Orem resident Doug Wright was babysitting his granddaughter last month after his daughter called from the emergency room with her 17-month-old son.
They were waiting on stitches the toddler needed for a cut to his head, she told her father, and could he pick up her 6-year-old daughter and take her home? He obliged, driving her home to Provo, parking in a spot that his son-in-law regularly uses.
What Wright didn't know, and what his daughter forgot to tell him in the day's excitement, was that the parking spot he was in was off-limits for nonresidents of the area after 6 p.m. He learned that after discovering his car had been towed.
"My daughter wasn't thinking about where I should park when I left the ER. I have been to visit many times and have never been told I couldn't park in the parking lot because most often the case, I was there before 6 p.m. and was legally parked," Wright said.
Once his daughter returned to her home she noticed that Wright's Suburban was being chained up to be towed away. Immediately he ran out the door to stop the tow truck and save himself from having to walk home. He explained to the tow truck drivers that he was unaware that he had parked illegally and asked them to unhook his vehicle.
"I was told they couldn't do that. I asked them why and was told that it was their job to enforce the parking laws. I tried to reason with them that my purpose of being there was because of my grandson's accident and was told by them that it wasn't their problem," Wright said.
After some finagling and a visit from the Provo police, Wright got his vehicle unhooked, but only after paying a hefty $189 fee. Wright acknowledges he was at fault for not knowing the parking rules of the area but feels the fees were unreasonable and that the towing company could be easier to work with in such situations.
Provo city leaders now are hoping they can help Wright and the many others who face towing problems with a bill they'd like passed at the Utah Legislature.
Provo has enlisted Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, to take on the predatory towing problem in the city.
The proposal would make multiple changes to legal towing tactics. Provo officials have asked Stratton to consider adding a minimum amount of time a car must be parked in a spot before it can be towed. They also have asked him to create a bill of rights for owners of towed cars and to examine lowering the fee a tow company can charge an individual, which sits at $145 per tow plus additional fees.
"I don't think the punishment meets the crime in the case of the fee," said Corey Norman, Provo's deputy mayor.
Provo has been looking into what it could do about the towing issue since October. Mayor John Curtis raised the issue on his blog prior to a city council work session in which council members discussed the matter. Curtis's blog exploded with comments from readers recounting stories of when their car was towed or booted. Curtis hopes he can find some kind of resolution on the issue with legislation and possibly some changes in city ordinances.
Last week Curtis posted another blog on the issue again, citing some changes to the law that are being examined by legislators and the city council to improve the situation. But he also indicated that many of the problems that are happening now with towing could be solved through property owners setting up proper towing protocol with tow companies.
"Almost all the towing frustration in our town happens when the towing company is left unrestrained to tow at their discretion," Curtis wrote. "Often they tow vehicles the owner would never have allowed to be towed."
Curtis explained that a property owner could set stricter conditions with towing companies on when to tow a car instead of simply delegating all towing procedures to the tow companies. He noted that those who have a car towed should contact the property owners to let them know of the situation so they can decide if they should alter their towing policy with the towing company that oversees the property.
Tow truck companies agree with Curtis that they are simply following the procedures put in place by the property owner and that most aren't out to be predators.
"If that is what they are hired to do and the apartment management is telling them to do that, it is really their fault for parking there," said Mike Searle of the Utah Professional Towing Association. "A lot of it is the owner's fault. They just like to blame us. We are just out doing our job. But there are some companies that are overaggressive."
Stratton is making the bill one of his priority bills for the upcoming legislative session. Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, is expected to be the Senate sponsor of the bill should it pass the House.
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