Montgomery County officials are working with law enforcement, the tow truck industry and the public to update its policy regarding non-consent towing.

House Bill 2213, passed during the 2015 state legislative session, has made it possible for the county to make changes to existing towing policies to address safety issues on area roadways.

The proposed towing rotation process creates five zones in Montgomery County in an effort to cut down on the number of tow trucks that respond to a scene.

“The safety concerns specifically are numerous wreckers that show up at different times and the time it takes to get there because they’re trying to get their chip in so they can be considered for the tow,” Assistant County Attorney Sarah Stallberg said. “We’re concerned about wreckers on scene blocking the streets and highways. It causes a dangerous situation for the public.”

The proposed regulations only address non-consent towing, meaning law enforcement scenes or vehicles parked illegally. Drivers who break down on the side of the road can still call a wrecker of their choice since it is not a rotation issue.

In the case of a law enforcement scene, dispatch personnel will follow a rotation of towing companies included in a list for each zone. A towing company may have a number of positions on the rotation list corresponding to the number of permitted tow trucks in each zone. Tow truck drivers would have 20 minutes to respond to a scene within each zone under the initial policy, but the timing is still being tweaked before further consideration by the court.

“The reason we have zones is so we can regulate the time it takes [tow truck drivers] to respond,” Stallberg said. “We don’t want someone racing from north [Montgomery] County to south [Montgomery] County.”

County officials also seek to ensure that vehicles are towed to a location in the county, Stallberg said. The proposed regulations require towed vehicles to be stored within the specific zone in which the vehicle was loaded.

“The sheriff’s office received a complaint recently that a car was towed in Willis all the way down to Telephone Road [in southeast Houston],” Stallberg said. “We have concerns about the car staying in Montgomery County.”

More than a dozen representatives from tow truck companies across the county spoke on the record at a March 8 meeting when the regulations were brought before the court. Several drivers were in favor of a rotation process but urged county officials to tweak the regulations before approving a final version.

Milstead Automotive owner Amy Milstead said she is in favor of a rotation process to help reduce secondary accidents in the county.

“Our county has experienced rapid growth over the past few years, and traffic is a top concern for each of our citizens,” she said. “The rotation [process] would help with congestion when it comes to accident scenes. We need to move Montgomery County into the 21st century—we are chasing accidents like they did years and years ago.”

Tow truck operator Clinton Bass said he believed the proposed rotation was a little too drastic.

“The rotation is going to kill us small-business owners,” he said. “There are different things that were done in other areas of the county—Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North—to limit the number of trucks per wrecker scene that would drastically reduce the number of trucks."

Tow truck driver Dennis Blake said during the meeting he is in favor of a rotation process as long as it is done fairly.

“This is our livelihood,” he said. “One truck, one spot or one company, one spot. Give us all a fair advantage.”