§ 55-46. Rotation system; towing zones., Article XI. Rotation System for Accidents, Chapter 55. Tow Trucks, Code of Ordinances, North Hempstead

Towing from the scene of any accident within the Town shall be done on a rotation system as set forth herein under the supervision of the Town Clerk acting in cooperation with the Nassau County and Port Washington Police Departments. All vehicles must be towed to the location requested by the vehicle owner or driver, utilizing the towing authorization form provided for in § 55-39 hereof.

There are hereby established three towing zones within the Town: Zone A, comprising the Port Washington Police District; Zone B, comprising the Sixth Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department; and Zone C, comprising the Third Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department. The Town Clerk is authorized to further divide Zone C into two zones if he/she deems such division beneficial for carrying out the purpose of the rotation system.

A holder of an unrestricted license may request the Town Clerk to include it on a roster to be maintained for each zone. Each zone shall have separate rosters established by the Town Clerk for regular towing, flatbed towing and heavy-duty towing.

A licensee may request that it be included on the roster list for one or more zones and, within each zone, on one or more of the regular, flatbed and heavy-duty roster lists, provided that it has the appropriate tow trucks. No licensee shall request that it be given a total number of listings on either the regular, flatbed or heavy-duty rosters for all of the zones which exceeds in any category the number of vehicles falling into such category which it has licensed under this chapter.

Each holder of an unrestricted license shall be entitled to one listing on one roster for no additional fee. For each additional listing, whether on the same roster or a separate roster or rosters, the licensee shall pay an annual roster fee of $100.

The precinct commanders of the Third and Sixth Precincts of the Nassau County Police Department and the Chief of the Port Washington Police Department shall each maintain the regular, flatbed and heavy-duty rosters for his/her respective zone, and if the Town Clerk divides the Third Precinct into two zones pursuant to this section, the commander of that precinct shall maintain such rosters for both zones. The precinct commanders shall require that a copy of the rosters be on file at the communications desk at each respective precinct, and the Chief of the Port Washington Police Department shall require that a copy of the rosters for that zone be on file at the communications desk of the Police Department's headquarters.

When an accident in the Town requiring the service of a tow truck shall be reported to the Third or Sixth Precinct or to the Port Washington Police Department, the Police Department is hereby authorized to direct by telephone a tow truck owner to the scene of the accident. Notification to so proceed shall be in rotation from the roster of unrestricted licensees for that zone. The officer at the scene of the accident shall determine whether a regular, flatbed or heavy-duty tow truck is required for each disabled vehicle and advise his/her communication desk accordingly.

Where two or more vehicles at an accident scene require towing by the same type of tow truck (i.e. regular, flatbed or heavy-duty), the tow truck owner notified to proceed pursuant to this section shall be allowed to tow as many of such vehicles as it advises the police it may supply tow trucks for in a timely manner. If the tower, upon being given its notification to proceed, advises the police that it cannot handle all the vehicles involved, then the police shall call an additional tower(s) from the rotation list to tow the vehicle(s) which the first tower cannot handle. A tow truck owner may respond to an accident scene only with its own vehicles; however, it may respond with a flatbed vehicle to a request for a regular tow truck.

If a call is made from the roster to a tow truck owner and he/she does not answer or is unable to proceed to the scene, such tow truck owner shall be placed at the bottom of the respective roster and the next authorized tow truck owner on the roster shall be called and notified to proceed to the scene of the accident.

An authorized tow truck owner shall proceed to the scene of the accident within 30 minutes after notification to proceed, or within 15 minutes of such notification for accidents within the Port Washington Police District. If such owner shall fail to arrive within 30 minutes after notification to proceed (or within 15 minutes in the Port Washington Police District), or has arrived with equipment not adequate to perform the requested services, he/she shall lose his/her turn on the rotation roster, be placed at the bottom of the respective roster and shall not be entitled to receive any compensation for responding.

The police communications desk for each zone shall each keep a ledger in which shall be recorded each accident requiring tow truck service and the name of the authorized tow truck owner notified to proceed to the accident. There shall also be entered in the ledger each call made to an authorized tow truck owner, the time of the call and a notation as to whether the call was properly responded to. The police shall provide quarterly reports to the Town Clerk setting forth the total number of accidents for which a tower was called, the number of times each tower was called from a roster and the number of vehicles each tower towed.

The Police Department shall notify the Town Clerk, in writing, of any tow truck owner on the respective roster who shall fail to answer or proceed to the scene of an accident in a timely manner. A tow truck owner shall be removed from the respective roster by the Town Clerk after the Town Clerk has received three such unexcused police notifications in a licensing year (July 1 to June 30), and the Town Clerk shall notify the Police Department in writing of such removal from the respective roster.

[Amended 7-19-2005 by L.L. No. 4-2005]

The Town Clerk shall update rosters from time to time during each licensing year to reflect additions or deletions of licensees and shall prepare new rosters for each zone at the beginning of each licensing year.