CHARLOTTE, N.C. – When it comes to towing in Charlotte, some drivers say it’s the Wild Wild West. City and state officials are working to write policies that can better protect drivers from predatory towing and booting.
“We don’t have concrete rules around this,” Caleb Theodros, State Senator District 41 said.
State Senator Theodros represents parts of Uptown, South End and Plaza Midwood where drivers are frequently towed. He plans to introduce legislation that he says would better regulate towing companies in the state.
“If you have been a repeat offender of a predatory towing company, you should not be able to do business in North Carolina,” Senator Theodros said. “There should be a limit to how much you’re able to charge for towing and booting people’s cars.”
In a meeting Monday, the city attorney’s office outlined possible actions on the city side. Council will consider requiring legitimate and licensed tow truck drivers to display decals.
“Cities like Atlanta and then in the northeast Chicago require these decals or medallions,” City Councilmember Dante Anderson said. “So it gives the residents a sense of just comfort to know that this is a legitimate business that is registered with the city to participate in this activity.”
From January to October of this year, police received 31,109 calls for illegally parked vehicles. Police got 2,103 calls for what is called “disturbance towing.”
“A vast majority of those are civil issues and disputes about fees which the city cannot regulate,” Jessica Battle from City Attorney’s office said. “However, if there’s retaliation or other inappropriate conduct in business practices, that certainly could be reported to a towing hotline at CMPD.”
Council members will take a closer look at the current law that makes it legal to tow a vehicle with someone inside.
“If somebody comes along and they’re trying to tow the vehicle and they just hop in, then they may have created a nuisance,” Councilmember Ed Driggs said. “At that point, you’d have to call CMPD and get them removed from the vehicle before it could be towed and I think there’s scope for abuse of that provision.”
The safety committee will continue to talk about solutions and give a full list to city council for recommendations.
Senator Theodros plans to introduce legislation for towing reform in January.
