Ordinance No. 728I
ORDINANCE NO. 728 728
AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING A LICENSE FOR THE BUSINESS OF
OPERATING AUTO '. °JRECKZRS; PROVIDING A LICENSE FEE; RE-
GULATING THE OPERATION OF AUTO '.JRECKERS; PROVIDING THAT
UNLESS OTHER'.JISE DIRECTED BY THE LEGAL TITLE HOLDER OF
A VEHICLE OR HIS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE, NO WRECKER
DRIVER SHALL RE1,iOVE ANY IIRECKED OR DISABLED VEHICLE OUT-
SIDE" THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF BAYTO1 7N; REPEALING
ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT HEREYJITH; CONTAINING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE; PRESCRIBING A MAXIbiUlvl PENALTY OF TWO HUNDRED
(1200.00) DOLLARS AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE: CITY OF BAYTOWN:
Section 1: Definitions:
(a) The term "Auto Wrecker ", as used in this ordinance, shall
mean any automobile, truck or other motor vehicle used for
the purpose of towing, carrying, pushing or otherwise trans-
porting any motor vehicle which has collided with another
motor vehicle or other object or which has been wrecked or
disabled in any manner. The term "Auto Wrecker" shall not
be construed to include a service car or other vehicle not
equipped with mechanical devices for transporting wrecked
vehicles and not used for such purposes, such as service cars
equipped with compressed air containers and tools for repair-
ing punctured tires or otherwise equipped with tools for per-
forming minor repairs not involving towage or transportation
of wrecked or disabled vehicles. This exception shall not
authorize evasions of this ordinance, and if any vehicle,
although not equipped with devices primarily used for towing
wrecked or disabled vehicles, is actually used for such pur-
poses through means of ropes, chains or otherwise, the same
shall be considered an auto wrecker within the terms of this
ordinance.
(b) The term "Wrecker Driver" means any individual who actually
operates and drives any auto wrecker on the streets of the
City, either on his own account or in the employ of another.
(c) The term "Owner" shall be construed to mean any person en-
gaged in the business of towing motor vehicles for hire or
engaged in the business of storing or repairing motor ve-
hicles for hire and who owns or is entitled to use any auto
wrecker, and who uses same in the conduct of his business
or any part thereof.
(d) Nothing contained in this ordinance shall be deemed to auth-
orize a prosecution against any person for towing or hauling
any wrecked or disabled vehicle without compensation, unless
such person is performing such towing or hauling without com-
pensation as an incident to obtaining the business of storing
or repairing such wrecked or disabled vehicle.
Section 2: License Re uired• Prima Facie Evidence of 0 eratin
Without License:
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate or cause
to be driven or operated any auto wrecker upon any street in the City
for the purpose of towing or hauling wrecked or disabled vehicles,
(1)
either for hire or as an incident to obtaining the business of
storing or repairing such wrecked or disabled vehicles, without
first having obtained a license from the City, duly issued to
such person, to operate an auto wrecker on the streets of the
City. In any prosecution for a violation of this section, proof
that an unlicensed auto wrecker was present at the scene of a
collision or accident in which a vehicle was disabled or proof
that an unlicensed auto wrecker was towing or hauling a wrecked
or disabled vehicle on the streets shall constitute prima facie
evidence of such owner operating or causing to be operated his
auto wrecker on the streets of the City for hire or for the pur-
pose of obtaining the business of storing or repairing the wrecked
or disabled vehicle, but the person charged shall have the right
to introduce evidence to rebut such presumption. Only persons and
businesses operating within the City Limits of Baytown shall be
licensed.
Section 3: The Name and Address of the Owner:
(1) If an individual, the application shall so state. If a part-
nership, the partnership name and address shall be given, to-
gether with the names and addresses of all partners. If a
corporation, the corporate name and office address shall be
given, together with the names and addresses of the president
and secretary.
(2) The number of auto wreckers an owner desires to operate, list-
ing the make, model, motor number and correct state license
number of each auto wrecker.
(3) The true ownership of each auto wrecker. If not owned out-
right by the owner, as defined in this ordinance, the name
and address of the true owner shall be given.
(4) That the owner shall obey the provisions of this ordinance and
all other ordinances and statutes applicable to motor vehicles
and agrees that upon his failure to so obey laws, his license
may be revoked or suspended.
(5) The application shall be signed by the owner. If a partner-
ship, it shall be signed by a member of the firm. If a corpo-
ration, it shall be signed by the president and attested by
the secretary and the corporate seal affixed. In all cases,
the person signing shall execute an affidavit, on the applica-
tion form, that the statements contained in such application
are true and correct.
Said application shall be accompanied by the license fee as
hereinafter provided.
Section 4: License Fee:
The license fee to operate an auto wrecker or wreckers shall be
Twenty -Five 025.00) Dollars a year for each wrecker which the owner
desires to operate. All licenses shall expire on the first (1st) day
of January of each year and shall be renewed the next succeeding first
day of January. If a license is granted subsequent to the first day
of January, the fee shall be paid pro rata for the balance of the year,
and any portion of a month shall be considered as an entire month in
calculating the fee to be charged. By "month" is meant a license month,
that is, from the first day of one month to the first day of the next
month.
