Res. No. 843

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.7272/S.5823-A, in relation to increasing the minimum gross registered vehicle weight requirement for tow trucks to decrease illegal tow truck chasing.

By Council Members Espinal and Cabrera

Whereas, The practice of tow truck “chasing” refers to tow truck operators that illegally monitor police radio transmissions to learn of vehicular accidents and then race to accident scenes in an attempt to secure towing and ancillary repair work; and

Whereas, New York City established the Directed Accident Response Program (“DARP”) in an effort to end the practice of tow truck chasing after tow trucks racing to accident scenes caused several traffic deaths; and

Whereas, Under DARP, only licensed and participating towing companies placed on a rotating list and summoned by the New York City Police Department can remove vehicles that cannot be safely driven from a motor vehicle accident scene; and

Whereas, Light duty pickup trucks with hidden towing booms that have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of under 10,000 pounds and are built more for speed than safety still engage in chasing in order to arrive at an accident scene before the NYPD so that they can engage in unlawfully offering cars involved in accidents better tow and repair rates than might be available through DARP; and

                     Whereas, The GVWR of a vehicle is the manufacturer’s design capacity for the weight of a vehicle and its heaviest load; and

                     Whereas, It is unsafe to tow motor vehicles with a tow truck that has a GVWR less than 10,000 pounds because the weight of most towed vehicles will cause the front axle weight of the tow truck to be reduced by more than 50 percent, and such a reduction in weight will compromise the braking and steering capacity of the tow truck; and

Whereas, Light duty pickup trucks pose serious hazards to drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians when they engage in tow truck chasing, especially in a dense and bustling city such as New York City where the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles reported 11,050 pedestrian/motor vehicle crashes and 294 deaths attributed to crashes in 2013; and

Whereas, A.7272, sponsored by Assembly Member Marcos Crespo, and its companion bill S.05823-A, sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza, seek to amend the vehicle and traffic law to increase the GVWR of tow trucks from 8,600 pounds to 10,000 pounds in order to prohibit the use of light duty pickup trucks, most of which weigh less than 10,000 pounds, as tow trucks; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.7272/S.5823A, a bill that amends the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing the minimum gross registered vehicle weight requirement for tow trucks to decrease illegal tow truck chasing.

LS #5289

7/22/2015 3:00pm

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