New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 18 - TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS › Chapter 3 - MOTOR CARRIER GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part 12 - TOWING SERVICES › Section 18.3.12.14 - AUTHORIZATION AND PROCEDURE FOR MOVING MOTOR VEHICLES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. A towing service shall only perform the
				following tows:
(1)
By consent:
A warranted towing service may perform a consensual tow pursuant to the
				procedures specified in this rule and other applicable rules.
(2)
By directive
: A warranted
				towing service may perform a motor vehicle tow explicitly ordered by a law
				enforcement officer. In the event of a tow explicitly ordered by a law
				enforcement official, the towing service shall attempt to first obtain written
				authorization from a law enforcement officer and a written inventory of the
				contents of the vehicle. If the towing service is unable to first obtain a
				written authorization and inventory from a law enforcement officer, the towing
				service shall obtain the name of the officer ordering the tow, the agency that
				employs the officer, and any other identifying employment information, such as
				badge number, and shall perform its own inventory of the contents of the
				vehicle.
(3)
Necessary for
				public safety:
A warranted towing service may perform a motor vehicle
				tow necessary for public safety, but only for the distance necessary to remove
				the hazard to other motor vehicles using the highway and only where:
(a) no law enforcement officer is available
				within a period of three or more hours; and
(b) the accident or abandonment has occurred
				at a point on the highway which may be dangerous to other motor vehicles using
				the highway and it is not possible to detour other motor vehicles around the
				damaged or disabled motor vehicle.
(4)
Trespass tows:
No towing
				service shall attach hoisting or towing devices or move, tow or molest in any
				way, any motor vehicle illegally parked on property other than a public roadway
				without having first obtained written authorization from the owner or lessee of
				the property, or the owner's or lessee's agent. Written authorization shall
				include the name and signature of the owner or lessee of the property or the
				name and signature of the property owner's or lessee's agent if different, the
				location of the private property, the amount of time the motor vehicle has been
				on the property, a description of the vehicle, the date and time the towing
				service removed the vehicle from the property, and a statement by the owner,
				lessee or agent that the vehicle is illegally parked.
(a) Before towing a motor vehicle that is
				illegally parked on private property, the towing service shall take a digital
				photograph or photographs of the motor vehicle showing its position on the
				private property.
(b) No towing
				service shall attach hoisting or towing devices or move, tow or molest in any
				way, any motor vehicle illegally parked on commercial property or at an
				apartment unless the property contains visible signs notifying the public that
				illegally parked motor vehicles may be towed. The visible signs shall specify
				the exact time periods (starting and ending hours) when the vehicle is
				determined to be "illegally parked" on commercial property or at an apartment
				house. Before towing a motor vehicle that is illegally parked on private
				commercial property or at an apartment, the towing service shall take a digital
				photograph or photographs of the signage notifying the public that illegally
				parked motor vehicles may be towed.