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(a) A licensee shall comply with the following requirements and procedures:
(1) Maintain a 24 hour emergency wrecker service and operate a two way communication system on a 24 hour basis. The licensee shall keep the business location required under Section 15D-20(c) open and staffed from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, except for:
(A) holidays recognized by the city; and
(B) other times for which the licensee has:
(i) obtained prior written approval from the chief of police; and
(ii) provided the director with a copy of that approval.
(2) Arrive at the police scene, if it is not a rapid response location, within 30 minutes after having been notified to do so by the chief of police.
(3) Deliver, in every instance, the wrecked, disabled, or illegally parked vehicle directly to a location designated by the chief of police without stopping at any other location or for any reason other than mechanical breakdown or problems with the vehicle hookup to the wrecker. In the event of a mechanical breakdown or problem with the vehicle hookup to the wrecker, the wrecker driver or the licensee shall immediately notify the chief of police.
(4) Report to the director all changes in emergency wreckers and equipment used in the licensee's emergency wrecker service and render all additional vehicles for inspection by the director. A wrecker without a valid emergency wrecker inspection sticker is not allowed to participate in the wrecker list or the rapid response list.
(5) Employ at least four emergency wrecker drivers who hold valid wrecker driver's permits issued under this article and valid incident management towing operator's licenses.
(6) Upon arrival at the scene of an accident and in a manner that minimizes the duration of interference with normal traffic flow, promptly clear the wreckage and debris from the travelled portion of the roadway or confine it to the smallest possible portion of the travelled roadway while removal is taking place and, before leaving the accident site, completely remove from the site all resulting wreckage or debris, including all broken glass, but excluding truck or vehicle cargoes.
(7) Request the police officer or other authorized city official at a police scene to request the dispatch of another emergency wrecker if additional wreckers are needed to clear a police scene. (Ord. Nos. 13977; 14685; 16554; 21175; 24661; 27487; 32265)
(a) The chief of police shall create a rapid response list to assign licensed emergency wrecker companies to city-owned vehicles and rapid response locations.
(b) Participation by a licensed emergency wrecker company in the rapid response program is voluntary. An emergency wrecker company may request to be placed on the rapid response list only when applying for license issuance or renewal or at other times designated by the chief of police. An emergency wrecker company may request to have its name removed from the rapid response list at any time.
(c) Each participating emergency wrecker company shall provide at least one conventional light duty wrecker and one tilt bed/roll back carrier to be available to remove vehicles as directed by the chief of police.
(d) Reserved.
(e) If a primary emergency wrecker company is unable to respond, it shall immediately notify the chief of police, and the chief of police will dispatch a back-up emergency wrecker company to the police scene at the rapid response location.
(f) An emergency wrecker company responding to a dispatch under the rapid response program shall arrive at the dispatched location within 15 minutes after notification to do so by the chief of police.
(g) An emergency wrecker company may stage its wreckers in strategic locations (but not on a freeway, highway, or expressway) to facilitate timely response to a police scene in a rapid response location. An emergency wrecker company may not respond to a police scene without first being dispatched by the chief of police.
(h) An emergency wrecker company dispatched to a rapid response location may conduct a "double tow" by loading two vehicles onto a single tilt bed/ rollback carrier, but only when both vehicles are towed from a single police scene to the same location approved by the chief of police. If the emergency wrecker company receives a subsequent request for service at a different location, it must send another wrecker to the other location.
The following are rapid response locations:
(1) C. F. Hawn Freeway.
(2) Central Expressway.
(3) East R. L. Thornton Freeway.
(4) Interstate Highway 20.
(5) John W. Carpenter Freeway.
(6) Julius Schepps Freeway.
(7) Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway.
(8) Marvin D. Love Freeway.
(9) S. M. Wright Freeway.
(10) South R. L. Thornton Freeway.
(11) Stemmons Freeway.
(12) Tom Landry Freeway.
(13) Walton Walker Boulevard.
(14) Woodall Rogers Freeway.
(15) All entrance and exit ramps and all adjacent service roads of the freeways named in Paragraphs (1) through (14) of this section.
(16) Any other area designated by the chief of police. (Ord. 27487)
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b) of this section, a vehicle towed under this article will be kept at a vehicle storage facility designated by the chief of police until application for the vehicle’s redemption is made by the vehicle owner, or the owner’s authorized agent, who will be entitled to possession of the vehicle upon payment of all costs of removal and storage that may have accrued. If the vehicle is not redeemed by the vehicle owner or the owner’s authorized agent, the vehicle will be disposed of in a manner prescribed by law.
(b) The owner or operator of a wrecked or disabled vehicle, or the owner or operator’s authorized agent, may request that an emergency wrecker remove the vehicle to a location other than one designated in Subsection (a). Removal of the vehicle to a location designated by the vehicle owner or operator, or the owner or operator’s authorized agent, must be authorized by the chief of police, or the chief’s authorized representative at the police scene, and be in accordance with rules and regulations established by the chief of police.
(c) If a licensee or wrecker driver refuses to leave a towed vehicle at the vehicle owner or operator’s designated delivery location for failure of the vehicle owner or operator to pay all fees allowed under Section 15D-57, the licensee or wrecker driver shall tow the vehicle to a location designated by the chief of police under Subsection (a) and report the change in the delivery location to the police department in accordance with Section 15D-55. (Ord. Nos. 21175; 24661; 27487)
(a) A licensee or wrecker driver commits an offense if he fails to notify and provide all of the following information to the police department or an approved vehicle storage facility within two hours after removing a vehicle from a police scene with an emergency wrecker:
(1) The location from which the vehicle was removed and the date and time of removal.
(2) The reason for removal of the vehicle.
(3) A physical description of the removed vehicle, including the year, make, model, color, state license plate number, and vehicle identification number of the vehicle.
(4) The trade name of the emergency wrecker service.
(5) The name, address, and telephone number of the vehicle storage facility or other location to which the vehicle was taken.
(6) The fee paid to the licensee or wrecker driver for removal of the vehicle and a copy of the receipt given to the owner or operator of the towed vehicle, which receipt must be signed by, and list the telephone number of, the vehicle's owner or operator.
(7) The dispatch number assigned by the chief of police to authorize the removal of the vehicle.
(b) A licensee or wrecker driver shall obtain from the chief of police impounded vehicle receipt forms on which to record the information required in Subsection (a) and any other information determined necessary by the director or the chief of police. A licensee or wrecker driver shall complete a separate impounded vehicle receipt for each vehicle removed by the licensee or wrecker driver under this article. The licensee or wrecker driver shall return copies of all completed impounded vehicle receipts to the police department in a manner and on a schedule required by the chief of police. This subsection does not apply if a licensee or wrecker driver has provided the required information to the police department or an approved vehicle storage facility through an electronic database. (Ord. Nos. 24661; 27487; 32265)
Nothing in this article prevents the chief of police from dispatching a city-owned wrecker to a police scene to render emergency wrecker service in lieu of dispatching an emergency wrecker from the wrecker list or the rapid response list. (Ord. Nos. 13977; 14685; 24661; 27487; 32265)
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