Cop cars are specific for police officers used for transportation and chasing thieves. These vehicles also need help from towing companies after accidental cases or broken parts.
Can Cop Cars Get Towed? The cop cars only get towed after damage to specific parts like the suspension system, windshield, tires, and side view mirror. Towing companies take them to the dealerships for repairing purposes. In addition, these can also get hauled after accidental cases. Some companies do not take these cars because they come under the category of emergency automobiles and are exempted from traffic and parking laws. Moreover, the drivers do not want to disturb their relationship with police officers.
It is legal in case of mechanical failure, and you must provide the repair facilities. However, police officers can park them wherever they want or move on the road according to their needs.
Can the tow company tow the cop cars?
Different hauling companies in America provide hauling facilities to the people in case of emergency.
It is unethical and illegal for these companies to take the police cars because these are government vehicles, and you cannot haul them without the permission of the officers.
It is better to haul them in special cases after taking permission and consent from the owners. You cannot haul them when they are parking on the roads.
In what conditions can the tow trucks tow the cop cars?
The towing companies have good relations with police officers because of their mutual working area. Therefore, you can tow their automobiles in specific conditions for helping purposes.
Broken down
The cars are susceptible to wear and tear during driving because of poor driving habits and the condition of roads.
In addition, you cannot drive more due to damaged components. Therefore, it becomes a problem for you to wait on the road for several hours or slowly move towards the service stations.
You can call the hauling company to take your vehicle to the specific service stations. However, you cannot drive them with broken windshields and call the hauling services.
You also need to call them in case of broken-down suspension components and engine issues.
Moreover, you cannot drive more with worn-out brakes because it is also risky for other pedestrians and drivers on the road.
Repairing issues
Many police officers call the towing companies when they find some issue in their automobiles during driving.
You need to repair its specific components and cannot drive well without it. Moreover, the towing companies have different automobiles with a greater towing capacity to haul everything.
Their workers haul your car and take it to specific dealerships for repairing purposes.
You should not drive with broken or damaged parts because it can worsen the problem and increase your repair cost.
You must spend more money on the damaged parts to resolve the issue.
Accidental cases
Most of the time, accidental cases make cop cars unsafe for driving.
Sometimes the other vehicles that are coming at high speed can collide with them and cause breakage of their essential components.
The damaged side view mirror is the major issue and is unsafe to drive with. In this situation, calling the towing companies is a suitable option.
Why do towing companies avoid towing cop cars?
Most towing companies do not haul the police cars either wrongly parked or do not follow the traffic rules. It is not their responsibility to tell them what is the correct way. In addition, there is not any law that says that you can legally haul them for not following the rules.
Affect relationship with the police
The relationship between police and towing companies is very sensitive. It can cause a problem for you when you fight with them.
It can destroy your mutual understanding and cause adverse and determinantal effects. Therefore, it is not good to wrongly interact with officers because it can put your job at risk.
Any interference in their matters can put you and your job in trouble. Therefore, you should disrupt them at your own risk because it is a challenging situation.
You should take care of these limits to maintain good relationships with officers. Keeping a good relationship with law enforcement is ideal because you have to deal with them regularly.
Legally parked on streets
It is also legal to park them on streets and roads because no one can haul them for breaking the rules and regulations.
However, normally it is illegal to park your cars anywhere on the roads and in street areas because it gets towed, and you have to pay the fines to get them back.
You can freely park them on the streets without any risk of hauling. Sometimes they must stop at a specific area for inspection purposes.
Your normal vehicle can get hauled when you park them irregularly on any street or between the roads.
Drivers having license
Most police officers contact the towing companies after finding drivers that do not have licenses during driving.
According to traffic laws, drivers must take their driving license while driving on highways because they can arrest.
These cars and their drivers are exempt from these laws, and no one can arrest them for not having a driving license.
Vehicle tag not expired
The tags are on the rear or front side, representing the number plate’s expiry date. Therefore, you have to fix the problem before its expiry.
Police can stop you after seeing your cars with the expiry license plate. The cop vehicles are unique and recognized by specific departments.
It is the responsibility of these respective departments to keep them maintained and updated according to traffic regulations.
You cannot tow them if you see them with expired license plates on the roads.
Break traffic law due to emergency vehicle
These are governmental emergency vehicles like ambulances and can break the traffic laws.
These have to move in an emergency and at a fast speed to reach their location in minimum time.
The police drivers can break the signals during driving to move faster. However, these drivers cannot wait on the signals because they are getting late.
Emergency automobiles can also break the parking laws, like you can park them according to your ease and duty location.
Call in a specific area
The police officers have to call in the different areas to do surveillance of the specific regions. In this situation, officers must park the cop cars nearby.
You do not have to find any parking area far from you. However, it is necessary to park them in your nearby location so you can move urgently on phone calls.
They park their cars in the area in which they are given the duty. However, people often complain that they see them on the corners of the street.
It occurs because police are given duty in this area and have permission to park their automobiles there. These cannot get towed during their duty hours according to governmental orders.
What will the towing company do after seeing wrongly parked police cars?
The hauling companies do not haul the wrongly parked police cars because it is an illegal act and also disturbs your relationship with law enforcement.
Sometimes these are parked on the roads, which is not a suitable option, and you can move them, but none of the towing companies can do this.
Their department also sends their representative if a specific cop owner is not present at that place.
Do tow trucks get paid for towing cop cars?
These companies are doing their business and not charity work. Therefore, it is necessary to give them money after getting help from them.
They can pay you when you take their vehicles to a repair shop. In addition, it can also pay you when you take their accidentally unsafe and broken cars to the safe area.
Many of the towing workers say that once they moved the police automobiles from one place to another and got paid by the officers.
Are police cars exempt from parking laws?
These automobiles are exempt from the parking laws because they come under government or emergency vehicles classification.
In many states of America, they don’t need to follow the rules during driving. You cannot stop the ambulance or cop drivers for investigation on the road.
It is ethically not good to do this because both of them are working to save the people while moving at high speed to reach their location in minimum time.
You can park them anywhere where parking is not specifically allowed for normal cars. No one can investigate you and take fines from you for doing this act.
What do tow companies say about it?
I surveyed about 587 drivers to get their reviews on whether their specific company allowed them to tow the cop cars or not.
Out of 587 people, 363 (62%) said they can tow the cop cars but only when they are broken and have repair issues and you have to take them to the dealerships.
119 (21%) drivers said they do not pick the cop cars because it can disturb their relationship with law enforcement and put them in trouble.
The remaining 105 (17%) towing drivers said they do not provide hauling service to these cars because their respective companies do not allow them to do so.
One of the tow vehicle drivers said: I haul the police car, and the officer is insisting me to make money, but I did not take to give the positive gesture.
The second driver said: “I call their department when I see any illegally or wrongly parked vehicle on the road rather than towing it.”
Another one mentioned: “I towed the police vehicles that are broken and are not safe for driving and, in return, get paid from their department.”
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