Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 595 - Department of Public Safety › Chapter 25 - Wreckers and Towing Services › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 595:25-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
Any reference to "this Act" means 47 O.S. § 951 et seq.
				  unless otherwise specified. The following words and terms, when used in this
				  Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Call"
means each request for service of an
				  operator resulting in an operator being able to receive compensation for these
				  services.
"Commissioners Designee"
means the authorized
				  individual such as a director or administrative officer of the division.
"Class AA wrecker operator"
or
"AA truck
				  wrecker operator"
means any wrecker operator who also meets all the
				  requirements of 47 O.S. § 952(D) for towing for law enforcement agencies.
				  Class AA may also be used for private property towing and consent towing. Class
				  AA must have the ability to tow, recover and haul.
"Class AA Wrecker Support Vehicle"
or
"Support Vehicle"
means a general class wrecker capable of
				  assisting and supporting the towing and recovery at the scene of an
				  incident.
"Commission"
means the Oklahoma Corporation
				  Commission.
"Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of Public
				  Safety, as defined by 47 O.S. § 1-109 and as described in 47 O.S. §
				  2-102.
"Department"
means the Department of Public
				  Safety.
"DPS number"
means a permanent number assigned
				  to a wrecker operator, by the Department which is personal and unique to the
				  wrecker service.
"GVWR"
means gross vehicle weight rating.
"IM categories"
means the severity of the
				  incident.
(A) Minor incident is any incident which can be mitigated
				  within thirty (30) minutes or less with limited traffic interference;
(B) Intermediate incident is any incident in which mitigation
				  is thirty (30) to sixty (60) minutes in length and one or more vehicle lanes of
				  travel are affected; and
(C) Major incident is any incident in which mitigation is
				  greater than sixty (60) minutes in length and one or more lanes of travel are
				  affected and the potential for special equipment may be needed and utilized for
				  IM.
"Incident Management (IM)"
means any on or off
				  roadway incident in which traffic flow is significantly reduced, delayed or
				  stopped as a result of vehicle collisions, cargo/content spills,
				  visibility/weather conditions, or any other hazards associated with severe
				  reductions of vehicular speed and movement within a traffic lane or
				  lanes.
"Inspection Officer"
means the individual that
				  has been trained and certified by the Department to inspect wrecker vehicles
				  and wrecker facilities.
"Junk vehicle"
means a vehicle which is ten (10)
				  years old or older and worth less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) [42 O.S.
				  §91].
"Law enforcement tow"
means a tow of a vehicle
				  made by an operator when a law enforcement officer compels a vehicle be towed
				  or makes a request for a tow using a law enforcement rotation log and to which
				  the rates and fees as prescribed by the Corporation Commission shall
				  apply.
"Nonconsensual tow"
means
the
				  transportation of a vehicle without the consent or knowledge of the vehicle's
				  owner, possessor, agent, insurer, lien holder, or any other person in
				  possession of or in charge of any vehicle and includes the transportation or
				  towing of the vehicle under lawful circumstances or necessity for the public
				  interest including removing from the roadway for public safety or public
				  convenience, or accidents, by any law enforcement officer or property agent or
				  removal from public or private property as a result of abandonment or
				  unauthorized parking by the property owner, agent, possessor, or other legal
				  entity for the property owner.
[47 O.S. § 951(10)]
"Officer"
means any peace officer.
"Operator"
means any person or legal entity
				  owning or operating a licensed wrecker vehicle or a licensed wrecker or towing
				  service and any employee thereof.
"Owner request tow"
means a tow of a vehicle
				  made by an operator at the request of the owner, or authorized agent of the
				  owner regardless whether the tow is compelled or required by a law enforcement
				  officer.
"Principal Place of business"
or
"Business
				  location"
means a permanent structure, not mounted on wheels, occupied
				  by the wrecker operator at the physical address of the wrecker service, as
				  shown on the wrecker license, with a publicly listed telephone number and
				  functioning utilities including but not limited to electricity and water, where
				  normal business is transacted and all wrecker records are maintained. Effective
				  January 1, 2005, the place of business shall be located in Oklahoma. The
				  principal business full address, including county, must be verified by
				  documentation, such as company letterhead, business card, tax documents, or
				  other official business documents. The facility must be capable and large
				  enough to conduct business, storage of records and all transactions of
				  business. Any additional location or locations within twenty-five (25) miles of
				  the principal place of business will be considered an extension location and
				  will not be made to meet the requirements of the primary/principal business
				  office but shall meet all storage requirements. All business transactions
				  including, but not limited to, invoicing, ticketing, receipting, releasing, and
				  collecting payment, will be conducted at the location in which the vehicle is
				  stored.
"Private Property Tow"
means a tow of a vehicle
				  which is made from private property by an operator at the request of the owner,
				  legal possessor, or authorized agent in control of the real property, which
				  shall be towed under the provisions of 47 O.S. § 954A and to which the
				  rates and fees as prescribed by the Corporation Commissioner shall
				  apply.
