How to Get your Vehicle Released from a Tow Truck

Last Updated on October 24, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

Joe’s parking ticket and tow story

Joe had a bad day at work, and his day is about to get worse. Joe’s car is hooked up to a tow truck, and the tow truck operator is about to start her engine and drive off. Joe lets out a roar in the direction of the tow operator and gets her attention. The tow operator waits for Joe to arrive at his car. Is Joe’s bad luck about to change?

The release of a vehicle in process of being towed.

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Yes. Thanks to Title 34, Department of Transportation, Chapter 4, Traffic Rules, [4-08(a)(9)(ix)] which provides:

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“When a vehicle has been hooked to a tow truck in preparation for removal to a pound but the owner or other person lawfully entitled to possession of such vehicle appears and requests the release of such vehicle before the tow truck is in motion, such vehicle shall be unhooked and released, provided, however, that the person to whom such vehicle is released must execute a binding agreement consenting to pay the vehicle release penalty as set forth in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph (9) within thirty days from the date of such agreement and, in the event of non-payment, to the imposition of additional penalties in accordance with subparagraph (xi) of this paragraph (9); and provided further that such person present a current valid driver’s license and either registration for the vehicle, title to the vehicle, insurance identification and keys for the vehicle, a rental agreement and keys for the vehicle in case of a rental vehicle, or company identification and keys for the vehicle in the case of a commercial vehicle [emphasis added].

The Vehicle Release Penalty

The penalty for the release of an illegally parked vehicle is $100.00 for regular towing, and $200.00 for heavy duty towing.

Commentary

Obviously, in a perfect world, you’ll never be hooked up to a tow truck. But, since the wacky world of NYC parking tickets is not a perfect world, this is a great rule, when applicable. The rule requires you to be present when your vehicle is hooked to the tow truck, but before the tow truck is in motion. Hopefully, you have the necessary documents with you or in the vehicle. And you are required to sign a binding agreement to pay to vehicle release penalty within thirty (30) days.

You can check the rules for a list of all the bad things that can happen to you if you don’t pay the penalty when due.

You may wish to check out this wild video of a lady in Shanghai, who found a very unique solution to being hooked to a tow truck.

Has this happened to any of you? Did you think you were lucky to secure the release of your vehicle? Or angry it was hooked to a tow truck? Please share your experiences. They help all of us.