Know Your Towing Rights : Wreck Chasers : Discovery Channel

Know Your Towing Rights

By Gallagher Flinn

Tow truck drivers are usually the good guys. They help us out when things go wrong, pulling us out of ditches when we fall asleep at the wheel or getting us to the mechanic when we forget to change the oil in our cars for five years.

But towers aren't always on our side. When we park illegally, there are plenty of towers ready to cart off our vehicles and ransom them in exchange for hefty impound fees.

Recently, predatory towing has exploded as mercenary towers hunt down illegal parkers, using every tool and legal loophole at their disposal to capture cars. Worst of all, these towers are fast and good at their jobs -- which means that 10 minutes of illegal parking can end up costing you hundreds of dollars.

While local and state governments are trying to clamp down on exploitative towing practices, it's still a jungle out there. Luckily, forewarned is forearmed. Read on for an overview of 10 important rights you have (and some you don't have) if you get towed.

How Far Can Towers Take Your Car?
Laws vary about how far a tower can take your car. The limit is usually between 10 and 20 miles. That's not a huge distance for car owners, but since you're going to be temporarily on foot after a tow, it can be a huge pain. And while it's easy to imagine a dastardly moustache-twirling tow truck driver laughing as he takes your car as far as possible, that's not what really happens.

Towing your car out into the boondocks isn't in the financial interests of even the most unscrupulous tower. The extra distance means wasted time and gas, both of which could otherwise be used picking up other illegal parkers.

Is Short Towing Legal?
Towers are constantly racing against the clock. The faster they can get illegally parked cars back to the impound lot, the more money they make. But if a tower comes across a particularly juicy cluster of cars, there's a problem: How does he get to all of them before some other tow truck driver comes along?

Enter the short tow. Instead of going back and forth from the impound lot all night, it's much more economical to just tow each of the cars somewhere close by and safe. Then, the tower can pick them up leisurely instead of having to worry about other towers finding them or the cars' owners coming back.

So, what are your rights when it comes to short tows? Well, you don't really have any in this scenario. Short towing isn't technically illegal — it's just a sneaky move to cart off as much loot as possible. Consider it the automotive equivalent of filling your pockets with shrimp in a buffet line.

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Know Your Towing Rights

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