Ordinance No. 7441,
ORDIN. MCE NO. 744
, ",�N ORDIM'14CL REgUIRING LICENSE. FOR THE BUSIMSS
OF OPER. ,TING AUTO + RECi:M ; PROVIDING , . LICENSE
FEE; REGULATING THE OPE.II.,T10H OF ,.UTO '.JHECRMS;
PROVIDING TH, ,T UWLESS GTHER.IISE DIMCTED BY TH :
LEGAL TITLE: HOLDER OF .. VEHICLE OR HIS ,UTHORIZED
MPRESENT.,TIVE, NO WRECKER DRIVER SH„LL RF.&VE ANY
URECKED OR DISV3LED Vc,I-iICLE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIKITS
OF THE CITY OF B,,YTO'. N; REQUIRING LIABILITY INSUR-
ANCE, ,MAIN EQUIMENT ,',11D STAND,_,RDS OF OPE:L,TION;
REPEALING ORDIN"NCES INCONGISTEHT HiRMITH; CONT.,IX
ING A SWINGS "L.- ,USA:; PRESCRIBING PEN_LTY
OF T.10 HUNDRED ( 0200.00) DOLL ,RS , ,ND PROVIDIi lG FOR
THE PUBLICATION _ND LFFECTIVi D. ,TE THMEOF
BE IT ORD,,INED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF B,,YTt`_%M:
Section 1: Definitions:
(a) The term "Auto .Jrecker ", as used in this ordinance, shall mcan
any automobile, truck or other motor vehicle used for the purpose
of touring, carrying, pushing or otherwise transporting any =rotor
vehicle which has collided with another motor vehicle or othor ob-
ject or which has been wrecked or disabled in any manner. The
term " —uto ,Jrecker" shall not be construed to include a service car
or other vehicle not equipped with mechanical devices for transport-
ing wrecked vehicles and not used for such purposes, such as service
cars equipped with compressed air containers and tools for repairing
punctured tires or otherwise equipped with tools for performing
minor repairs not involving towage or transportation of wrecked or
disabled vehicles.
(b) The term "'Orecker 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 engaged
in the business of towing motor vehicles for hire or engaged in the
business or storing or repairing motor vehicles 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 authorize
a prosecution against any person for touring or hauling any wrecked
or disabled vehicle without compensation, unless such person is per-
forming such towing or hauling without compensation as an incident
to obtaining the business of storing or repairing such wrecked or
disabled vehicle.
Section 2: License Required: Prima Facie Evidence of Operating
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, either for hire
orcas 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 colli-
sion or accident in which a vehicle was disabled or proof that an unliccn
sed auto wrecker was towing or hauling a wrecked or disabled vehicle on th
streets shall constitute prima facie evidence of such owner operating or
causing to be operated his auto wrecker on the streets of the amity for hire
or for the purpose 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.
Section 3: Every person desiring to engage in the wrecker business
in the City of Baytown shall make application in writing, on a fora provided
for that purpose, for a permit to engage in the wrecker business and for a
permit for each wrecker proposed to be operated, and such application shall
contain the name, address, telephone number, the number and types of wrecker
equipment operated L the true owner of the company concerned
Section 4: The City Clerk shall issue a permit to engage in the wreck-
er business to all applicants complying with the provisions of this ordin-
ance and shall issue a permit to all wreckers of such applicants so comply-
ing. No permit authorizing the operation of a , vrecker business on the
streets of the City of Baytown shall be issued unless every L °rrecker proposed
to be used by the applicant complies with the following requirements:
(a) Insurance: Unless there is in full force and effect a policy
or policies of public liability and property damage insurance, is-
sued by a casualty insurance company authorized to do business in
the State of Texas, and in the standard form approved by the Board
of Insurance Commissioners of the State of Texas and the coverage
provision insuring the pu'olic frog: any loss or damage that may arise
to any person or property by reason of the operation of a wrecker for
which such permit is to be issued, and providing that the amount of
recovery on each wrecker shall be in limits of not less than the fol-
lowing:
{1} For damages arising out of bodily injury to or death of
one person in any one accident, :10,000.00;
(2) For damages arising out of bodily injury to or death of two
or more persons in any one accident, ;;20,000.00;
(3) For any injury to or destruction of property in any one acci-
dent, ;10,000.00.
