[Amended 10-18-2004 by L.L. No. 14-2004; 8-3-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
This article is enacted for the purpose of regulating towing
services and solicitation in order that the peace, health, safety,
welfare and good order of the Village of Suffern and its inhabitants
shall not be endangered or unduly disturbed.
When used in this article, unless otherwise expressly stated
or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any fee, charge or other consideration directly or indirectly
imposed by the tow service on the owner of a towed vehicle other than
towing, storage or repair of the vehicle.
A tow service meeting all of the requirements of this chapter
which has been issued a heavy-duty tow service license by the Village.
Such a licensee shall be considered both a regular and heavy-duty
licensee for the purposes of this chapter.
A motor vehicle which is a truck over 1Â 1/2 tons, semi-tractor,
tractor, bus or vehicle whose weight exceeds 10,000 pounds.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, except devices
moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or
tracks.
The movement or transportation of a vehicle by a tow truck
without the prior consent or authorization of the owner or operator
of the vehicle. A nonconsensual tow does not include a tow in which
the vehicle owner or operator is present at the scene and expressly
requests that a specific tow service remove his or her vehicle, unless,
in the opinion of a responding police officer there may be an unreasonable
time delay or traffic safety hazard.
Any individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation or
unincorporated association and any principal or agent thereof.
The Police Department of the Village of Suffern.
A tow service meeting all of the requirements of this chapter,
except those required for a heavy-duty tow service licensee, which
has been issued a tow service license by the Village.
A person engaged in the business or offering services whereby
motor vehicles are towed or otherwise removed from the place where
they are disabled, parked or initially impounded by use of a wrecker
so designed for that purpose or by a truck, automobile or other vehicle
so adapted to that purpose.
A wrecker designed for the purpose of towing or otherwise
removing vehicles from the place where they are disabled or parked
or servicing the same or a truck, automobile or other vehicle adapted
to that purpose.
A hoist, haul or push, by a winch not connected with a boom
or not connected to the operation of towing, upon a flatbed. A separate
action independent of and in addition to basic towing.
No person engaged in business or offering services as a tow
service in the Village shall appear on the lists provided for in this
chapter unless a license shall have been obtained from the Village
Clerk and said license shall not have been revoked or suspended. Nothing
herein shall be construed as prohibiting any tow service whose business
is based outside the Village from applying for the same license herein
required and obtaining said license under the same terms as a business
located within the Village. Licensed tow service may contract for
the services in the Village of other tow services but said tow services
must also be licensed by the Village.
Every applicant for a license shall submit to the Village Clerk:
A.Â
A written application supplying, under oath, the information below.
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements as to a material matter
contained in said application shall be a violation of this article.
(1)Â
Name and permanent home address of the individual filing the
application.
(2)Â
Name, including the full corporate name if the applicant is
a corporation and any trade styles used, business address and telephone
number of the tow service represented and the date of incorporation
of any corporate applicant.
(3)Â
Names and addresses of all tow truck drivers employed by the
applicant.
(4)Â
The location, description and New York State motor vehicle identification
number of the tow trucks owned or operated by the applicant.
(5)Â
Whether the applicant or any partner, corporate officer or director,
principal or agent in the tow service business of the applicant has
been convicted of a crime or offense or has a pending indictment or
arrest. If so, a statement containing the date of arrest or conviction,
the crime or offense charged, and the name of the person involved
shall be provided.
(6)Â
Whether the applicant or any partner, corporate officer or director,
principal or agent is or was the holder of any tow service license
issued by any other municipality or other governmental unit and their
names and whether such license had ever been suspended or revoked.
If so, a statement of the date of said suspension or revocation, the
reasons cited by the governmental unit and whether the license was
reinstated shall be provided.
B.Â
Certificates of insurance for the coverage required and the Village
as an additional insured to include a statement indemnifying and holding
the Village harmless from any damage and requiring 30 days' notice
to the Village in the event of cancellation or nonrenewal shall be
provided with the application.
A licensee shall notify the Village Clerk in writing of any
change in the information supplied on the application prior to the
issuance of the license and during the license period, including but
not limited to any arrests or convictions of the licensee or any partner,
corporate officer or director, principal or agent of the licensee.
The fees for all licenses are as prescribed by the rates set
by the County of Rockland.
A tow service license hereunder shall be issued subject to the
following conditions:
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person to service or tow away any motor
vehicle which has been involved in an accident without the prior written
consent of the owner or operator or the police officer at the scene
of the accident.
B.Â
No motor vehicle shall be serviced at or removed from the scene of
an accident where the police officer requires or requests that an
examination be made of the damaged vehicles to determine whether the
vehicle was defective or where the police officer requires or requests
that photographs or diagrams be made of the scene.
C.Â
On each side of every tow truck operated in the Village by a licensee
there shall be legibly inscribed the name and address of the licensee
or the person having the license number assigned to such tow service
by the Village Clerk.
D.Â
Tow services shall be responsible for the collection of all fees
for service, towing or storage of any vehicle. Neither the Village
nor any of its officers or employees shall act as agent for the collection
of any fee, nor shall they be held responsible in the event of nonpayment
of any moneys due to any tow services as a result of services performed
in accordance with this article.
E.Â
When called to the scene of an accident, the licensee shall be responsible
for removing debris such as glass and metal fragments from the roadway,
the shoulders of the road, the right-of-way and property contiguous
to the scene, leaving the roadway safe for vehicular traffic. All
collected debris shall be disposed of in a legal manner.
