GSTA - Tow Truck Weight Relief Legislation |
A Towman's Association for All Towmen |
Read the New Law in Detail as it Appears in New Jersey Title 39 Law |
| GSTA Introduced and passed legislation S2871 which increased the wrecker weight exemptions from 5 miles to 50 miles and up to 150,000 lbs. Wreckers had only a 5 mile exemption from weight laws which provided no room for dropping off loads or splitting units when the location was unacceptable. Towers were getting ticketed on overweight for both units, which was covered in existing laws but vague enough for some agencies to ticket it. Once these agencies saw a money-making opportunity, towers became an easy target. This law was a direct response to the ticketing and a combined effort of government and industry to define a gray area in existing law. In addition a systems of tow truck decals/placarding was established for consumer interests, to be phased in at a later date. |
| The GSTA has come up against some opposition to this legislation from the New Jersey Motor Truck Association Towing Conference. Click here for a letter to NJ towers describing the bill in detail and responding to the criticism of the bill. |
| On December 17, 1998 bill S-1577 was
introduced by Senators Andrew R. Ciesla (R-10) and Robert J. Martin (R-26). This
bill establishes a program of marking tow trucks with decals in two weight classes and
addresses several key issues involving the tow industry. The weight classes established by the bill are as follows: light to medium weight tow trucks with a gross weight of less than 32,000 pounds, and heavy duty tow trucks of 32,000 pounds or more gross vehicle weight. The bill also exempts heavy duty tow trucks from current axle and dimensional limitations in order to enable the vehicles to remove the heaviest wrecked, disabled or otherwise incapacitated motor vehicles from the roads of the state. In combination with their towed units, these heavy duty tow trucks will be permitted to weigh up to 150,000 pounds. This exemption is good for 50 miles, the current law permits only 5 miles. This bill also establishes a special marker for tow trucks. This marker would be required for all tow trucks registered in the state. The marker would identify which tow trucks registered for the weight exemption and met the requirements set forth in the legislation. The State Police believes the marker will identify legitimate towing companies enabling them to spot "gypsy" towers easier. The markers will be some form of decal, not license plates. The GSTA initiated this legislation in response to the overweight and over-axle weight tickets that were being issued. Historically towers were not the focus of weight enforcement by police because of our working relationships with them. Once certain departments found that towers were almost always overweight due to the nature of our equipment they saw it as a source of revenue. The GSTA joined a group that represented a full cross section of the New Jersey transportation community to draft this legislation. The agencies that contributed were NJ State Police, NJ DOT, NJ DMV, as well as several departments specific to the nature of this legislation. |
