State legislators are considering a bill packed with reforms to the way the towing industry works. The bill would implement measures around selling towed vehicles, notifying drivers of a tow before it happens and making it easier to pay for a towed car.
The General Assembly's Transportation Committee on Monday heard from drivers, tow truck company representatives, and landlords about a bill that could transform the way the tow truck industry in Connecticut operates.
“What we know is that a lot of, most of, the towing companies are working ethically and that their practices are fair,” said Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett. “There are some that are not and regulations help to curtail the behaviors.”
The bill proposes several measures, including some that revolve around selling towed vehicles, notifying drivers before their car is towed, and making it easier to pay for towed vehicles.
One measure would increase the number of days a tow truck company has to wait to sell a vehicle. The bill states that a vehicle worth less than $1,500 can’t be sold if it hasn’t been stored for at least 30 days and a vehicle worth more than that amount can’t be sold until 60 days.
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According to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, the current law says a vehicle that is worth $1,500 or less can be sold after 15 days. The President of the Connecticut State Tow Association, Tim Vibert, says it often takes longer than that and because of this, abandoned cars fill up tow truck lots.
“The people walk away from the cars, never call you, never do anything,” said Vibert. “We have some people that do call and maybe they don’t have the money and usually there’s remedy for that.”
However, Mayor Garrett says many of the vehicles towed for trespassing aren’t abandoned, instead they are cars of tenants or people visiting tenants.
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“I’ve gotten several complaints from people who live in some apartment complexes where the landlords are changing parking rules and towing people,” she said.
Another measure would require a 24-hour written notice before towing a vehicle from a residential parking facility.
“The 24-hour notice before I can remove cars from a parking lot would be a big problem,” said landlord John Souza. “In a lot of cases 24-hours is going to turn into three or four days.”
Souza is also the President of the Connecticut Coalition of Property Owners. He says he’s often calling the tow company to remove illegal parked vehicles from his properties. He says he’s also worried about having to confront people who are trespassing and says a lot of property managers are women.
“I’m afraid the other things it’s going to cause is people fighting, tenants fighting with each other, tenants fighting with the trespasser,” he said. “If someone has to attend the towing, tempers flare you know. If somebody sees their car being towed, they come outside, and you know if the property manager is there could be a chance for violence.”
