From Theislandpacket.com of The Beaufort Gazette

Municipalities should move on establishing towing rules

Published July 2011

Hilton Head Island and other Beaufort County municipalities should follow the county's lead on towing regulations.

In June, the county finalized reasonable rules for towing vehicles from private property without the owner's consent.

The county's ordinance sets limits on how much a tow operator charges and makes it easier and less punitively expensive for owners to get back their vehicles after they've been towed.

The push for towing regulations came from a deadly confrontation in December between a tow-truck driver and a man whose vehicle had been immobilized because it was parked on a street in Edgefield, a community that doesn't allow on-street parking because of its narrow roads.

Hilton Head officials are preparing to take up the issue, perhaps as soon as next month. Like the county, town officials should involve tow operators in the process of drafting an ordinance.

The rules should take into account operating costs for tow truck operators, but it should not allow them to exploit a captive market. When a vehicle is gone, the owner must pay up -- no matter how unreasonable the fee -- or he won't get back his vehicle.

We like the county's lower charges if an owner shows up before the vehicle is hooked up to a tow truck ($75) or before the vehicle is hauled away ($100).

And we like its prohibition against immobilizing a vehicle. Booting a vehicle does nothing to keep private streets and parking lots free of illegally parked vehicles.

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2008 Ford F-450 XLT With Jerr-Dan Element