(b) Each wrecker shall not be less than three - quarter ton in size
and be equipped with booster brakes;
(c) Each wrecker shall be equipped with a pourer operated winch, winch -
line and boom, with a factory rated lifting capacity (or a City tested
capacity) of not less than five thousand (5,000) pounds, single line
capacity. The winch line shall be one -half inch in diameter when
used singly, and three- eighths inch in diameter ti,ihen used in doubles;
(d) Each wrecker shall have a red flashing light of at least four
inches in diameter on the top of the cab, visible from both the front
and rear of the truck;
(e) Each wrecker shall carry as standard equipment: Tow bars, safety
chains, a fire extinguisher, wrecking bars, brooms and an axe;
(f) �:ach wrectcer shall have dual wheels on the rear with heavy duty
tires thereon.
The City i,anager shall designate an official City Inspection Station
located within the City. ,ll inspections to qualify for a permit shall be
made by this official City Inspection Station. The Inspector shall fill out
an inspection sheet and sign the same. If the ~arecker inspected does not-
comply with the specifications of this ordinance, the Inspector shall make
a notation on the inspection form of this fact. The inspection forris shall
be kept by the City Clerk. That such wrecker and all of its equipment shall
be inspected at intervals not to exceed six (5) months and no wrecker shall
be operated without passing such inspection.
twelve months or seven or more in the previous twenty -four months. Once a
person becomes a wrecker driver, he may have this right revoked by the City
manager if he has more than one accident in a six month period; provided
that such accident occurs while the violator is driving or operating a
wrecker for which a permit has been issued under the provisions of this or-
dinance.
Section 9: Regulations Governing auto YVrecker Operation:
(a) Auto wrecker drivers are to obey all orders of Police Officers
and all traffic laws of the State of Texas and the City of Baytown.
(b) Whenever 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 other-
wise 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) All wrecker owners, drivers or agencies are prohibited from
soliciting the business of towing removing or repairing any wrecked
or disabled vehicle at the place where an 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) All wrecker drivers arriving at the place where any accident
has occurred shall obey all lawful orders given them by the Police
Officer of the City investigating such accident and shall not, in any
manner, interfere with such Officer in the performance of his duty.
Only one wrecker from a wrecker business shall be dispatched to the
scene of any accident regardless of the number of vehicles involved
in such accident.
(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 said vehicle
has given permission and until the police Officers of the City in-
vestigating the accident shall have completed their investigation.
(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 consti-
tute an exception to this section, and it shall be the duty of any
owner or wrecker driver desiring to tow or haul any wrecked or dis-
abled vehicle from the scene of the accident to cause the Police
Department of the City to be notified of the occurrence of the accid-
ent, and to wait the arrival of the Police Officers of the City and
the completion of their investigation.
(g) In the event that the driver of a wrecked or disabled vehicle
has been rendered unable to give permission to a wrecker to remove
the wrecked or disabled vehicle, the investigating officer shall
notify the Chief of Police or other Officer in charge of accident
investigation to such fact, and such officer shall give such orders
as may be necessary to remove the wrecked or disabled vehicle from
the street. In any event, with or without the driver's permission,
the investigating officers are empowered to order any wrecked or dis-
abled vehicle removed a sufficient distance 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 10: Enforcement: Revocation & Suspension of Licenses: The
City i.,anager and the Police Department of the City of Baytown are fully em-
powered and it shall be their duty to enforce this ordinance. The City
i�.ianager is authorized in enforcing this ordinance, in the exercise of a
Section 5: .'�fter the owner has filed his application for a license,
and the City Clerk has examined same and found it to be in compliance viith
the terms of this ordinance, and has determined 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 nur,ber 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 showing the true ownership
of each wrecker.
