New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY › Chapter 45A - ADMINISTRATIVE RULES OF THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS › Subchapter 31 - PRIVATE PROPERTY AND NON-CONSENSUAL TOWING COMPANIES › Section 13:45A-31.2 - Words and phrases defined

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Basic tow" means private property towing and other non-consensual towing as defined in this section and other ancillary services that are components of a routine tow that include the following: arriving at the site from which a motor vehicle will be towed; 15 minutes waiting time; hooking a motor vehicle to, or loading a motor vehicle onto, a tow truck; transporting a motor vehicle to a storage facility; unhooking or unloading a motor vehicle from the tow truck; and situating the motor vehicle in the space in which it will be stored. "Basic tow" also includes issuing documents for the release of a motor vehicle to its owner or other person authorized to take the motor vehicle; issuing an itemized bill; three trips to the motor vehicle in storage, which, if applicable, include making a vehicle available to an insurance appraiser or adjuster; issuing documents for the release of a motor vehicle to its owner or other person authorized to take the motor vehicle; and retrieving a motor vehicle from storage during the hours in which the storage facility is open.
"Booting" means the act of placing, on a parked motor vehicle, a mechanical device that is designed to prohibit its usual manner of movement.
"Consensual towing" means towing a motor vehicle when the owner or operator of the motor vehicle has consented to have the towing company tow the motor vehicle.
"Consumer" means a natural person.
"Decoupling" means releasing a motor vehicle to its owner or operator when the motor vehicle has been, or is about to be, hooked to or lifted by a tow truck, but prior to the motor vehicle actually having been moved or removed from the property.
"Director" means the Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
"Division" means the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
"Flat bed tow truck" means a tow truck designed to transport a motor vehicle by means of raising the motor vehicle from road level up onto a hydraulic bed for transporting purposes.
"Immobilization" includes booting, installing a windshield obstruction device, or other means of impeding the usual manner of movement of a vehicle.
"Motor vehicle" includes all vehicles propelled other than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles, motorized scooters, motorized wheelchairs, and motorized skateboards. "Motor vehicle" also includes commercial motor vehicles as defined at N.J.S.A. 39:1-1.
"Non-consensual towing" means the towing of a motor vehicle without the consent of the owner or operator of the vehicle, regardless of the reason for the tow. "Non-consensual towing" includes towing a motor vehicle when law enforcement orders the vehicle to be towed whether or not the owner or operator consents. The term also includes immobilization of a motor vehicle.
"Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or any other business entity.
"Private property towing" means non-consensual towing from private property or from a storage facility by a motor vehicle of a motor vehicle that is parked illegally, parked during a time at which such parking is not permitted, or otherwise parked without authorization or the immobilization of, or preparation for moving or removing of, such motor vehicle, for which a service charge is made, either directly or indirectly. This term shall not include the towing of a motor vehicle that has been abandoned on private property in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.5, provided that the abandoned vehicle is reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency prior to removal and the vehicle is removed in accordance with N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6.
"Private property towing company" means a person offering or performing private property towing services.
"Secure storage facility" means a storage facility that is either completely indoors or is surrounded by a fence, wall or other man-made barrier that is at least six feet high and is lighted from dusk to dawn.
"Site clean-up" means the use of absorbents to soak up any liquids from a motor vehicle at the site from which a motor vehicle will be towed.
"Storage facility" means a space at which motor vehicles that have been towed are stored.
"Tarping" means covering a motor vehicle to prevent weather damage.
"Tow truck" means a motor vehicle equipped with a boom or booms, winches, slings, tilt beds or similar equipment designed for the towing or recovery of motor vehicles.
"Towing" means the moving or removing from public or private property or from a storage facility by a motor vehicle of a motor vehicle that is damaged as a result of an accident or otherwise disabled, recovered after being stolen or is parked illegally or otherwise without authorization, parked during a time at which such parking is not permitted, or otherwise parked without authorization or the immobilization of, or preparation for moving or removing of, such motor vehicle, for which a service charge is made, either directly or indirectly. Dues or other charges of clubs or associations, which provide towing services to club or association members shall not be considered a service charge for purposes of this definition.
"Towing company" means a person offering or performing towing services.
"Transmission disconnect" means manipulating a motor vehicle's transmission, so that the motor vehicle may be towed.
"Vehicle" means any device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway.
"Waiting time" means any time a towing company spends at the site from which a motor vehicle will be towed, during which the towing company is prevented from performing any work by another individual, beyond the time included as part of a basic tow.
"Winching" means the process of moving a motor vehicle by the use of chains, nylon slings or additional lengths of winch cable from a position that is not accessible for direct hook up for towing a motor vehicle. "Winching" includes recovering a motor vehicle that is not on the road and righting a motor vehicle that is on its side or upside down, but does not include pulling a motor vehicle onto a flatbed tow truck.
"Windshield obstruction device" means a device that attaches to the outside of a motor vehicle windshield, is designed to block the driver's vision and impair the ability to operate the vehicle, and requires special removal to avoid damage to the windshield.
"Window wrap" means any material used to cover motor vehicle windows that have been damaged.