Several States Targeted Predatory Towing in 2024
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New laws to curb predatory towing practices swept through state legislatures in Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia in 2024, aiming to curtail abusive financial practices targeting ordinary motorists and commercial drivers alike.
Before state legislative sessions kicked into gear in January 2024, the American Transportation Research Institute in November 2023 issued a report outlining the damages that unscrupulous predatory towing behaviors were having on trucking companies and commercial vehicles.
The ATRI report — called “Causes and Countermeasures of Predatory Towing” — named excessive towing rates as the leading problematic business practice, followed by unwarranted extra service charges. Other issues truckers encountered with predatory towing companies involved problems with truck release/access delays, truck seizures without cause, tows misreported as being consensual and cargo release delays.
ATRI-Causes-and-Countermeasures-of-Predatory-Towing-11-2023
An analysis of crash-related commercial vehicle towing records identified 30% of invoices had excessive rates or unwarranted additional charges tied to miscellaneous service charges, administrative fees and equipment rates.
Most Reported Incidents
The top 10 states with the most reported predatory incidents (relative to mileage):
• Indiana
• New Jersey
• Mississippi
• California
• Washington
• Arizona
• Massachusetts
• Texas
• Michigan
• New York
Source: American Transportation Research Institute
The geographic span of the states underscores “there is no regional pattern to predatory towing incidents,” the ATRI report stated.
Lawmakers in several states took steps to prohibit predatory towing after the report was released.
In Mississippi, Sen. Jenifer Branning (R), an attorney and business owner, sponsored Senate Bill 2635, which included widespread requirements to counter predatory towing. On April 19, Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation.
The expansive new law regulates nonconsensual towing and charges for commercial motor vehicles. It also creates an advisory board, establishes a dispute-resolution process, requires tow warning signage and bans the use of immobilization devices placed on heavy trucks except when requested by law enforcement officers.
Miller
Mississippi Trucking Association President Hal Miller expressed gratitude to the state for enacting the legislation.
“Predatory towing is an egregious practice that not only disrupts our state’s supply chain, but also costs Mississippi truck owners thousands of dollars for each unwanted tow,” Miller noted. “We are grateful to Mississippi legislators for listening to our concerns about this unfair tactic, and we thank Gov. Reeves for swiftly signing this bill into law. We look forward to our continued partnership with our state’s leaders on common-sense reforms that promote justice, fairness and safety.”
Florida Trucking Association celebrated the enactment of House Bill 179, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 22, 2024, which contained 17 key changes that took effect in July.
Miller
FTA CEO Alix Miller called the law “a huge victory for trucking in Florida, the trucking industry nationally — who have seen invoices as high as $200,000 — and the motoring public, who fall victim to predatory towing companies.”
The legislation was spearheaded by state Republicans Rep. Melony Bell and Sen. Keith Perry. It requires towing companies to set and publicize rates, itemize invoices, accept multiple payment options, and offer a dispute resolution process for consumers and carriers to challenge excessive fees.
Miller said FTA fought for these reforms. She predicted the new law will “weed out the predatory towing tactics of bad actors and make the entire industry better and safer.”
Tennessee trucking interests succeeded in helping craft new predatory towing legislation championed by state Sen. Jack Johnson and Rep. Jake McCalmon.Gov. Bill Lee signed into law on May 28 the Modernization of Towing, Immobilization and Oversight Normalization (MOTION) Act.
England
“This legislation not only helps Tennesseans but will also benefit truckers across the country,” Donna England, president and CEO of Tennessee Trucking Association, stated at that time. “Our goal is not to harm reputable towing companies but to create a fair playing field for everyone involved. We have several towing companies in our association who are fantastic to work with.”
Colorado adopted new predatory towing legislation Aug. 7. The law, enacted May 30 by Gov. Jared Polis, outlines several consumer protection measures to safeguard vehicle owner rights and create new obligations for towing companies.
It authorizes the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to deny or refuse to renew a towing carrier permit if a tower was convicted of a felony or a towing-related offense within the prior five years, has failed to satisfy a PUC-imposed civil penalty or if the PUC determines it would be detrimental to the public for a tower to have a permit. The law also creates a rebuttable presumption that the public should be protected from a towing carrier that has a history of willfully and repeatedly violated state towing laws.
Polis
In Colorado, towing carriers now are forbidden from patrolling or monitoring properties to enforce parking restrictions on behalf of the property owner. Towing law violations are defined as deceptive trade practices contrary to the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, which authorizes the state attorney general or a district attorney to file a legal civil action seeking penalties of at least $10,000. The towing carrier legislation (House Bill 24-1051) was sponsored last year by Democratic Reps. Andrew Boesenecker and Tisha Mauro as well as Sens. Julie Gonzales and Kevin Priola.
In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin enacted House Bill 959 on April 5. It was a measure with stiff financial penalties to counter predatory towing practices in two Virginia Planning Districts:
• District 8: Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Manassas and Manassas Park
• District 16: Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Stafford and Fredericksburg
The new law raised the penalty for certain trespass towing offenses in both districts from $150 per violation to 10 times that total amount for unlawful towing, vehicle removal and storage. It requires written authorization from a property owner both where a towed vehicle is parked and when that vehicle is towed. It also regulates monitoring practices that towing and recovery operators are allowed to use.
The legislation was sponsored by Delegate Alfonso Lopez, a Democrat who served in 2024 on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
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