La. Admin. Code tit. 55 § I-1911

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section I-1911 - Code of Conduct

A. Adherence to Law, Rule or Regulation

1. A violation of the provisions of the Towing and Storage Act shall also constitute a violation of these rules.

2. Tow truck operators, towing services, storage facilities, their employees or agents shall comply with applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

B. Dutiful Conduct

1. No tow truck operator, towing service, storage facility, their employees or agents, shall engage in unsuitable conduct or practices as described in this section or shall have a business association with any person which engages in unsuitable practices.

2. For the purposes of this Section, unsuitable conduct or practices shall include the following:

a. overcharging or charging for services not rendered;

b. misrepresentation of any material fact to the department or its officers;

c. obstructing or impeding the lawful activities of the department or its officers acting in their official capacity;

d. false or fictitious statements in any report, application, form or other document presented to the department, including, but not limited to, notarized documents required by this Chapter;

e. conviction of a felony relating to auto theft, vehicle insurance fraud, burglary of a vehicle, and/or possession of stolen vehicles or vehicle parts; and

f. any impairment of an alcoholic beverage, narcotic or controlled dangerous substance when operating a tow truck:

i. impairment shall mean the tow truck operator's blood alcohol concentration is 0.02 percent or more by weight base on grams of alcohol per 100 cubic centimeters of blood or the operator uses or is under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance;

ii. tow truck operators shall submit to chemical testing when required by an officer of the department; and

iii. every owner or operator shall ensure there is no presence of an alcoholic beverage, narcotic, or controlled dangerous substance within the tow truck.

C. Prohibited Business Practices

1. Stopping at the Scene of a Crash

a. The operator of a tow truck, towing service, employee or agent, shall not stop at the scene of a motor vehicle crash, disabled, or unattended vehicle for the purpose of soliciting business, either directly or indirectly; unless the owner or operator of said vehicle has specifically summoned the tow company or its employees or agents to such scene for towing or recovery purposes, or has been called to the scene by a law enforcement officer or agency pursuant to that agency's official duty and authority. This prohibition shall also include first responders utilizing tow vehicle as transportation to and from the scene of emergencies.

2. Moving a Vehicle Involved in a Crash

a. Tow truck operators and towing services shall not, without the express authorization of the investigating law enforcement agency, move any vehicle from a public highway or street or from any public property when such vehicle is abandoned, stolen, damaged in a crash, or left unattended.

b. Tow truck operators or towing services may, in emergency cases, move a vehicle damaged as the result of a crash, without the express authorization of the investigating law enforcement agency, when the movement of the vehicle is to extract a person from the wreckage or to remove an immediate hazard to life or property. In either event, the movement of the vehicle shall be no more than necessary to accomplish the purpose of the move and the movement shall be reported immediately to the investigating agency.

3. Reception of Police Radio Communications

a. Tow truck operators or towing services shall not use, or permit the use of, any communications devices capable of receiving police radio traffic, except two-way radios equipped with only the agency frequencies currently used and authorized by the head of a law enforcement agency within their jurisdiction.

4. Tow Trucks Shall Not Be Emergency Vehicles

a. Tow trucks, tow truck operators or towing services shall not install, equip, posses or permit the use of sirens, non-amber colored emergency warning lights, emergency flashing headlights or any other warning system customarily equipped on emergency vehicles for the purpose of moving traffic out of the way of an approaching emergency vehicle.

5. Vehicle Staging or Transfer

a. The operator of a tow truck, towing service, employee or agent shall not tow any vehicle to any location other than that company's licensed storage facility without prior authorization of that vehicle's owner.

b. Vehicles shall not be towed from their original location to a secondary location for the purpose of transfer to another tow truck unless the primary tow truck has become disabled and cannot complete the tow. In this case the primary tow truck an it's driver must wait with the towed vehicle until a second tow truck arrives to complete the tow.

La. Admin. Code tit. 55, § I-1911

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of the State Police, LR 32:855 (May 2006), LR 36:2579 (November 2010).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 32:1714.