Section 63-37-13 - Nonconsensual towing requirements; authorization; drop fee(1)(a) Before a towing and recovery service connects a commercial motor vehicle to a tow truck for a nonconsensual tow, the towing and recovery service shall document the vehicle's condition and the reason for the tow by: (i) Taking at least four (4) photographs of the vehicle, with at least one (1) photograph taken from the front, one (1) photograph taken from the rear, one (1) photograph taken from the driver's side and one (1) taken from the passenger's side. These photographs must: 1. Show the entire vehicle from the required angle; and2. Have the vehicle fill at least three-fourths (3/4) of the photograph, measured from side to side; and(ii) Taking a photograph that shows the reason the vehicle is being towed nonconsensually. The photograph must show the portion of the vehicle in relation to the reason, including any sign that the vehicle was towed.(b) Upon demand of the owner or operator of the commercial motor vehicle or the owner's designee, the Department of Transportation or the Commercial Vehicle Towing Advisory Committee, the towing and recovery service shall provide copies of the photographs.(c) A towing and recovery service's failure to produce the photographs shall create a rebuttable presumption that the towing and recovery service did not have the authority to tow a vehicle from either a private property owner or operator or a law enforcement officer.(2) Before a towing and recovery service connects a commercial motor vehicle to a tow truck for a nonconsensual tow, the towing and recovery service shall have authorization to nonconsensually tow a commercial motor vehicle. Authorization shall be found if:(a) A law enforcement officer requests a police-initiated tow and requests that a towing and recovery service from the tow list provide towing; or(b) The towing and recovery service has received permission to tow the commercial motor vehicle from the owner of the private property. A towing service shall not tow a commercial motor vehicle from private property without the owner or operator of the private property giving the tower service written permission.
(c) In order for the towing and recovery service to conduct a nonconsensual tow, the private property owner must have posted signage visible and facing the driver at each entryway into the property stating that vehicles parked on the property without authorization or inappropriately or illegally parked are subject to being towed. The sign must also contain the international towing symbol no smaller than four (4) inches by four (4) inches and be permanently mounted in a position that is no lower than five (5) feet and no higher than eight (8) feet.(3) The towing and recovery service shall not assess a drop fee to release the commercial motor vehicle after the vehicle is hooked up to the tow truck but before the vehicle is removed from the private property.Added by Laws, 2024, ch. 384, SB 2635,§ 7, eff. 7/1/2024.