required to utilize a compensated dispatched towing company.
B. The owner or operator of any motor vehicle required to be towed or
stored shall have the right to remove all personal items and effects
from the motor vehicle unless the Borough Police Department has placed
a police hold on any such items.
C. The motor vehicle owner or his representative shall have the right
to take photographs of any stored vehicle for insurance purposes.
D. Upon request of the motor vehicle owner or his representative, a
towing company shall provide a detailed and itemized bill for all
services rendered.
All towing companies shall be responsible for collection of
all fees for services rendered. Owners are required to pay in full
all municipally authorized fees and charges to the authorized towing
contractor prior to release of the vehicle consistent with N.J.S.A.
56:13-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 2A:44-20.
If a towing company cannot repair the inoperable vehicle to
the satisfaction of the motorist, the towing company shall, with the
motorist's consent, or at the direction of the Borough Police
Department, subject to the provisions of P.L. 2007, c. 194 (N.J.S.A.
56:13-7 et seq.), transport the vehicle to the operator's place
of business or to another mutually agreed upon location. The vehicle,
once repaired, may be retained in the possession of the operator or
other repairer, pending payment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:44-20 et seq.
The operator, if other than the repairer, shall be eligible for reimbursement
for transporting the vehicle to the repair site. If the estimated
cost of repairs exceeds $50, the motorist shall be given a written
estimate of the repair costs before such repairs are made.
Reasonable clean-up fees shall be charged. Towers shall not
charge for any vehicles not actually used in the clean-up effort,
or for any vehicles that are only used to transport recovery workers
to the scene.
[Amended 1-6-2020 by Res.
No. 20-66]
Fees for towing and storage shall be assessed as follows:
Tow/recovery
|
Day
|
Night/Weekends/ Holidays
|
---|
Light-duty:
|
|
|
|
Tow
|
$125
|
$150
|
|
Recovery
|
$150
|
$200
|
Medium-duty:
|
|
|
|
Tow
|
$250
|
$300
|
|
Recovery
|
$350
|
$450
|
Heavy-duty:
|
|
|
|
Tow
|
$500
|
$550
|
|
Recovery
|
$550
|
$600
|
Storage
|
|
|
Light-duty:
|
|
|
|
Outside
|
$40
|
|
|
Inside
|
$65
|
|
Medium-duty:
|
|
|
|
Outside
|
$90
|
|
|
Inside
|
$250
|
|
Heavy-duty:
|
|
|
|
Outside
|
$100
|
|
|
Inside
|
$300
|
|
Trailer
|
|
|
|
Outside
|
$150
|
|
|
Inside
|
$400
|
|
Cargo
|
|
|
|
Outside
|
No charge (as per job)
|
|
|
Inside
|
No charge (as per job)
|
|
Small clean-up
|
$45
|
|
Yard charge/tow
|
$65
|
|
Road service
|
|
|
|
Light-duty:
|
$75
|
$100
|