"Rotation log"
means a list for each Highway
				  Patrol Troop of the Department of current Class AA wrecker operators, meeting
				  the qualifications of Class AA truck wrecker services, whose place of business
				  are within the geographical boundaries of the Troop and who have requested and
				  been approved by the Department to be on the list. This list governs the
				  alternation among approved Class AA-TL truck wrecker operators only.
"Tow/Towing"
means the use of a wrecker
				  vehicle to lift, pull, move, haul or otherwise transport any other vehicle by
				  means of:
(a)
attaching the vehicle to and pulling the vehicle
				  with the wrecker vehicle, or
(b)
loading the vehicle onto and transporting the
				  vehicle upon the wrecker vehicle"
. [47 O.S. § 951(3)]
"Traffic tie-up"
means any situation in which
				  any officer deems it necessary to control the orderly flow of traffic.
"Truck wreckers"
means every motor vehicle
				  properly designed and equipped according to Department of Public Safety
				  specifications with wrecker body and winch or lifting apparatus suitably
				  designed to safely move, pull or tow wrecked, damaged or disabled trucks,
				  truck-tractors, road tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, buses and/or other
				  vehicles and conveyances that use the highways of the state of Oklahoma. The
				  designation as a truck wrecker shall be used for Class AA-TL wrecker vehicles
				  only.
"Truck wrecker rotation log"
means a list for
				  each Highway Patrol Troop of the Department of current Class AA wrecker
				  operators, meeting the qualifications of Class AA truck wrecker services, whose
				  places of business are with in the geographical boundaries of the Troop and who
				  have requested and been approved by the Department to be on the list. This list
				  governs the alternation among approved Class AA-TL truck wrecker operators
				  only.
"Wrecker dolly"
means a wheeled device which is
				  used to support one end of a motor vehicle for towing.
"Wrecker license"
means the wrecker license as
				  provided by 47 O.S. § 951, et seq.
"Wrecker operator"
means any operator who is
				  licensed under this chapter and the laws of this state and who meets all
				  requirements of the rules of this Chapter, pertaining to wrecker vehicles as
				  defined in this Chapter.
"Wrecker or towing service", "wrecker service",
or
"towing service"
means engaging in the business of or
				  performing the act of towing or offering to tow any vehicle,
				  except:
(a)
where the operator owns the towed vehicle and
				  displays on both sides of the wrecker vehicle in plainly visible letters not
				  less than two (2) inches in height the words "NOT FOR HIRE",
(b)
where the service is performed by a transporter as
				  defined in [47 O.S.] section 1-181 of this title,
(c)
where service is performed in conjunction with
				  the transportation of household goods and property,
(d)
where the wrecker vehicle is owned or operated by
				  the United States government, the State of Oklahoma, or any department or
				  political subdivision thereof, or
(e)
where the service is performed by an out-of-state
				  wrecker service at the request of the vehicle owner or operator, and the
				  vehicle is being towed:
(1)
in either direction across the border between
				  Oklahoma and a neighboring state, or
(2)
through Oklahoma in transit to another state;
				  provided, the out-of-state wrecker service shall comply with all other
				  requirements regarding interstate commerce as set forth in law.
[47
				  O.S. § 951(6)]
"Wrecker"
or
"wrecker vehicle"
, as
				  defined by 47 OS. § 951, et. seq., means any vehicle, other than a
				  transport as defined in 47 O.S. §1-181, equipped with a winch, cable or
				  other device designed to lift, pull or move a disabled vehicle incapable of
				  self-propulsion. (Does not include a vehicle with a push bumper only.)
(A) Class AA - Any wrecker vehicle not less than nine
				  thousand pounds (9,000 lbs.) GVWR and meeting minimum requirements as
				  established for Class AA wreckers in this Chapter.
(B) Class AA-TM - Any wrecker vehicle not less than
				  twenty-four thousand pounds (24,000 lbs.) GVWR and meeting minimum requirements
				  as established for Class AA-TM Wreckers in this Chapter.
(C) Class AA-TL - Any wrecker vehicle not less than
				  forty-four thousand pounds (44,000 lbs.) GVWR and meeting minimum requirements
				  as established for Class AA-TL Wreckers in this Chapter.
(D) Class G (General) - All other wrecker vehicles as defined
				  by 47 O.S. § 951, et. seq., provided a Class G wrecker shall also be
				  considered a wrecker support vehicle for the purposes of 47 O.S. §
				  12-218.1. If a Class G wrecker service provides storage, it must meet the same
				  facilities, storage, and insurance as a Class AA wrecker service. If the Class
				  G wrecker service does not provide storage, it will not be required to meet the
				  facilities, storage and insurance requirements as a Class AA wrecker service.
				  Class G wreckers services must meet the Class G vehicle requirements and must
				  have a verified primary business location.
Amended at 13 Ok Reg
				  2821, eff 6-28-96; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 3311, eff 7-13-98; Amended at 21 Ok Reg
				  3011, eff 7-25-04; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 2801, eff 9-12-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg
				  2775, eff 7-25-09; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 303, eff 10-19-10 (emergency); Amended
				  at 28 Ok Reg 2089, eff 7-15-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 65, eff 11-1-11
				  (emergency); Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1390, eff
				  7-1-12