Tow Truck Drivers Protest At City Hall

A convoy of about 15 tow truck drivers are circling City Hall right now, honking their horns to draw attention to protest signs attached to their trucks or written across their windshields in soap.  The drivers are unhappy because City Councilman Frank Rizzo's legislation to change the way wrecks are hauled away from accidents is now being enforced.

Rizzo's legislation was passed in June 2005 by Council.  It requires tow truck operators to be pre-qualified by the city and placed on a list at the Police Department if they want to respond to car wrecks.  The cops then call a tow truck when its turn comes up.  Previously, tow truck drivers were infamous in the city for racing to wrecks.  That led to altercations between drivers and unhappy encounters with accident victims.

Rizzo last week put out a news release, praising the Police Department for implementing the rotation system.  "This has been a major problem that affect the safety of our citizens: now we're doing what needs to be done to stop wreck chasing," Rizzo said.