Driving and traffic law

Getting towed: Your rights when dealing with tow truck operators

Legal requirements for tow-truck operators

Land Transport Act 1998, s 30J Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2017, s 5.2 – 5.12  

There are some legal requirements that tow-truck operators have to meet:

• Licensing
  • anyone carrying on a tow-truck business must have a special licence to do this (the land transport laws call a towing business a “vehicle recovery service”).
• Displaying name and details
  • the name and contact details of the tow-truck operator must be clearly displayed both outside and inside the truck
  • the driver’s driver identification card must also be clearly displayed.
• Their behaviour
  • the tow-truck driver must behave in an orderly and civil manner
  • if the driver has someone else with them (other than another licensed tow-truck driver or the owner of the towing business), the driver is responsible for making sure the other person doesn’t behave in a threatening or improper way. In other words, they can’t bring along someone just to intimidate vehicle owners.
  • the driver can’t have a dog or other animal with them
  • the owner of the tow-truck business is responsible for the behaviour of their drivers and other employees.
• Authority for each tow
  • the driver can’t tow a vehicle unless they have a specific “tow authority” for it – this is an official form that has all the relevant details, including where your vehicle is being towed to and the driver’s name, address and signature
  • in particular, your vehicle usually can’t be towed unless the tow authority is signed by the person who authorised the tow, which must be either: you, or someone representing you; or a police officer or traffic warden (for example, if you were parked on a public road but blocking an entrance, or if you were in a crash); or the landowner, if you’re being towed from private property, like a carpark. If the tow-truck driver can’t get the signature of the person who authorised the tow, the driver must record that person’s name and contact details.
• Obeying police and emergency workers
  • at a crash scene, tow-truck drivers have to obey any instructions given by police officers, traffic wardens, firefighters or ambulance officers to move their truck away.
• Keeping records of tows and complaints
  • tow-truck operators must keep a register that records, in date order, all the tows carried out by the business
  • towing businesses also have to keep a register of all written complaints they’ve received (see: “Complaining about a tow-truck operator”).