Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 63 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS (§§ 63-1-1 — 63-NEW01-NEW-014) › Chapter NEW - [COMMERCIAL VEHICLE TOWING] (§§ 63-NEW-NEW-001 — 63-NEW-NEW-008) › Section 63-NEW-NEW-001 - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] [Definitions]

For the purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless context clearly provides otherwise:
(a)
"Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which self-propels, and is intended primarily for use and operation on public roads and highways.
(b)
"Nonconsensual towing" means the moving, transporting or recovery of a commercial vehicle by a towing and recovery service without the prior consent or authorization of the owner or operator of the motor vehicle from private property and/or by police-initiated towing.
(c)
"Towing" means the moving, transporting or recovery from public or private property, or from a storage facility of a person's commercial motor vehicle, the moving or removing of an unclaimed commercial vehicle, or the immobilization of or preparation for moving or removing of the commercial motor vehicle, for which a fee is charged either directly or indirectly.
(d)
Heavy-duty towing shall be the towing of a vehicle, including trailers and semitrailers, with a gross vehicle rating over twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds.
(e)
Medium-duty towing shall be the towing of a vehicle, including trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle rating of over fifteen thousand (15,000) pounds to twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds.
(f)
"Towing and recovery service" means an individual or business entity that provides towing and recovery services at the direction of a law enforcement officer or private property owner in exchange for a fee or charge.
(g)
"Law enforcement officer" means any law enforcement public servant and/or State Highway Patrol Officer.
(h)
"Tow list" means a list of approved towing companies compiled, maintained and utilized by a law enforcement officer or his or her designee, and as authorized by the Department of Public Safety to perform police-initiated towing services of disabled or abandoned commercial motor vehicles.
(i)
"Police initiated towing" means towing of a commercial motor vehicle which was authorized, requested or dispatched by a law enforcement officer.
(j)
"Vehicle immobilization device" means a mechanical device that is designated or adapted to be attached to a wheel, tire or other part of a parked commercial motor vehicle to prohibit the vehicle's usual manner of movement or operation.
(k)
"Per pound billing" means a method of calculating a fee for towing using a formula that considers the weight of the commercial motor vehicle, equipment or cargo that is the subject of the towing and multiplies the weight of the vehicle, equipment or cargo by a monetary amount.
(l)
"Drop fee" means a fee that a towing and recovery service charges to unhook a commercial motor vehicle from a tow truck.
(m)
"Cargo" means goods and materials transported by a commercial motor vehicle as defined in
49 CFR Section 390.5
, including, without limitation:
(i)
Pallets;
(ii)
Containers;
(iii)
Bracing;
(iv)
Air pillows;
(v)
Tie-down assemblies and other securement systems;
(vi)
Cradles;
(vii)
Chocks; and
(viii)
All other dunnage and packaging.
(n)
"Commercial vehicle" means any self-propelled or motored device designed to be used or used primarily for the transportation of passengers or property, or both, and have a gross vehicular weight rating of fifteen thousand (15,000) pounds or more.
Added by Laws, 2024, ch. 384, SB 2635,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2024.