Philadelphia City Council Wrestles With Reining In Tow Truck Drivers

October 26, 2010 12:30 PM

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – For the second time in two weeks, Philadelphia City Council held a hearing Tuesday on a long-running issue of wreck chasers: rogue tow truck operators who race to the scenes of accidents, often putting the public at risk.

And there are still no easy answers, as this hearing pointed out.

Philadelphia Police Department lieutenant Fran Healey testified at the hearing that the current system, in which police call tow trucks in rotation from a list, has not prevented wreck chasers from showing up at accident scenes:

“So it is not a perfect system. What we’ve done in the police department is a temporary fix until we can come up with a permanent and more solid solution. But we’re trying to resolve some of those issues.”

Last week, a Council committee debated Councilman Jim Kenney’s plan to have the Philadelphia Parking Authority get involved. This second hearing was called by Councilman Frank Rizzo, who opposes Parking Authority involvement.

Healey, Rizzo, Kenney and others involved agreed on one thing: they have to keep working to find a system that stops the wreck chasing.

Reported by KYW City Hall Bureau Chief Mike Dunn.
File photo by KYW’s Karin Phillips

Philadelphia City Council Wrestles With Reining In Tow Truck Drivers

billy

but here is the problem the police do not want to do the paper work on a reportable accident unless someone goe to the hospital plus the ratation would work if it was followed in the right way the police need to hire a few poeple to dispatch and log all tows by the police and this would stop the wreck chaser from coming out if he was not called he must move on
JAY

CITY COUNCIL WILL PUT OUT OF BUSINESS THE SMALL TOWING COMPANIES AND MINORITY OWNED WHO KEEP THIS ECONOMY GOING BY GIVING PPA THE POWER TO CONTROL THE TOWING BUSINESS IN PHILADELPHIA
tow reform

tow companies are getting paid from many sources for that wreck. you want to fix the issue, make the tow companies take the car to a city impound and then have the owner or insurance company direct where it goes
ZZBAR

Is it so hard to come up with a law to make it illegal to wreck chase? When the police call a tow company, thats the only company that should be at the location of the police request.