The latest ont he towing standard bill, the bill passed the house and is now in the senate. It is VERY important that you contact your senator and let them know that this is not a good bill for the towing industry. Below, we have put a copy of the statement from the Pa Towing Association if you would like to use it to forward to your senator.

The Pennsylvania Towing Association
P. O. Box
Turtle Creek, Pa. 15145
412-334-7386
Fax 412-381-8980

The Pennsylvania Towing Association objected to HB 2041 largely due to the title of "Towing Standards." We are opposing SB 1143 for this reason. The bill does not address anything that could be considered a towing standard, such as:

1) An established business, with a physical address
2) Proper limits and proof of insurance
3) Equipment requirements and standards of operation.
Most of these would surely be goverened by the transportation authority.

The way this bill is written it allows no provisions for a tower to collect storage on a vehicle that has been towed at the request of the police and they are requiring that no one be allowed at the vehicle becuase there is still an investigation going on, as is the case with a fatality. This bill would put the tower at a great injustice, by saying that we eithr allow someone to potentially tamper with evidence or interfering with an investigation, to which the police can press charges, or we do not get paid to secure it. That is not fair to a towing company, we are not the ones denying access. The storage due would then have to be paid by the police agency that has put the hold on the vehicle, which would shift the costs from the insurance companies to the Commonwealth or local municipalities.

If we are required to locate the owner, then the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will have to provide a way for us to get this information. At this time, a towing company has no access to any records to any vehicle owners that don't take a minimum of 30 days to acquire from the state. And there is no definition of what constitutes notification. Notification requirements will require administrative fees to be increased and passed on to the consumer.

This bill is stating that we are required to discuss prices with the owner of a vehicle when we arrive on scene. This means that 2 vehicles are on a roadway, blocking an intersection at 5 O'clock, the middle of rush hour, and if the owners don't like the prices, we are not allowed to clear the scene. This will back traffic up even worse, possible cause more secondary accidents. Every minute that a roadway is blocked has a negative impact on the economy in that area. This is going to drive costs up to the consumers, because towing companies can not keep rsponding to the scene with no revenue without raising costs to cover this.

When HB 2041 was introduced to the Towing Association, it was presented with the intent to curb wreck chasing. We agreed to the promise of further discussion toward that end. However, as it has progressed, it is apparent that it no longer pursues wreck chasing, but has become focused on the insurance industry and storage control, as well as requirements of payment types that do not affect the wreck chaser but would compromise the consumer's right of choice. We welcome any and all future dialogue to increase the integrity of our members.

The Towers of Pennsylvania are very concerned with the speed that this bill made it through the House, as well as what is really behind this proposed legislation, as it does not deal with "best towing practices." We feel very strongly that any legislation that involves the Towing Industry should come from the Transportation Committee not the Insurance Committee.

Cathy Tennis
President
Pennsylvania Towing Association
814-280-1230
fax 814-237-8868