Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.
Your car is disabled on a lonely road outside of town and you've called a tow truck.
Suddenly, you see the flashing amber lights of a rescue vehicle. But, when the truck pulls up, you discover it isn't the company you called.
Nevada law says that tow truck isn't allowed to help you. If it does, it's engaging in a form of "cruising," the illegal practice of roaming streets and highways for towing business.
But if you're stuck on a lonely road, wouldn't you rather accept the help if it's offered?
Tow truck operators hope the Transportation Services Authority's renewed bid to review their regulations will clarify the state's policy on cruising along with other industry issues.
The TSA is making a fresh start of its review of tow truck regulations that began last summer. Because there are so many new TSA personnel -- including two new commissioners -- since the first time the agency began examining regulations, officials decided to scrap everything they had done and begin anew.
The TSA regulates limousines, buses, moving vans and tow trucks in the state.
The agency has asked tow companies and other interested parties to submit written comments and concerns about existing regulations. One of the two new commissioners, former two-term Sparks Mayor Bruce Breslow, will preside over the review process.
Breslow said by design he has no preconceived ideas of what issues tow truck companies will bring to the review, which begins with the submission of written testimony by Jan. 24.
The TSA had an earlier deadline for written testimony, but extended it because of confusion about whether comments on rates and charges were appropriate. The agency clarified its request, saying it welcomed comments about rates as they relate to the industry as a whole, but not remarks on individual cases.
A pair of workshops, as yet unscheduled, will be conducted after the written testimony is collected.
"I'm going into this with a blank slate on purpose," Breslow said of the towing industry review. "This will be a fresh start."
High on the list of what truck operators want will be a clarification of rules regarding cruising and regulations on nonconsent tows -- those authorized by businesses or agencies that don't own the vehicle being moved.
John Plunkett, the TSA's new head of enforcement, said the agency received about 200 complaints on tow truck companies in 1999 and that complaints on the towing industry and household goods movers represent about 60 percent of his office's work load.
"Generally, the industry cooperates with us and we work with them," Plunkett said. "Most of the companies in the industry want to be regulated."
Most of the consumer complaints relate to nonconsent tows. Complaints about cars removed from tow-away zones in posted lots eventually are forwarded to the TSA.
Among the complaints the agency investigates involve charges. Companies contracted for nonconsent tows are, by state regulation, supposed to charge a flat fee. But some companies have charged mileage and storage fees when they tow illegally parked vehicles.
Companies that tow vehicles are supposed to notify owners if they fail to call posted phone numbers. Some don't. Others have complained that their efforts to contact owners by going through Department of Motor Vehicle records have been delayed by administrators at that agency who say they are swamped with work.
Several reasons
Industry experts say there are several reasons companies -- and consumers -- want the additional government oversight and more understandable regulations. Plunkett said the towing industry has gone from being a regulated industry to a deregulated system, then back to regulated. Today, some aspects of towing are regulated while others aren't.
As a result, some operators aren't clear about what they can and can't do.
Clark Whitney, general manager of Quality Towing, one of the three major Las Vegas towing operations, said many of the problems stem from there being no administrative code to match recently enacted law or there are inconsistencies within existing regulations.
Among the gray areas are the rules regarding cruising. In some states, it's legal for a contracted tow company to cruise through lots it supervises in search of illegally parked vehicles. But in Nevada, the owner of a lot has to call and request an illegally parked vehicle be moved.
It's also illegal for a tow truck patrolling a highway to assist a stranded motorist who already has called another towing company. That's another form of cruising, but some companies hope the TSA can draft regulations that serve the public and at the same time be fair to them.
"The problem is that there's a fine line between cruising and just helping out a stranded motorist," said Mark Keller, general manager of South Strip Towing, another of the big three towing companies in the city. "You don't want to see a lady out on the highway without a phone for hours waiting for a tow truck to arrive."
But on the other hand, towing companies don't want to dispatch a truck a long distance only to find that a competitor cruising the highway has stolen the customer.
Other issues Keller said the TSA may address involve rates and standards.
Some companies want to increase towing rates to keep up with the higher fuel costs and other business expenses affected by inflation.
Keller also said the TSA could strengthen tow truck driver standards on background checks and insurability, issues similar to those in the limousine, moving van and motor coach industries.
'Big can of worms'
"Right now, it's a big can of worms," Quality Towing's Whitney said, "but it's not these people's (current TSA administrators) fault."
The TSA decided last summer to begin reviewing tow truck regulations. But just after the process to open a docket began, former Commissioner Don Soderberg was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and Commission Chairman John Mendoza retired.
Deputy Commissioner Sandra Avants and Breslow eventually were appointed to replace them, but in the meantime, several administrative changes were made within the agency.
The TSA began receiving comments on the tow truck regulations Sept. 29, but at a November meeting, commissioners decided to close the docket and start over because so much staff turnover had occurred.
Commissioner Paul Christensen, the only commission holdover, once had a financial interest in a towing company and has relatives in the industry. He routinely declines participation in tow truck matters that appear before the agency.
When Breslow was appointed to the commission and was given the tow truck regulation docket, he decided to keep all the comments that had been submitted in the first attempt at reviewing the rules.
"The initial request went out some time ago, but some of the comments are still relevant," Breslow said. "People can send in comments that change what they originally had or freshen up what they sent."
The agency is seeking information on what modifications are needed on existing regulations, what regulations can be eliminated, which ones are inconsistent or in conflict with existing state or federal regulations and what changes should be brought to the next session of the Nevada Legislature.
Once Breslow has reviewed the comments next month, he plans to schedule two workshops, one each in Northern and Southern Nevada, to discuss the industry's needs. As is the case on many issues, different perspectives from companies in the north and south are expected by Breslow.
The workshops probably will be set in February or March and once the information is reviewed by Breslow it will be scrutinized by the Legislative Counsel Bureau before adoption by the full TSA and, if necessary, the Legislature.
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