[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of New Paltz 12-19-2002 by L.L. No. 7-2002. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
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 restricting the movement of traffic unnecessarily and causes
street accidents. The towing of disabled motor vehicles from the highways
of the Town of New Paltz 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 exorbitant
rates and similar abuses. The Town Board believes that establishing
a towing list for use by the police can accomplish this purpose.
A.
It is the intent of the Town Board of the Town of
New Paltz to establish a fair and uniform Town-wide policy for the
towing of vehicles. The following issues have been taken into consideration
in the development of this policy:
B.
To meet the needs of the public, unethical or unfair
business practices on the part of private towing companies acting
at the direction of Town policemen must be regulated. Towing companies
who wish to participate in the Town towing program must demonstrate
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 Town system 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 community.
This policy also allows for a fair and equitable means to resolve
disputes between tow operators.
D.
The community needs tow operators who are competent
and able to respond to calls within a minimum of time delay. This
requirement mandates an appropriate administrative response to deal
with those towing agencies which do not provide services which meet
Town standards.
The Town Board requires that any towing business
which applies for inclusion on the Town police towing list, within
the Town, must meet the following standards:
A.
All towing businesses must maintain a minimum of $1,000,000
insurance for each occurrence and on-the-hook and in-the-yard coverage
of at least $100,000.
B.
All towing businesses must maintain a valid inspection
and registration for each of their towing vehicles.
C.
All towing businesses must have secure indoor and
outdoor storage areas within the Town of New Paltz available in which
to store specified vehicles out of public access and staffed with
at least one employee of the registered repair shop, who shall be
present at least on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and who
shall be authorized to release towed vehicles to claimants.
[Amended 7-25-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
D.
All towing businesses must maintain adequate equipment
to perform the required towing tasks. Each tow truck operator shall
maintain a valid operator's license for the class of vehicle being
driven to and from the tow scene.
E.
All towing businesses must be capable of a twenty-minute
response time to the scene of the tow after receiving the request
for their services.
F.
All towing companies must make their facilities and
equipment available for scheduled inspections. These inspections will
be made to ensure that each company maintains a valid Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) shop registration, with employees on the premises
who are engaged in or capable of engaging in repairs to motor vehicles,
vehicle registrations, vehicle inspections and vehicle insurance.
The Town police must give two weeks' notice before inspecting any
towing company's vehicles or facilities.
[Amended 7-25-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
G.
All towing businesses shall comply with the requirements
for the charging of fees as established from time to time by resolution
of the Town Board.
A.
Two rotational towing lists shall be kept. One towing
list shall be for normal passenger vehicles and light trucks. The
second list shall be used for towing companies capable of towing larger
commercial-type vehicles. Only towing companies located within the
Town shall be included on each towing list. (This will be determined
by the business location as recorded on the DMV shop registration.)
In the event that satisfactory towing services cannot be obtained
in the Town, towing companies from adjoining townships may be utilized
to provide particular services.
C.
Towing businesses will initially be placed on the
towing list in random order. Once the use of the towing list has been
commenced, new businesses to be included on the list shall be placed
on the bottom of the list.
D.
Tow calls from the towing list shall be made from
the top of the list. Each company shall be allowed 10 rings to answer
the phone. Once a towing agency has responded to a call, or failed
to respond, their name shall be placed at the bottom of the rotation
list. If a towing agency uses an answering service or pager, voice
contact must be made with the calling agency within five minutes.
E.
A towing log shall be maintained at the Town police
answering point. After a towing agency has been contacted, or failed
to answer in 10 rings, the call shall be logged onto the towing log.
The log shall include the name of the towing company, the time the
call was made and whether or not the company responded. Upon the company's
response to the scene, the officer at the scene shall advise the dispatch
point of the arrival. The arrival time shall then be recorded on the
towing log.
In addition to the above criterion and procedures,
the following guidelines shall also be adhered to:
A.
Tow companies shall be available 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. Tow companies must be willing to respond to any type
of tow call, whether it be a collision, disabled vehicle, impound,
etc. Tow companies who do not desire to tow at night or on weekends,
etc., or who elect to respond only to certain types of tow calls,
will not be considered for placement on the towing list. (This does
not preclude the tow company from being called as a result of an owner's
request.) Failure to respond to three calls, absent extenuating circumstances,
will result in temporary suspension from the towing list for a period
of 20 consecutive days.
B.
Tow companies must provide one permanent day and/or
night phone number. Absent mitigating circumstances, tow companies
will not contact Town police and attempt to leave phone numbers of
on-call tow truck operators.
C.
If a tow company shall utilize an answering service,
the twenty-minute response time shall commence when the original phone
call is made and not from the time voice contact is made with the
tow company.
D.
Tow companies must accept standard methods of payment
for their service, like credit cards, and not be restricted to cash-only
transactions.
E.
In the event that a company is removed from the tow
list, the owner of such company will be afforded the opportunity to
meet with the Town Board to discuss the reason(s) for removal.
In addition to the aforementioned procedures,
Town police and Town employees shall comply with the following guidelines:
A.
The towing of vehicles will be completed in accordance
with both the Town Police Manual and the instructions, guidelines
and procedures set forth in this policy.
B.
If applicable, the towing of a vehicle shall be done
by the owner's/operator's request. If the owner/operator has no preference,
or is not present, or is unable to provide a proper response, then
the tow will be performed by the next tow company on the established
tow list for that particular town.
C.
Police officers and employees shall avoid offering
personal recommendation to motorists who have no preference of a towing
company. Members shall inform the person in need that a tow list is
maintained, compromised of certain companies which have all met certain
criteria, thus affording them the opportunity to be utilized for towing
calls.
D.
The tow company, whether the owner's request or from
the tow list, shall not be changed once it has been notified to respond
to a scene.
E.
If the tow list calls fail to obtain a response to
an incident, then the closest available, and authorized, tow company
from an adjacent town shall be utilized. The same principle shall
apply when seeking heavy-duty commercial-type tow trucks. If there
is none available within the Town, then the closest to the scene from
an adjacent town shall be utilized.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause
or provision of this chapter shall be adjudged as invalid, such adjudication
shall apply only to the section, paragraph, subdivision, clause or
provision so adjudicated and the remainder of this chapter shall be
deemed valid and effective.
This chapter shall be effective immediately
upon filing with the Secretary of State.
