One northeast state is taking a significant step toward towing reform.
Truck drivers and others know that more time spent on the road leads to a higher likelihood of eventually having an issue that requires a tow.
And there are many circumstances where drivers needing a tow may feel they have limited options when it comes to a tow service. Such situations can result in an unfair towing tactic.
Multiple states have acted so far this year to provide basic consumer protection from predatory towing.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has worked and will continue to work with states to adopt rules to protect truck drivers involved in a nonconsensual tow.
Connecticut is among the states to take action to address towing concerns.
In effect on Oct. 1, a new Connecticut law is touted to provide comprehensive towing reform. The new rule includes a “towing bill of rights.”
The Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner was tasked with developing the bill of rights. The commissioner worked with the attorney general’s office to create it.
As of the first of the month, towing companies must make the bill of rights available to the public. The DMV is also responsible for establishing a new rate schedule for light-, medium- and heavy-duty nonconsensual tows.
Connecticut defines nonconsensual tows as “any tow from a highway, street or adjacent area ordered by a law enforcement officer when the arrangements with the tower are made by the officer or the law enforcement agency.”
The state includes in the definition any tow from private property when the arrangements with the tower are not made by the owner or operator of the vehicle.
With the new rates under development, the state set interim rates this summer.
The temporary rate for heavy-duty vehicles is $700 per hour. Recovery is included. Connecticut defines heavy-duty vehicles as those exceeding a 26,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating. The overweight/oversize vehicle rate is $1,500 per hour. Recovery is included.
There is a minimum one-hour charge for both classifications. Charges are applied by 15-minute increments thereafter.
Separate rate schedules
The DMV is also required to create separate rate schedules for private property trespass towing and police-ordered towing. There will no longer be one schedule for all nonconsensual towing.
Rates are required to be reconsidered and potentially amended every three years.
DMV commissioner Tony Guerrera previously told lawmakers his agency views the changes “as a reasonable step forward to strengthen oversight and protect consumers.”
The state advises customers who believe they have been subject to unauthorized or excessive charges by a tow service to file a complaint with the DMV’s Consumer Complaint Center. LL
More Land Line coverage of Connecticut news is available.
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