A.
It shall be unlawful for any operator or the agent,
servant and/or employee of such operator to charge more than $65.
[Amended 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]
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.
[Amended 3-9-1988, approved 3-10-1988]
D.
Storage charges. It shall be unlawful to charge more
than $5 for storage of a disabled or impounded motor vehicle for each
24 hours or part thereof of the first five days and $10 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.
[Amended 4-25-1973, approved 4-26-1973; 3-9-1988, approved 3-10-1988]
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.
