Companies and/or persons wishing to be placed
on the Town's approved tow list shall make formal application to the
Mayor of the Town of Johnston, or his designee, for consideration
on the approved list.
Companies and/or persons wishing to be placed
on the Town's approved tow list shall guarantee to provide twenty-four-hour
service, seven days a week, throughout the year and to accept and
promptly respond within a twenty-minute time period or lose that turn
on the tow list that rotation. Three misses in a thirty-day period
will require automatic review of tow company's application to Chief
of Police.
Companies and/or persons wishing to be placed
on the Town's approved tow list shall guarantee to provide an approved
secure storage facility with the following requirements:
A. For an applying or "new" company the outside secure storage area must be a minimum of 15,000 square feet at the same location. For an existing company of the said list, §
316-12 herein shall apply. All storage areas must be approved by the Mayor of the Town of Johnston or his designee in writing.
B. The towing company will maintain an inside secure
storage facility to secure a minimum of three passenger vehicles.
C. This area must be zoned in accordance with all Town
and state ordinances and laws.
D. The area must be owned or be under a multiple-year
lease.
Every tow company must have at least two tow
trucks and one carrier with the following:
A. Every vehicle used for the purpose of towing disabled
vehicles shall display the name, address and telephone number of the
registered owner on both sides of the tow vehicle. The words shall
be in sharp color contrast to the background and be of such size,
shape and color as to be readily legible during daylight hours, from
a distance of 50 feet while the vehicle is in motion.
B. Flashing amber lights on all tow trucks and car carriers
will be visible not less than 500 feet. (This subsection is also a
requirement under the Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Laws, § 31-24-31.)
C. Two-way communications, "radio system" excluding C.B.
equipment general.
D. Said towing companies shall maintain a large broom
on all tow trucks to be used for Town-ordered tows and be required
to remove all reasonable debris caused by incident.
E. Said towing companies shall maintain and keep in effect
beepers for the purpose of communications between the Police Department
and said towing company personnel.
F. If a tow company or his agent refuses or fails to comply with the foregoing Subsection
D, the police shall have the option to call the next tow company on the rotating list to complete that particular tow. Also, for repeat failure, breaches or violations, the tow company will be subject to sanctions and penalties imposed by the Mayor of the Town of Johnston or his designee.
Each tow company agrees to perform no repair
work (nor refer repair work to others) without the written consent
of the vehicle owner or his authorized agent.
Each tow company agrees to make no unsolicited
response to the scene of an accident or abandonment. Only the owner,
his agent or the police shall be the source of such request for towing.
Based upon the information received by the Johnston
Police Department as to the type of vehicle involved, the determination
of the authorized tow company assigned equipment needed to tow that
particular vehicle, shall be complied with by the Police Department
to the extent possible. "Car-carrier towing" will only be used or
called for where reasonably requested or required because of the special
kind of vehicle involved or because of other exceptional problems
or circumstances.
[Amended 6-14-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-9; 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-23]
Any tow company on the said Town's authorized
tow list which fails to adhere to or comply with these rules and regulations
or with the pertinent ordinances, or which shall violate or breach
the same, shall be subject to removal or suspension from the Town's
authorized tow list by the Mayor of the Town of Johnston or his designee,
with cause.
In the event of the disposal of a vehicle, by
owner to the owner of tow company, said tow company shall notify the
Johnston Police Department towing company liaison officer immediately
and follow up with documentary confirmation within seven days.
Anyone convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, of this Code.