hook a chain right to the axel and pull that sucker out till we have access.





j/k

You will always find a way to get a car on a tow truck.

Man, I'm glad I live in a small city! I don't have to worry about where I park and I've never seen somebody get towed here. I have an auto and I always use my ebrake so if that ever happened to me, I would have to pay a very large sum of cash to fix the damage!

That's all I care about...

you might be j/k but thats what they did to my car... and thats why my bumper is f-ed up.

Despite what you may think, two wrongs don’t make a right. I don't condone illegal activities, but at the same time, I believe there is an appropriate level of response for every situation. For example, you don't shoot a shoplifter just because it is more convenient than running after him. If some guy’s illegal parking is going to lead to loss of life or limb, then I say go ahead and do whatever you have to. But if there is no such emergency, then what is the point of possibly causing thousands of dollars in damage? Is it that hard to release the brake and take the car out of gear? If you are so worried about missing your football game, then don’t work on the weekends, or just get a VCR.

If you continue with your attitude, you had just better hope you never make a mistake or else some day you are going to have a big fight on your hands. In nearly 20 years of driving, I have only ever been towed once and I was clearly in the right. See my post (#8).

Freshman year, I lived down the hall from a guy in a wheelchair. Despite having handicap plates on his van, a personally reserved handicap space in front of the dorm with his name and plate number on the sign, VIP parking tags, and written authorizations from the university and city, he'd still get towed from his space each week. All this wouldn't have been necessary if the tow guys didn't blatantly disregard the law. One winter morning, he filmed them towing his van. There was probably 2-4” of fresh snow outside. The tow guy hadn’t bothered to brush any of the snow off the plates or windshield or even the parking sign to check if the van was illegally parked, yet there he was hooking it up. To me, that is grand theft auto or extortion/racketeering. Was there an emergency? No. Was the van illegally parked? No. Did it need to be towed? No. The tow guy went totally out of his way on a snowy Saturday morning to screw over an honest citizen. Does this further prove that tow guys are criiminals, terrorists, and sleaze? You betcha.

Come up and tow my car, leave the e-brake up, not on the flatbed mind you. You'll be certain that I will be calling your towing company, asking about your performance, and demanding that any thing damaged is replaced and that it comes out of your pay.

As I said before, you just don't fsck with a man's vehicle...

I know I'd be upset also if my car was mistreated while being towed, but you guys are forgetting the most important part. He was intentially parked in an illegal spot, as long as you guys dont do this then you wont have to worry about being towed and tires/pads/or rotors getting messed up.

Aparently you forefit all rights once you've parked illegally.

I don't think anyone here missed your point in forgetting the "most important part". I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you and quote bigEL 3 posts up... Just becuase someone shoplifts, he does not deserve to be shot... If the PD or the FD needs to get to a hydrant or whatever then I would understand if there was damage due to a heavy hose or scratches or whatever... I was parked there (intentionally) along with 5 other cars... The space isn't even critical for a firetruck, I think they have it there becuase by law they need to have a designated fire lane... While this does not exhonorate me, the least the tow truck company can do is take care of something that I believe they should take care of, which is my car, new or old. They just don't have the right to demolish my car becuase I parked illegally. I've seen countless court cases, both on tv and in person while studying law and i've seen countless private party tow truck companies loose in cases where they had disregard for the car. The plaintiff still had to pay the fees, but the company had to pay for whatever repairs necessary which range from scratches, to servere suspension and drivetrain damage (on AWD/4WD cars). Despite me parking illegally, I still have something of great value and they have to take care of that... ESPECIALLY in a non emergency situation. Honestly, I don't think the tow truck company gives a flying f_uck about the fire department and the fact that im blocking their trucks, or about the poor old lady who couldn't get the disabled spot because some ***** parked there instead... All they see is a dollar sign...

edit: I want to make this clear:
I don't believe for one second they are an advocate for the city's or anyones rights... If they see anything parked "illegally" they'll take it for their own profit and not because it is legally or morally wrong.

Some people may think so, but in this country, even convicted mass murderers on death row still have rights. But apparently some tow truck drivers think alleged illegal parking gives them free reign to do whatever they please. And they assume the role of judge, jury, and executioner. How did the guy know that the car did not belong to a volunteer fire marshall responding to official business? Check out this insane story: http://cms.firehouse.com/content/art...Id=17&id=39358

Besides, in this case, it was the driver who broke the law, not his car. Punish the driver, not the car!

You make a good point. I honnestly feel that they should atleast dis able the rear breakes, there is a cable that can be disconnected to dis engage the rear, maybe it would be a bit much for them to have to learn where it would be on most cars and how to dis-able it but would be a plus.

I agree with your statement but to play devils advocate in you specific case if they were the type of company who wouldnt damage a vechicle, what is expected of them to do in that case? your parked illegally, but your rear breaks are up and they dont want to cause damage (cause they know they'd be in the wrong)? Do they just leave it? or beat on every door in the neighborhood to find the owner?

Legally, they can snap the cable between the ebrake and the wheels which i think would be better than towing my car 20 miles with my ebrake all the way up. But since they are interested in quantity, they just don't care and this is the problem. The tow guy admitted he was just going to come back and get more... as soon as he gave me my car back, he went in and took another car out... a BMW X5 from the front... (I dont know if that damages the RWD system but w/e... lets see what happens)

arent they obligated by law to tow from the opposite end where the wheels get power from? ( back wheels for FWD, Front wheel for RWD ).

