On point: tow trucks under the guise of the government
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Jalopnik has recently posted a seemingly innocuous story about a Nissan GT-R being towed in New York City. The publication surmises that the the NYPD are improperly towing the disclosed Nissan, and thus stand to cause thousands of dollars in damage to the vehicle and drivetrain.
After consider we argue that the towing company does have an ethical and legal responsibility to tow properly. If they can’t or won’t, then they shouldn’t be towing in the first place. To be considerate, it would not hurt for all tow truck drivers to have a flat bed. Not sure why that isn’t always the case.
Either way, we can’t expect people to respect the police, if the police don’t respect people and their property. Understandably, a person may be accused of a violation, but this is subject to judicial interpretation. Until convicted, and there is no reason to do anything but secure the vehicle, UNLESS it is inhibiting traffic. In such a case, the government should take the responsible action to ensure that an individual’s property (whether owned by the individual or a leasing company/bank) is respected not just to the letter of the law, but to the spirit as well.
