Towing Issues: Towing regulations, oregon revised statues, milwalkie

Question
My auto was towed from a parking lot in Milwalkie Oregon.  It was left there for about two and a half hours.  I met a friend in the store we decided to go out and only took one car to the restaurant.  The store closed for thr night while we were gone. There was a sign posted that stated no overnight parking, No truck, no camper parking. This is a large lot.  Returning to find my car gone we search the lot for signs and found two stating the no overnight parking thing.  We did not see a tow company sign, so I called to report the car stolen the police said it had been towed.  The tow company said that the lot was posted...we found a sign around the corner tied to a stop sign facing the wrong direction. Is there a place to check up on the regulations on this?  Is this tow legal? Does the store have to request the tow?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Well this one is not to bad to answer but it shows one of the problems with sign requirements..

Oregon revised statues, ORS 98.810 is the one which covers sign laws and posting requirements..  In a easy to understand explanation it says that a sign shall be posted at the entrance to each parking lot at the driveway area so that it is visible to motorists entering the lot...
Now at times, the signs are posted on poles and such in a manner which can allow the signs to be turned around due to wind or people just messing around, think a round pole and signs secured to them with zip ties  {wire ties} and  you can see what can happen..

But the signs stating no overnight parking does also meet most of the requirements for signs...  

Now Milwaukie is not like Portland or Beaverton (and I think Gresham)which have additional "CITY LAWS" dealing with private parking lot tows, and as such they fall under the state laws... Yes Oregon did revise the state laws the first of the year regarding towing vehicles from private lots but that and its hype were lots of "PR" for the Portland crowd of politicians.
(I am a former Portland resident who drove tow truck there for over 20 years)



Now as to checking up on the laws and regulations, this is a copy of a senate bill from 2007 which is the above mentioned changes to the laws regarding towing, and it is a bit complicated to follow as it also changes several sections of the laws-regulations which govern towing companies and their operations...

http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0100.dir/sb0116.en.pdf


Now is the tow legal from what you describe, it sure sounds like it is other than the possible issue of the "turned sign", but then again a judge would be the final one to make that ruling..

It sounds like the tow company reported the tow to the local police as required, and yes the store would request the tow. BUT since  you are outside of Portland the tow company can also enter into a "patrol" contract which is a blanket contract to tow vehicles which meet conditions spelled out in the contract. This is what it sounds like happened here. The tow company is able and allowed to cruise by the store lot after business hours and any vehicle left is subject to towing...  After all if it says "customer parking" on the signs and  you are parked at the K Mart off of 82nd and Hwy 213 at 1 AM  you can hardly be counted as a customer as the store closed at 9 or 10 PM.


I hope this helps, if not ask more questions..



PS   GO   U of O DUCKS !!!!