(a) It shall be the obligation of all permit holders under this article to operate wrecker businesses so as to provide safe and prompt removal of wrecked, disabled or police pull vehicles when properly called upon to do so in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) The duty to provide safe and prompt wrecker service upon call includes, but is not limited to, the following specific duties:
(1) Upon receiving a call from the public safety communications center or its authorized agent, the permit holder shall dispatch the requested wrecker to the desired location. The permit holder shall provide motor vehicle towing service within 30 minutes for light-duty wreckers and for heavy-duty wreckers, from the initial request for service by the city. The permit holder shall be available on a seven days a week, 24 hours a day basis.
(2) Upon arrival at the scene of a collision within the incorporated limits of the city's wrecker company personnel shall take directions from the police officer investigating that collision.
(3) Wrecker company personnel of a permit holder which hauls any vehicle from the scene of a collision within the incorporated limits of the city shall remove the debris of collision from the public streets. This duty specifically includes removal of broken glass and metal fragments from the street, and the removal of any load of any vehicle from the traveled portion of the street so as to eliminate any hazard to vehicular traffic. This does not include responsibility to unload cargo from the wrecked vehicle in order to permit hauling. Debris should be disposed of in a manner which will keep it out of gutters, storm sewers, streams, public right-of-ways and property not belonging to the wrecker company, without the consent of the property owner. The officer on the scene of an accident may provide assistance in locating a place for disposal of such debris.
(4) Any permit holder on the wrecker rotation list must tow to a place designated by the owner unless the owner of the vehicle is disabled by physical injury and is therefore unable to designate a location for the vehicle to be towed; the permit holder shall then store the vehicle in a licensed vehicle storage facility. In all cases, the officer on the scene shall have the authority to require the vehicle to be towed to a location designated by the city for crime scene preservation and processing.
(5) No permit holders shall store any vehicles or wreckers on the public streets or right-of-ways. Permit holders shall use reasonable care in the storage of property not belonging to said permit holders so as to minimize the risk of theft or damage.
(6) All permit holders shall comply with all ordinances of the city including, not limited to, the fire prevention code, the traffic ordinances, the criminal ordinances, etc. Failure to do so will subject a permit holder to administrative penalties as set out in this article, in addition to other civil remedies or penal provisions of the statutes or ordinances in question.
(7) All permit holders shall at all times comply with all rules pertaining to minimum safety standards for the operation of tow trucks adopted by the Texas Department of Transportation pursuant to the Texas Transportation Code.
(Ord. No. 2925, § 2, 5-25-00)