Pages

Friday, July 19, 2013

Fake Fire Lane markings Scam by Towing Companies in Texas



Every day, someone is towed with the reason being, "you were parked in the Fire Lane" and we have photograph to prove it". 

 

But there is a problem, the required text is missing as required by State Law which states: all curbs of fire lanes must be painted red and be conspicuously and legibly marked with the warning "FIRE LANE--TOW AWAY ZONE" in white letters at least three inches tall, at intervals not exceeding 50 feet. (shown below)




The majority of curbs in parking facilities are 4" in height and the Fire Lane text can be no smaller than 3", anything less is an illegal fire lane.  

If your towed for a Fire Lane violation from any private or public parking facility, check the wording of the Fire Lane, if it does not say "FIRE LANE TOW AWAY ZONE", you should file a civil suit in Justice Court, instead of a tow hearing in JP court.  It is important that people check their local regulations with regards to proper fire lane markings before beginning a legal case that can end up costing much more if the marking were appropriate by county or city statutes.

The purpose of a civil suit against the "parking facility"  in Justice Court, is to collect $1000 plus triple what you paid to retrieve your vehicle, for the violation of Occupations Code Sec 2308.404.

There is no deadline to file for the statutory violation civil suit, as with the Tow Hearing.

The vehicle owner or operator victim to this scam should file criminal charges against the tow truck operator, because they are required to attend Continuing Education classes on this very issue to retain their state-issued tow truck operator's license.