I gueess if an AWD car was getting towed he's screwed either way.

the guy towing my car was a low class piece of sh~t. I doubt he knows much about drivetrains or any real specifics...

I don't think there's any kind of law for that... obviously towing "the wrong way" is a bad idea, since the wheels lock and all you do is make a huge mess, a ton of noise and damage the vehicle. And at least in the case of a repo, it's in their best interest that the vehicle is in good condition for the lien holder.

But as far as "getting it out", they'll do whatever they gotta do. I've seen people work MAGIC on tight spaces with the newer trucks... they'll swivel around and hook, pull the car out until the front is free, then move up and hook it properly. I've seen them pull FWD backwards from a lot, then drive a block and turn it around to hook it the right way.

I think for some of the less respectable places, all they care about is getting the car out of there before you show up. In the case of a repo, they want to make as less noise as possible, but they REALLY gotta get that car out of there before the owner shows up, so it boils down to access and how much time they have. I think if they catch somebody at the mall or a movie theater parking lot, then they'll probably figure they have more time than if they're at somebody's driveway.

I think you guys don't understand what I am trying to say.

I do not drive around looking for illegally parked cars. I am not the one that makes the decision to tow a car.
The police officer is the one that makes the decision, BUT once they page me and I drive over there, if the owner of the car comes running out, it is up to ME if I want to let it go or tow it. Either way, you will pay for it.

You guys are comparing shoplifting to improper parking now?

I don't have an attitute about this, but YOU as the person who parks his car illegally, are NOT the victim. I do what I have to do.
This is not a personal war I am trying to start here. If you park your car in a spot you're not supposed to, you better be ready for consequences.

- Jason

You mean like this?

In this example, i clearly understand what was done... then again they couldve routed the hose on top of the car or something....

or maybe under the car? the hose arches up as much as it would under the car i think... i believe someone in that example was on a power trip even though the bmw is clearly and blatantly parked improperly...

as someone mentioned earlier, two wrongs don't make a right... and thats clearly a matter of opinion as some of you guys think "tough luck".

again, where i parked was clearly my bad... this experience will clearly affect where i park or where i take my car in the future... but i still believe that tow truck companies should use more caution when hauling off someone else's property... once its hooked, there is no need to book as the person will be paying either way right?...

I think you are right, but still, you wont win any popularity contests. I think the main difference between you and most that are on the forum here, is conscience. You have a job to do, but nearly 40 hours per week plus overtime, you cause people grief, not only in a dollar sense, but even in a physical damage sense. The person who started this thread was wrong, but it seems to me from what he says he realizes it.

Food for thought: if you have a job, that pays well, and you feel a sense of reward when the day is done, or, if you are a student and aspire to such, you should feel thankful. Could you imagine towing people's cars away for a living? Dunno about you, but it doesn't sound like it would be rewarding, regardless of what they get paid, be it 35k or 70k, or even 100k.

I agree man, I love my car to death and am VERY **** about where I park who's around it etc... I have to be VERY careful with driveways and speed bumps and potholes and dips and what not because the car is lowered with a full body kit. I WOULD KILL a tow truck driver or sue the tow truck company to Chapter 11 if they towed my car and caused damage to it. NO ONE GIVES a tow truck driver, or company the right to damage anyone's property. If someone is parked illegal and the as*hole tow truck driver realizes that damage might be an issue he should get a flatbed... no one deserves to have their vehicle one of most prized possessions next to a house damaged because of scumbags that don't give a fu*k about your car or you.

towtrucks can kiss my aZz

mine too

Tow truck drivers really are scumbags. They make money off of people's grief. What's worse, they've probably been in the business long enough so they're convinced that they're doing a good thing.

Sorry for the rant and if I offended anyone. The last thing a broke high school senior needs is for his Maxima to be towed 3 ****ing miles with the handbrake up.

If I had a choice between a store parking lot and a metered space, I'd probably take the metered space.

Thank ya...I was gonna say that, but you beat me to it by like 15 hours...

I've never been towed, and I hope I never have to deal with that, especially since I'm always careful where I park my car.

here is a link that gives tells tow truck drivers the law though it only applies in montana.

http://www.montanatowing.com/towtruckact.html

I'll post the liability section

61-8-906. Liability insurance -- storage requirements. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of 61-6-301, a commercial tow truck operator shall continuously provide:
(a) insurance against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death or damage to property caused by the maintenance or use of a commercial tow truck, as defined in 61-9-416, or occurring on the business premises of a commercial tow truck operator in an amount not less than:
(i) $300,000 for class A tow trucks;
(ii) $500,000 for class B tow trucks; and
(iii) $750,000 for class C tow trucks;
(b) insurance in an amount not less than $20,000 to cover the damage to cargo or other property entrusted to the care of the commercial tow truck operator; and
(c) garage or on-hook liability insurance in an amount not less than $50,000.
(2) A commercial tow truck operator shall provide proof of the insurance required in subsection (1) to the public service commission.
(3) A qualified tow truck operator shall provide a storage facility, either a fenced lot or a building, that is:
(a) adequate for the secure storage and safekeeping of stored vehicles;
(b) located in a place that is reasonably convenient for public access;
(c) available to public access between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays;
(d) large enough to store all the vehicles towed for law enforcement agencies; and
(e) if a fenced lot, constructed of chain link at least 6 feet high or constructed of materials and in a manner sufficient to deter trespassing or vandalism.

(f) Must be able to pass a 6th grade aptitude test and understand the following concepts:

(i) drive wheels
(ii) parking brake
(iii) less than 30 mph
(iv) dolly

crappy!!!!!!!!!