Section 5: Liability Insurance:
(a) Before any license shall be issued to any owner, or before
any renewal of said license shall be granted, the owner shall
be required to file with the City Clerk, and thereafter keep in
(2)
full force and effect a standard automobile liability and
property damage policy, in form approved by the State of Texas,
which policy shall specifically set out that the insured auto-
mobile or truck is to be used in wrecker service and which
policy shall insure such auto or truck while engaged in such
wrecker service; and shall also provide that in the event of
its cancellation, written notice shall be given by the insurer
to the City attorney of the City, five (5) days prior to the
effective date of said cancellation. Said policy shall be exe-
cuted by an insurance company duly authorized to do business
in the State of Texas, and performable in Harris County, Texas,
insuring the owner and providing that the insurer shall pay all
obligations by law upon assured that may result from the opera-
tion of such auto wrecker or wreckers. The maximum amount of
recovery in such policy of insurance shall not be less than
the following:
For injury to any one person or the death of any
one person in any one accident --'Ten T',-«usand
Olq 330.00 ) Dul l ars .
For injury to two or more persons or the death
of two or more persons in any one accident --
Twenty Thousand (:D020,000.00) Dollars.
For injury to or destruction of property in any
one accident --- Five Thousand (:;5,000.00) Dollars.
(b) The above described public liability insurance shall be for
the protection of the public, but shall not cover personal
injury sustained by the servants, agents or employees of the
owners filing the same.
(c) All policies of insurance shall contain a provision for a con-
tinuing liability thereon up to the full amount thereof, not-
withstanding any recovery thereon.
Section b: Issuance of License; Expiration Date; Contents;, Signs Show-
in ',,reckers are Licensed:
After the owner has filed his application for a license, an in-
surance policy, and the City Clerk has examined same and found them
to be in compliance with the terms of this ordinance, and has deter-
mined that the public convenience and necessity would be best served
by granting such license, she shall issue to the owner a license to
operate an auto wrecker in the City, which license shall bear upon its
face a notice that the same expires on the succeeding January first.
Each license shall be dated and numbered and shall show on its face
the make, model, motor number and state license number of each auto
wrecker licensed to operate. The Chief of Police is empowered to
prescribe regulations for the displaying of signs on auto wreckers
showing that the same have been licensed as herein provided, and show-
ing the true ownership of each wrecker.
Section 7: Supplemental Licenses; Licenses Personal: Transfer of
Wrecker:
(a) '.there an owner has obtained a license and thereafter desires to
increase the number of wreckers to be operated under such license,
he shall file a supplemental application setting forth his license
number and the fact that he desires to operate additional wreckers,
giving the make, model, motor number and state license number of
each additional wrecker. He shall also file the proper license
fee to cover the additional number of wreckers wanted.
(b) He shall also file a new insurance policy, or an endorsement
of his existing policy, covering the new wreckers and increasing
(3)
the amount of the policy if such increased amount is required
under the terms of Section 5.
(c) The City Clerk shall examine such supplemental application, fee
and policy, and if the same are in order, she shall issue a
supplemental license, covering the new wreckers.
(d) '11henever an owner wishes to discontinue the use of an auto
wrecker during the period covered by his license and replace
it with another, he shall file an affidavit stating that he has
discontinued using a wrecker covered by his license and desires
to use another wrecker in its place. He shall thereof attach
a certificate from his insurer that such insurer has been noti-
fied thereof and agrees thereto. The City Clerk shall then
issue the owner a supplemental license covering the new wrecker
and cause the description of the old wrecker to be cancelled
from the original license. In the affidavit, the certificate
from the insurer and the supplemental license, the old and new
wreckers shall be described by make, model, motor number and
state license number.
(e) 1 license issued hereunder shall be a personal license to the
owner and shall not entitle any other person to operate such
auto wrecker for hire or as an incident to the business of stor-
ing or repairing wrecked or disabled vehicles. However, when-
ever the ownership of any auto wrecker, covered by a license, is
transferred to an owner who does not have a license, such owner
may apply to the City Clerk for a transfer of license and shall
obtain the same upon the payment of a fee of One (,;1.00) Dollar.
Section 8: ale ulations Governing iuto '.lrecker Operation:
(a) .`.uto wrecker drivers are to obey all orders of police officers
and all traffic laws of the State of Texas and the City of Bay-
town. 4.ach wrecker shall be equipped with a broom, shovel and
fire extinguisher, and each wrecker shall be clearly marked as
to its identity.
(b) Jhenever an auto wrecker arrives at the place where a motor
vehicle has been disabled by an accident, the wrecker driver
shall park his wrecker as close to the street curb as possible
and otherwise dispose of it in such a manner as not to interfere
with traffic. He shall not park his vehicle within a distance
of twenty five feet from a wrecked or disabled vehicle.