F.Â
The licensee shall maintain:
(1)Â
Public liability insurance for personal injury and property
damage with an insurance carrier licensed to do business in the State
of New York.
(2)Â
Licensees shall give the police immediate access to vehicles
to be towed to perform a timely inventory of all person property contained
within the vehicle.
A heavy-duty tow service licensee shall maintain at least one
heavy-duty tow truck capable of towing a vehicle whose weight exceeds
10,000 pounds. A heavy-duty tow service must comply with all other
provisions of this article.
Every license issued pursuant to this article shall expire on
the first day of October following the issuance thereof, and no such
license is transferable from one tow service to another. An annual
license renewal, applied for at least 10 days prior to expiration
of the license, will be granted upon compliance with the provisions
of this article.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit towing or repair work
at the scene of any motor vehicle accident within the Village.
B.Â
The stopping of any tow truck within 500 feet of the scene of any
accident on any public street or highway in the Village and the approach,
movement or advance of the tow truck operator towards the scene without
the prior authorization of the operator of the vehicle, owner of the
vehicle, a member of the Village police force or a member of the New
York State Police shall be presumptive evidence of the intent of the
operator of a tow truck or service truck to solicit towing or repair
work.
C.Â
The Police Department shall maintain lists of regular and heavy-duty
licensees who request to appear on said lists.
D.Â
In the event of a motor vehicle accident, disablement, impoundment
or call to the Police Department for towing assistance, except in
the case of a specific request by the owner or operator, the Police
Department shall notify regular licensees on said regular licensee
list, on a rotating basis, that a tow is requested.
E.Â
A licensee appearing on the licensee list shall be required to arrive
at the scene of an accident, disablement or impoundment within 15
minutes of the placing of a tow request by the Police Department.
This time limitation shall be deemed inapplicable to incidents involving
extraordinary circumstances such as multiple accidents, blizzards,
flooding and other natural disasters and other unusual circumstances.
If a licensee does not answer the call of the Police Department or
is not available when called, the licensee shall lose its turn on
the licensee list rotation and must wait for the roster to be called
in its entirety before he is eligible to be called again. Failure
to arrive within the specified time period or refusal to tow away
a vehicle after arrival shall be grounds for suspension of the licensee's
license by the Chief of Police.
F.Â
Licensees appearing on the licensee list shall be available for service
call 24 hours a day.
G.Â
The Chief of Police is authorized to develop such other rules and
regulations as he deems appropriate to maintain and enforce effective
and responsive lists.
The Village Clerk, upon advice of the Chief of Police, may in
each case deny a license or license renewal to any applicant whom
he shall determine to be unable or incapable of complying with the
requirements of this article or for any of the following causes:
A.Â
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements as to a material matter
contained in the application for license.
B.Â
Revocation of a tow service license, pursuant to this article, of
the applicant or any proprietor, partner, corporate officer, director
or principal or agent of the applicant.
C.Â
Revocation or suspension of a tow service license issued by another
municipality or governmental unit of the applicant or any proprietor,
partner, corporate officer, director or principal of the applicant.
D.Â
Prior suspension of the applicant's previous tow service license.
E.Â
Conviction of the applicant or any partner, corporate officer or
principal of the applicant of a misdemeanor or felony which, in the
judgment of the Village Clerk, renders the applicant unfit or undesirable
to carry on the activities of a licensed tow service.
F.Â
Determination by the Village Clerk, after investigation and report
by the Police Department, that the applicant, in his judgment, shall
be an undesirable person or incapable of properly conducting a tow
service business. Factors which the Village Clerk may consider but
shall not be limited to in making a determination include prior arrest
of the applicant or any partner, corporate officer or principal of
the applicant on a misdemeanor or felony charge and a sufficient number
of complaints to the Village Clerk or Police Department regarding
the licensee's performance of tow services.
A.Â
Licenses issued under provisions of this article may be revoked by
the Village Board after notice and hearing before the Village Board
for any of the following causes:
(1)Â
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements as to a material
matter contained in the application for license.
(2)Â
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements made by the licensee
in the course of carrying on his activities of licensed tow service.
(3)Â
Conviction of the applicant or any partner, corporate officer
or principal of the applicant of a misdemeanor or felony which in
the judgment of the Village Board renders the applicant unfit to carry
on the activities of a licensed tow service.
(4)Â
Determination by the Village Board that the licensee has become
an undesirable person.
(5)Â
Cancellation or failure to maintain insurance pursuant requirements.
B.Â
Notice of the hearing for revocation of a license shall be given
in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of complaint and
the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage
prepaid, to the licensee at his business address as provided by him
in his application or such other address as the licensee shall provide
to the Village Clerk by certified or registered mail, return receipt
requested, at least 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing.
The Chief of Police or his duly appointed agent, upon receiving
information giving him reasonable cause to believe that the licensee
or any partner, corporate officer, shareholder or director, principal
or agent thereof has violated any provision of this article or has
been convicted of any violation referred to in this article or has
been convicted of any crime or offense, may forthwith temporarily
suspend such license.
Nothing provided herein shall be construed to prevent the Village
from contracting with a particular tow service for services to be
provided in lieu of relying on a rotating list as provided in this
article whenever the Village Board determines the best interest of
the Village so requires.
