Virginia towing laws

Virginia towing laws are among the forefront of towing laws in America meant to protect vehicle owners from predatory towing practices. Predatory towing affects many--those that are towed, those whose vehicles are damaged, and those that pay auto insurance. Often towing companies have such an incentive to do volume tows, that they are careless in their towing. In addition, they have an incentive to get away from the site of the towing before the owner arrives, meaning they do not always properly hook up the vehicle before leaving. Once a towing company has a vehicle, they impound the vehicle and refuse to release it until a desired fee is paid. If the fee is not paid, the vehicle is not released, and storage fees begin to accrue until the surpass the value of the vehicle. At some point, the towing company will auction off the vehicle and keep their towing and storage fees. The typical vehicle owner does not understand the laws enacted to protect them, do not have sufficient vacation time to try to enforce them in local courts against an experienced attorney representing the towing company, and can't get the local police to help protect their rights because the police are not familiar with this area of law. Virginia towing laws were supported by the insurance industry as well as consumer and government groups to prevent increased insurance costs due to negligent towing by towing operators, protect vehicle owners from abusive practices, and to help regulate towing companies. Most local governments have also passed predatory towing laws, including Arlington, Virginia, USA, whose laws are some of the most protective as discussed below.

Predatory Towing in Virginia

There is a growing concern in Virginia over predatory towing practices, especially in the larger metropolitan areas like Northern Virginia. Towing companies frequently enter into agreements with local commercial landowners (apartment complexes, parking lots, etc.), whereby the towing companies are granted unrestricted access to the property to tow vehicles parked on their property. The towing companies frequently patrol these parking lots and other private areas for vehicles. Once the towing operator finds a vehicle, he/she quickly hooks up the vehicle and takes it to an impoundment yard. The towing company will not release the vehicle until towing and storage fees are paid. If the fees are not paid, the vehicle remains in the impoundment lot and storage fees continue to accrue. At some point, the fees will reach a greater amount than the vehicle is worth. Without laws setting maximum fees, the towing companies could charge any fee they wanted before releasing the vehicle.

Under this system, the more vehicles that are towed by a towing operator, the greater the profits, so there is a financial incentive to quickly tow more vehicles. There are times when vehicles are lawfully parked, and they are still towed. There are also times when vehicles are towed and damaged by the towing operator. Often it is difficult to argue with the towing company over the damage because the owner will have difficulty showing the condition of the vehicle before towing, and the towing company will not admit they caused the damage.

Virginia recently passed new laws to prevent abuses by towing operators during towing from private property. In addition to its towing laws, Virginia also created a new board to handle towing disputes and abuses, as well as oversee licensing and other issues.

Some protective provisions of the law include a maximum fee that may be charged in Virginia, ranging from $125 to $150.. Proper signs giving certain notifying information to vehicle owners must be posted at all entrances to an area on private property.. This same section requires towing operators to release vehicles about to be towed if the owner arrives. The towing operator can only charge a reasonable fee at that time, up to $25. It requires the towing operator to contact the local law enforcement or State Police and notify them of the towing. Proper signs listing information, including maximum allowed fees for towing and storage, must be displayed at the place of towing. No towing fee may be charged for the first 24 hours of storage, and towing companies must accept credit card payments.

Virginia also grants authority to local governments to regulate towing.. Such laws may be more restrictive (set lower maximum fees, require specific details on warning signs, etc.), but may not be more liberal than the State Code. Many local governments have chosen to do that.

Alexandria, Virginia

The city of Alexandria, Virginia, has chosen to regulate towing more restrictively than the State Code.. Some of the more restrictive provisions include a maximum towing fee of $75, requirements for signs posted at each entrance to be 4 square feet in size, with specified warnings in 3 inch letters. Towing without proper warning signs is unlawful. Each violation can incur a penalty up to $250. The City of Alexandria states this is a criminal penalty, but rarely enforces it due to the lack of understanding of the towing laws on private property by law enforcement personnel. Many people either accept violations and pay excessive fees, or are forced to litigate in the local courts against the towing companies and their attorneys. Normally those plaintiffs that make it to court win against the towing companies. See the general district court for specific towing companies that have lost in Alexandria General District court (as well as neighboring Arlington and Fairfax Counties) for unlawful towing.
Arlington, Virginia

Arlington, Virginia passed a very restrictive towing ordinance in 2006 . The maximum fee is set at $100. Photographs showing the condition of the vehicle before it is towed as well as its unlawful parking must be taken before towing the vehicle. This, if properly enforced, will prevent towing companies from claiming a vehicle was damaged before it towed it, allowing vehicle owners to protect themselves better. Towing companies must provide a copy of these photos, as well as other information regarding the unlawfulness of the parking, to the vehicle owner/operator/lessee. Violations of the new law warrant a penalty of up to $1,000.

Other Virginia Localities

Other localities also have laws protecting against predatory towing.

Damage Estimate for Vehicle

Virginia law allows a plaintiff to use a damage estimate from an estimator in court if the estimate is sworn to by the estimator in a notarized affidavit with the estimator's position (estimator, repairman, appraiser, etc.), years of experience, employer/business name and address. The law states that a person should mail both the affidavit and estimate to the opposing party at least 7 days before trial to avoid the towing company from keeping the estimate out of court.

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