Washington Administrative Code › Title 204 - State Patrol (Equipment) (See also Titles 212, 446 and 448) › Chapter 204-91A - Towing businesses › Section 204-91A-140 - Fees

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Towing fees must be based on a flat,
			 hourly rate only and will apply without regard to the hour of day, day of the
			 week or whether the service was performed on a Saturday, Sunday, or state
			 recognized holiday. The hourly rate for each class of truck must be charged for
			 services performed for initial tows and secondary tows performed during
			 business hours. Charges for secondary tows performed during nonbusiness hours,
			 on weekends or state recognized holidays, if different from the hourly rate,
			 must be negotiated and agreed upon with the vehicle owner/agent before the tow
			 is made.
The tow inspector will investigate allegations of overcharging.
				Intentional overcharging or a pattern of overcharging will be cause for
				suspension. The tow operator's failure to reimburse the aggrieved customer(s)
				may be cause for suspension, after a tow inspector has determined that
				overcharging occurred and may result in the suspension or revocation of the tow
				operators letter of appointment. The suspension will remain in effect until the
				tow operator has presented to the patrol sufficient proof that the aggrieved
				customer(s) has been fully reimbursed.
(2) The chief or designee will, prior to
			 October 15th of each year, establish maximum hourly towing rates for each class
			 of tow truck and maximum daily storage rates that tow operators may charge for
			 services performed as a result of state patrol calls. The maximum rates will be
			 determined after consultation with members of the towing industry, review of
			 current private towing rates, and such other economic factors as the chief
			 deems appropriate.
When signed by the chief or designee and the tow operator, a
				contractual agreement to charge no more than the maximum rates will become part
				of the operator's letter of appointment. The tow operator may, however, adopt a
				rate schedule charging less than the maximum rates established by the
				chief.
The hourly rate must:
(a) Apply when a call for a tow is made by
			 the state patrol, except as outlined under subsection (6) of this section. This
			 includes, but may not be limited to, collisions and impound requests.
(b) Include all ancillary activities
			 including, but not limited to, removal of glass, debris, and vehicle fluids
			 less than one gallon from the roadway and areas referred to as the "scene or
			 incident location," necessary winching, dolly service, drive line removal,
			 installation of chains on the tow truck, installation of portable lights,
			 vehicle hookup for towing or transporting, tire replacement and standby time.
			 Before leaving any collision or incident location, the tow company must advise
			 the department of transportation, the patrol, local law enforcement road
			 department of all fluid spills greater than one gallon remaining.
(c) Include the labor of one person per
			 truck. When responding with a class "C" or an S-1 rotator truck to a major
			 collision or incident location; a second person is allowed at the hourly labor
			 rate per contract for an extra registered tow truck operator employee. Any
			 charges for additional labor or ancillary vehicles, or both, or for removing
			 debris, cargo, or other items at the collision or incident location must have
			 prior authorization from the legal or registered owner/agent, or a member of
			 the patrol at the scene, and must have documentation in the vehicle transaction
			 file for inspection purposes. Documentation must include:
(i) The first and last name of the person who
			 requested the additional labor, ancillary vehicle, or removal of debris, cargo,
			 or other items at the collision or incident location.
(ii) How and when the approval was
			 obtained.
(d) Be
			 computed from the actual time the truck departs in response to a call until the
			 truck returns to its tow zone, responds to another call, returns to the storage
			 area, or returns to the place of business of the registered tow truck operator.
			 Billing invoices must have the time of day and date a vehicle arrives at the
			 storage area or place of business of the registered tow truck operator.
(i) The hourly rate must be applied to the
			 resulting net time and, after the first hour, must be rounded to the nearest
			 fifteen minutes.
(ii) After
			 returning to the storage area, the tow operator may charge for the total amount
			 of time in fifteen minute increments not to exceed a total of sixty
			 minutes.
(e) Be evenly
			 divided between customer vehicles transported when class "E" trucks are used
			 for multiple towing/recovery services (one on bed, one in tow) from the same
			 service call or incident location.