QuestionQUESTION: I live in a community in California that has an HOA. There is a sign at the entry that says, "END OF COUNTY MAINTAINED ROAD," although it is not gated. Is it legal for the cops to tow the vehicle without a letter from the HOA authorizing such action? Secondly, the truck is lifted and has large tires so the first tow truck had a difficult time getting it on the truck so he called for back-up. His back-up arrived in another tow truck and merely instructed the original driver on how to get it the rest of the way on his truck. The second truck did nothing. They are charging me for both trucks. Is that legal and if not how do I contest it?
ANSWER: Well I KNOW there is more to this than what you have stated in the question....
You said expired tags, but why were they expired, how long, was it sitting there for months and months without moving and could it be classified as an abandoned vehicle... Under California law any vehicle parked on a roadway for more than 72 hours is considered abandoned vehicle.
If it was involved in a crime then it becomes a whole different ball game... if it was parked illegally then it has another set of issues to deal with... Drunk driving or was it hit while parked by another vehicle and shoved into the roadway causing a traffic problem.. Was the alarm sounding and no way to shut it off ?
But basically, any vehicle parked on a roadway be it public or private is subject to towing for any number of reasons...
Plus given the fact that most "HOA Communities" do have contracts with the local police or sheriffs to enforce laws and provide protection then they have the rights to do what is needed to enforce the laws... Does your HOA have it's own police and fire departments?
Now as to the "lifted and large tires" issue... NO VEHICLE is untowable, it just takes time or special equipment.
The 2 tow truck issue is one where things might be charged in this cause... Not defending all tow truck drivers, but not everyone is trained in dealing with all kinds of vehicles in all kinds of conditions... Do you want to try the job where you have to keep up with the 10's of thousands of vehicles which have been made and all the different variations of modifications which are possible...
Quick who is on the $5000 dollar bill????
President James Madison is the answer and what does that have to do with your question... Well see you did not know it and had to either look it up or call someone for advise.
Just because the first driver did not know how to properly tow the truck without damaging it, does not mean that he should do the job and cause damage... As a tow truck driver (I have been one for 29 years) I would call for help and as such if someone had to come out then it would be charged for the time involved...
Second opinions from doctors are not free and I do not thing you work for free either if someone asks you for help.
Now if you still really feel that it is wrong to be charged for the 2nd truck or for any of the towing fees (remember what was the reason for the tow which you did not tell me) then you always have the right to go to court to contest the fees or reasons for the tow..
I hope that you understand what I have said and this helps you...
But if you really want to do some research here on towing laws and vehicle laws and all that there is a huge site online which I use for information provided by the California DMV... You just need to work though it and find ALL the laws which apply to your question..
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm
As a side note to others who ask questions from California, please check out this site as it has many of the specific answers you need but that only you can provide... I get the tip of the iceberg in questions but I am expected to be a mind reader and know exactly what happened in the first place..
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The vehicle was not abandoned and has nothing wrong with it what so ever. The cops were called by one of neighbores because another neighbor was having a party and was being too loud. While the cops were here, they noticed my tags and decided to tow it. No crimes, no dirt, no flat tires. Tags were expried in March or April I believe. My HOA does have a security truck that drives around, but no police of its own. As far as the double charge, I dont expect them to know how to tow all vehicles but I look at it like this; when you go out to dinner and your server is in training so he has to follow another server to be trained, you dont pay double for your meal.
Answersorry for taking so long to get back to you on the follow up, I have been digging in the laws regarding towing of vehicles with expired tags.
I still did not find anything SPECIFIC which says it could not be towed from a street be it public or private but then that also means it had to be left there either.
Now the dual charges issue is one I understand your concerns. But at times it does happen in the towing industry. Heck I worked a wreck involving 2 semi trucks the other day and while I was towing the other vehicle at times I had to assist on the other vehicle and as a result charges applied for my services.
