Youngstown Daily Legal News

Bill lets tow firms file for vehicles titles

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 24, 2014

The Ohio Independent Automobile Dealers Association, the Towing and Recovery Association of Ohio and the Automotive Service Association of Ohio have each expressed support for a bill that would revise the state’s towing motor vehicle laws.

Senate Bill 274, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, would authorize the owner of a towing service or storage facility to obtain title to unclaimed vehicles removed from private tow-away zones if the vehicle is worth less than $5,000 and the owner complies with certain notice requirements.

“I realize that our industry is not beloved but we are honest, hard-working small businessmen and we need your help,” TRAO President Vaughn Goebel testified before the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Committee.

“Across Ohio storage lots are full of vehicles to the point that some towers simply have no place to put abandoned or wrecked cars.”

Hughes said SB 274 would revise the notification process regarding vehicles left unclaimed at a repair garage or a place of storage, establish vehicle owner and lienholder notifications for vehicles removed from a private tow-away zone and would require towing companies to use and display certain identifying information.

“I think all of us at some point have experienced the unfortunate luck of having our car towed, whether it is because of a bad parking decision or an accident. That’s why this bill impacts you, me and all Ohioans,” he said.

“I believe now is the time pass legislation that works to prevent and rectify problems that can arise when a citizen has their car towed. Not only will the provisions in this bill protect consumers by saving them money, time and confusion, but the legislation fairly addresses the need for clear guidelines to aide those in the towing business, because it’s important to note that this industry is an essential service in our state.”

In addition to OIADA, TRAO and ASA Ohio, Hughes said SB 274 is “agreed upon in concept” by the Ohio Insurance Institute, the Ohio Municipal League and the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs.

Jim Shriner, the owner of Columbus-based Broad & James Towing, applauded Hughes for “attempting to right a wrong” with the bill but expressed concerns about some of its provisions.

“For some inexplicable reason, the Ohio BMV decided the title process which repair facilities, storage companies and towing companies have been utilizing for the past 40 years should exclude towing companies,” he said.

“When confronted about this exclusion, representatives from the BMV responded its legal department decided since towing companies were not specifically listed in the Ohio Revised Code, they could not use the unclaimed motor vehicle affidavit to file for unclaimed motor vehicles.”

In the past, Shriner said towing companies were considered storage facilities.

“Not only do we tow vehicles but after we tow them, we store them,” he said. “Making this bill into law is the right thing to do. Our storage lots are overflowing. We currently have approximately 800 cars jammed into our storage lot.”

While he praised the bill’s overall goal, Shriner said there are some changes that need to be made to SB 274 before he can endorse the proposal.

“These minor changes make the world of difference if the bill is to correct the injustice being done to the towing industry,” he said.

If enacted as written, SB 274 would require a towing company to send a certified letter to a vehicle’s owner within 48 hours of towing or impounding a vehicle.

“I agree it is important to notify the owner and lienholder in a timely manner, but it is impossible to obtain this info from the Ohio BMV, write a letter and send it certified through the U.S. (Postal Service) in two days,” he said. “The lienholders argue that the information can be obtained online in just a few minutes. It can not.”

Shriner said 10 days is a realistic number for notification and he also took issue with a line in the bill stating that business owners “shall” obtain title to an unclaimed motor vehicle.

He pushed for the word to be changed to “may.”

“Although it is important for us, as businesses, to be able to file for a title, we should not be required to,” Shriner said.

“Many times there are extenuating circumstances which the business owner should be allowed to evaluate whether to give the owner, lienholder or insurance company additional time to retrieve the vehicle.”

Shriner also criticized the bill’s requirement of having a towing company provide an invoice to the operator of a motor vehicle at the scene of an accident.

“It is dangerous for our operators to remain on the scene of a highway any longer than is absolutely necessary,” he said. “Between 50 and 100 tow operators lose their lives on the job every year. Not too many people can relate to working in conditions where they might not make it home because someone slid on the ice or drank too much running them down on the side of the highway. The longer the road stays restricted, the more chance of our drivers losing their lives and the greater chance for secondary accidents.”

SB 274 is co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville.

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