NEW TOWING LAW
• Requires a towing service to provide notice to the owner or operator of a vehicle who arrives after the vehicle is prepared for towing of the option to pay a “drop fee,” or one half the towing charge for release of the vehicle.
• Requires a towing service, before hauling a vehicle from a private tow zone, to take photos to show the violation.
•Allows vehicle owners to retrieve personal items with presentation of proof of ownership without retrieving the motor vehicle and without paying a fee - unless the vehicle is involved in a criminal investigation.
• Gives Public Utility Commission of Ohio authority to set tow fees.
• Tow truck operators who violate rules could be fined.
• Allows vehicle owners to bring civil lawsuits against tow operators who violate the law.
Source: Ohio Legislative Service Commission
FOLLOW THE LATEST NEWS
Ohio lawmakers have passed several laws in recent weeks, including changes regulating towing services. Follow our political coverage on Twitter at @Ohio_Politics.
Ohio’s tow truck operators will be rolling under a lengthy set of new regulations in 2015, rules aimed at giving owners of towed vehicles more rights.
Among other consumer protections, the legislation requires towing firms to let vehicle owners remove personal property from their vehicles without charge.
It also requires truck operators to tell owners who arrive at the scene during the hook up that they can pay half a tow charge to have the vehicle released. Tow truck drivers would have to take photos to show a vehicle was in violation.
The new law helps set some statewide standards such as a tow fee of $90 specifically for removing a vehicle illegally parked on private property, and a $12 a day fee for storage once a vehicle is towed, according to AAA Ohio Auto Club. While the rule changes apply to nonconsensual towing practices and not emergency roadside assistance, AAA says its kept up with the law to protect its members’ interests.
“The bill was meant to minimize predatory towing practices,” said Bill Linsenmayer, director of automotive services for the AAA Ohio franchise. “I think it helps define what they’re allowed to do.”
Predatory towing practices are more common in bigger cities with more traffic moving in and out and where parking spaces are harder to find, said Ken Meadows, owner of M&M Towing of Middletown. Meadows said his company is hired by property owners to remove abandoned cars at the owner’s expense. Most of the cars M&M impounds are left in the lot by owners who don’t want them anymore.
M&M Towing also responds to accident scenes when called by police. The company does not patrol parking lots at apartment complexes for wrongly parked cars, Meadows said.
“Most of the cars we get in apartment complexes are junk where they’ve been abandoned,” Meadows said.
Taking photos “should be on the owner of the property when they want that car off that property,” and a lot of times, the property owners are already taking pictures, he said.
Complaints about abusive towing practices are common enough, according to records on file with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Over the past two years, the office recorded 136 towing-related complaints. The local complaints ranged from damage to a vehicle to not getting a receipt for surrendering a vehicle to a tow company.
Roger Kimmel, 55, of Carlisle, had what should have been a minor problem — getting a receipt for surrendering his daughter’s wrecked car to the tow company. He needed the receipt to recover a tow charge from AAA.
“They got a little hostile with me, and that got me annoyed,” he said of the company. The complaint to the attorney general did get him his receipt, and AAA refund, he said.
Terry Fleming, lobbyist for the Towing and Recovery Association of Ohio, said the law changes are costly. For example, parking lot signs to warn people that their vehicles could be towed will have to be updated. He said tow truck operators aren’t appreciated enough by the public.
“They are like lawyers and police. Everyone hates them until you need them. They provide a helluva service. It’s a dangerous business out there on the road,” he said.
About the Author