Towing Issues: Unauthorized towing, maryland state police, small claims court

Question
A friend was rear ended in an accident, the Maryland State police responded to the seen, a tow truck was dispatched. The vehicle owner (my friend) did not authorize this towing company and wanted to call their own company. Police refused and the car was towed by the company that the police dispatched. The accident occurred in 2009 on interstate 695 in Baltimore County. What are my friend’s rights for refusal of towing?

Answer
Well, there are a few issues here which can affect the answer, but they tend to get complicated at times also...

First of all, the motorist does have a right on "most roads" to have the company of choice called. That being said, there are other factors which come into play.  In some areas the "rights to tow" are contracted out and only "authorized towers" are allowed to do the towing. (read this as a bid system where the tow company bids on the contract and usually the contract has language where they are the only ones allowed to tow on the road at police request)

Then there is the response time which greatly affects this issue. If you were calling a tow company which is "to far away" or would take "to long to respond" then in the interest of public safety your request is denied.  

With the traffic in the Baltimore area on the Interstates (I go to Baltimore once a year for a tow truck convention) they have to get traffic flowing quick. Its called "incident management or quick clearance programs"

As to what the motorists rights are, well I have to say that if your friend has insurance then their insurance company should handle all the claims and stuff. If there was only liability insurance well the at fault party should step up to the plate and take care if it...

If they feel truly wronged I am sure that the small claims court route would be the next option, but in most cases there is some immunity on the part of law enforcement when they "have to get the job done, or the problem solved right away"

To give you an example in that last part, in some places if a semi truck wrecks, the police and highway department have the "RIGHTS" to bulldoze the truck and all that stuff off the roadway and if they tear it up, they can not be held responsible under the quick clearance programs...  Guess who gets the blame in those cases. Yup the tow truck who picks up the pieces...

Sorry that I can not help more.