(c) X11 wrecker drivers, owners or agencies are prohibited from
soliciting the business of towing, removing or repairing any
wrecked or disabled vehicle at the place where the accident has
occurred to such vehicle, by words, cards, circulars, or gestures
until such time as the police officers of the City have arrived
at the place of the accident and completed their investigation.
(d) ill wrecker drivers arriving at the place where any accident has
occurred shall obey all lawful orders given them by any police
officer of the City investigating such accident and shall not in
any manner interfere with such officer in the performance of his
duty.
(e) No wrecker driver shall remove any wrecked or disabled vehicle
from the place where the accident occurred or attach his wrecker
to the wrecked or disabled vehicle until the driver of the said
vehicle has given permission and until the police officers of the
City investigating the accident shall have completed their in-
vestigation.
(f) The fact that no police officer of the City is present at the
scene of the accident when an auto wrecker arrives shall not
constitute an exception to this section, and it shall be the duty
(4)
of any owner or wrecker dri
wrecked or disabled vehicle
cause the police department
occurrence of the accident,
police officers of the City
gation.
ver desiring to tow or haul any
from the scene of the accident to
of the City to be notified of the
and to await the arrival of the
and the completion of their investi-
(g) In the event that the driver of a wrecked or disabled vehicle
has been rendered unable to give permission to a wrecker to re-
move the wrecked or disabled car, the investigating officer shall
noti-Fy the Chief of Police or other officer in charge of accident
investigation to such fact, and such officer shall give such or-
ders as may be necessary to remove the wrecked or disabled ve-
hicle from the street. In any event, with or without the driver's
permission, the investigating police officers are empowered to
order any wrecked or disabled vehicle removed a sufficient dis-
tance to clear the street for traffic.
(h) Unless otherwise directed by the legal title holder of a vehicle
or his authorized representative, no wrecker driver shall remove
any wrecked or disabled vehicle outside the city limits of the
City of Baytown.
Section 99: enforcement; Revocation and Sus ension of Licenses:
The City Mianager and the police department of the City are fully
empowered and it shall be their duty to enforce this ordinance. The
City ifanager is authorized in enforcing this ordinance, in the exer-
cise of a reasonable discretion, to revoke any owner's license or to
suspend the same for a given period of time. Notice of revocation or
suspension shall be in writing addressed to the owner, at the address
given in his application for a license, and the additional notice may
be given if deemed necessary. The police department shall advise the
City Manager of any violation by an owner or wrecker driver of this
ordinance, or of other ordinances and laws applicable to the operation
of motor vehicles, and shall particularly inform said City Manager
whenever a complaint is filed against any owner or wrecker driver for
a violation of law arising out of the operation of an auto wrecker.
Licenses may be revoked or suspended for a violation of ordinances and
laws regulating the operating of motor vehicles generally, or for a
violation of this ordinance. ilny owner whose license has been re-
voked or suspended or who may be refused a license by said City i.�anager,
may, within ten days from and after the date of the order or revoca-
tion or suspension, appeal to the City Council for such order. :lith-
in ten days from the filing of such appeal to the City Council for
such order, they shall hear same and shall either sustain or set aside
the order or, if the order be for revocation, may modify it to suspen-
sion for a given period of time. Any owner whose license has been re-
voked may not obtain a new license until one year from the date of the
order of revocation and must then have the consent of the City Council
to obtain a new license.
Section 10:
The suspension of a license shall not be a bar to a prosecution
for a violation of any provision of this ordinance, nor shall such
prosecution prevent the suspension or revocation of a license.
Section 11: Repealing Clause:
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms
of this ordinance are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such
repeal shall be only to the extent of such inconsistency, and in all
other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other ordinances
regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 12: Savings Clause:
If any provision, exception, section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same
(5)
to any person or set of circumstances shall for any reason be held
unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not effect
the validity of the .remaining provisions of this ordinance or their
application to other persons or sets of circumstances and to this end,
all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 13: penalty:
.any violation of any of the terms of this ordinance whether here-
in denominated as unlawful or not, shall be deemed misdemeanor; and
any person convicted of any such violation shall be fined in a sum aot
exceeding Two Hundred (.)'200.00) Dollars. Each day of the continuance
of such violation shall be considered a separate offense and be punish-
able separately; and any person, agent or employee engaged in any such
violation shall, on conviction, be so punished therefor.
Section 14: Effective mate:
This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) days
from its passage by the City Council. The City Clerk is hereby di-
rected to give notice hereof by causing the caption of this ordinance
to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at
least twice within ten (10) days after the passage of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, REi'0 and P,'6SED by the affirmative vote of a majority
of the City Council on this the day of .`tugust, 1964.
, I cl� Z' WZ
C.. L. Liggett, i.;.D. , L.ayor
,HEST:
L
Edna Oliver, City Clerk
.;PPROV;:D :
Georg 'Chandler, City �'sttorney