Towing Issues: car towed in fire lane, traffic control device, california dmv

Question
QUESTION: I got my car towed at my apartment complex.  I was parked in a fire lane because my neighbors parked in my spot and I had no where to park.  I was parked for about 20 minutes.  I asked my manger if they could tow with out the managers permission and she said that the owner had a contract with the towing company and that they could just come in and tow.  Didn't the tow company have to notify the manager before before towing?

ANSWER: Yes, NO or who knows...

Each state has different laws and many Cities have laws which affect this.

Now as to legal or not, I can not tell you as you did not say where this happened.

Patrol towing is legal in some areas, and not in others, and in some places they will need to have a signed authorizations to remove vehicles.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It was in San Marcos, Ca

Answer
The tow company does have to have a signed authorization in order to tow vehicles. Some companies do "patrol" under the contracts, but that is a gray area of the law...

But the California laws on fire lane parking are out there online...  I have a link that goes to the whole California DMV website where you can find more information....

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm

And here is the cut and paste of the fire lane rules..

V C Section 22500.1 Additional Prohibited Stopping Standing or Parking Fire Lane
Additional Prohibited Stopping, Standing, or Parking: Fire Lane
22500.1.  In addition to Section 22500, no person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a peace officer or official traffic control device along the edge of any highway, at any curb, or in any location in a publicly or privately owned or operated off-street parking facility, designated as a fire lane by the fire department or fire district with jurisdiction over the area in which the place is located.

The designation shall be indicated (1) by a sign posted immediately adjacent to, and visible from, the designated place clearly stating in letters not less than one inch in height that the place is a fire lane, (2) by outlining or painting the place in red and, in contrasting color, marking the place with the words "FIRE LANE", which are clearly visible from a vehicle, or (3) by a red curb or red paint on the edge of the roadway upon which is clearly marked the words "FIRE LANE".

Amended Ch. 129, Stats. 1984. Effective May 21, 1984.
  

Also check out the following link  for generalized towing information rules in California

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm