Opinion ID: 762619
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DARP and SARD Accident Management Programs

Text: 6 Under its towing laws, the City has established two management programs applicable to vehicles disabled by accidents and weighing less than 15,000 pounds: the Directed Accident Response Program (DARP), see Admin. Code § 20-518; and the Special Accident Response Districts Program (SARD), see id. § 20-518.1. The legislative history informs us, and plaintiffs concede, that both programs were adopted to eliminate the practice of chasing, in which tow truck operators monitor police radio transmissions to learn of vehicular accidents and then race each other, often recklessly, to accident scenes to earn fees from the resultant towing and ancillary repair work. 7 Under DARP, the Department has divided New York City into zones, and it maintains a list of qualified towing companies in each zone. See id. § 20-518(a)(2). As accidents occur within a given zone, the Police Department summons an approved towing company to the accident scenes on a rotating basis. The number of qualified companies per zone is not limited. However, it is important to note that a disabled vehicle to which DARP applies must be removed by an approved tower summoned by the police; it cannot be removed by a tower called independently by the operator of the disabled vehicle. See id. § 20-518(b)(1). 8 Under SARD, enacted to supplement DARP, the Department has designated certain City areas as districts and then subdivided each district into zones. One towing company per zone has exclusive responsibility for removing all vehicles in that zone for a specified period of time; other companies are not permitted to tow, even when called by the motorists involved. See id. § 20-518.1(a)(1), (c)(1). The maximum number of companies allowed to tow within a SARD zone is three, and if more than three meet certain initial requirements, then the three authorized are chosen by lottery. See id. § 20-518.1(a)(1), (b)(2); 6 RCNY § 2-371.1(d). 9 DARP and SARD participants are, in addition, required to maintain their own storage and repair facilities. See Admin. Code § 20-518(b)(3) (DARP); 6 RCNY § 2-371(h)-(n) (DARP); Admin. Code § 20-518.1(b)(1)(h) (SARD); 6 RCNY § 2-371.1(e)-(i) (SARD).