Tows are always needed, day and night. This fact, combined with the fact that there are large gaps of time when tow operators are having to wait for their next call, makes it easier for tow operators to wait for these calls at their home as opposed to the roadway or the shop. But beware: the practice of taking the truck home creates some legal issues which must be addressed.
Does this sound familiar? A semi-truck and trailer are involved in an accident. Local law enforcement calls your tow company to perform the towing and recovery. Your tow company spends all night working and cleaning up the highway. A few months later, the towing and recovery bill remains unpaid. What to do now?
Has the tow industry “stolen billions of dollars” from the transportation industry? Has the tow industry killed carriers and other small businesses with big bills? Are lawyers who represent these tow companies “accomplices to crimes?” That is what a new anti-towing group called the “Abusive Tow Authority” (the “ATA”) claims.
Is a tow company an “essential business” and do I have to pay my employees if they don’t report to work? A few weeks ago, these questions were not on anyone’s radar. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the answers to these questions are vital.
When adopting a policy around political discussion, tow companies should distinguish between what an employee can do off the clock versus on the clock. Importantly, an ideal policy should include language that will allow an employer to maintain control over the workplace. Therefore, employers should advise employees that any workplace disruptions, including disruptive political discussions, may be subject to discipline.
The towing and recovery of a tractor-trailer is a complicated situation. It involves expensive equipment and quite often results in a bill of several thousand dollars. Collecting on these types of bills is also complicated and may impact multiple insurance carriers with different types of polices. Sometimes certain policies have coverage whereas others do not.
Many tow companies have municipal towing contracts which can be valuable assets. Depending on the value of the contract, tow companies that possess these contracts are often solicited by other companies who wish to purchase the tow company and its contracts. In recent years, this has been a particularly common strategy here in Kansas City where municipal tow contracts have become extremely competitive and have been awarded to companies of all shapes and sizes.
The tow industry is unique in that much of the “work” (i.e. the towing) is performed in locations far from a tow company’s physical location. This quirk can cause confusion as to which workplace laws apply to tow companies. The most common workplace laws are those promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
In a continued push back against excessive towing charges, there is legislation working its way through the Vermont legislature that puts dramatic caps on “involuntary tows.” The so-called Vermont “Towing Bill of Rights” puts a $40.00 maximum charge on involuntary tows and caps the daily storage rate at $12.00. The impetus behind the legislation is that over “200 people…a year end up losing their cars” due to Vermont Tow companies declaring towed cars abandoned and obtaining titles to the same.
In response to “increased” allegations of overcharging, two (2) separate pieces of legislation have been introduced by Missouri lawmakers to give consumers additional protections against excessive tow bills. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) testified in support of both laws and stated that “there is (presently) no recourse or regulation whatsoever when it comes to nonconsensual towing of commercial motor vehicles in Missouri.”