Section b: The license fee to operate an auto wrecker shall be Twenty -
Five (;25.00 ) Dollars a year for each wrecker which the ovrner desires to op-
erate. All licenses shall expire on the first 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 pro -rated
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 �Imonth" is meant
a license month, that is, from the first day of one month to the first day
of the next month.
Section 7: Supplemental Licenses• Licenses Personal; Transfer of
1recker:
(a) ":there an owner has obtained a license and thereafter desires -co
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 male, 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 5.vreckers and increasing
the amount of the policy if such increased amount is required under
the terms of Section 4.
(c) The City Clerk shall exar.aine such supplemental application, feu
and policy, and if the same are in order, she shall issue a supple-
mental license, covering the wreckers.
(d) .Jhenever an owner wishes to discontinue the use of an auto
wrecker during the period covered by this 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 notified thereof and agrees there-
to. The City Clerk shall then issue the owner a supplemental license
covering the new wrecker to be cancelled from the original license.
In the affidavit, the certificate from the insurer and the supple-
mental license, the old and new wreckers shall be described by make,
model, motor number and State license number.
(e) A 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 storing or re-
pairing virecked or disabled vehicles. However, when the ovinership
of any auto wrecker, covered by a license is transferred to an oviner
who does not have a license, such owner r.-.ay apply to the City Cler',
for a transfer of license and shall obtain the same upon payment of
a fee of One (; .'1.00) Dollar.
Section 8: Competent Wrecker Drivers: No person shall drive or op-
erate a wrecker unless and until he has been certified by Baytown's Corpora-
tion Court Judge to be a safe driver. The Corporation Court Judge shall
check the applicant driver's record s:jith the local Police Department, the
Texas Department of Public Safety and any other records he deems advisable.
iJo applicant driver shall be certified and perr,:itted to drive a wrecker if
he has had four or more convictions for rzoving violations in the previous
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 Departr;rent shall advise the City i,:anager of any violation by any
owner or wrecker driver or of any violations of other ordinances and laws
applicable to the operation of motor vehicles and shall particularly inform
said City i.1anager 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 operation of motor vehicles generally, or for a violation of
this ordinance. Any owner, whose license has been revoked or suspended or
who may be refused a license by said City i,,anager may, within ten (10) days
appeal to the City Council for such order. v1ithin 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 revoca-
tion, may modify it to suspension for a given period of time. Any owner
whose license has been revoked may not obtain a new license until one (1)
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 11: The suspension of a license shall not be a bar to a pro-
secution for a violation of any provision of this ordinance, nor shall such
prosecution prevent the suspension or revocation of a license.
Section 12: 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 ordin-
ances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 13: Savings Clause: If any provision, exception, section,
paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application
of same to any person or set of circumstances shall for any reason be held
unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the val-
idity 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 14: Penalty: Any violation of any of the terms of this Ord-
inance, whether herein denominated as unlawful or not, shall be deemed a
misdemeanor, and any person convicted of an such violation shall be fined
in a sum not exceeding Two Hundred (.a200.00� Dollars. Each day of the con-
tinuance of such violation shall be considered a separate offense and be
punishable separately; and any person, agent or employee engaged in any such
violation shall, on conviction, be so punished therefor.
Section 15: Effective Date: This ordinance shall take effect from
and after ten 10) days from its passage b the City Council and shall
continue in effect for a period of ninety 00,0) days, or from i.arch 21, 1965
to June 13, 1965, both days inclusive. The City Clerk is hereby directed
to give notice hereof by causing the caption of this ordinance to be pub-
lished in the official newspaper of the .ity of Baytown at least twice with-
in ten days after the passage of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, READ and PAS'.= by the affirmative vote of a majority of
the City Council on this the llth day of J'.:arch, 1965.
C. L. Ligge , i :.D., i..ayor
ATT; )
Edna Oliver, City Clerk
APPRUED :
George k-�"h,fndler, City Attorney