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California Vehicle Code Section 22513

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Vehicle Code > California Vehicle Code Section 22513

22513.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) or (c), the owner
or operator of a tow truck who complies with the requirements of this
code relating to tow trucks may stop or park the tow truck upon a
highway for the purpose of rendering assistance to a disabled
vehicle.
   (b) It is a misdemeanor for the owner or operator of a tow truck
to stop at the scene of an accident or near a disabled vehicle for
the purpose of soliciting an engagement for towing services, either
directly or indirectly, or to furnish any towing services, unless
summoned to the scene, requested to stop, or flagged down by the
owner or operator of a disabled vehicle or requested to perform the
service by a law enforcement officer or public agency pursuant to
that agency's procedures.
   (c) It is a misdemeanor for the owner or operator of a tow truck
to move any vehicle from a highway, street, or public property
without the express authorization of the owner or operator of the
vehicle or a law enforcement officer or public agency pursuant to
that agency's procedures, when the vehicle has been left unattended
or when there is an injury as the result of an accident.
   (d) This section shall not apply to the following:
   (1) A vehicle owned or operated by, or under contract to, a motor
club, as defined by Section 12142 of the Insurance Code, which stops
to provide services for which compensation is neither requested nor
received, provided that those services may not include towing other
than that which may be necessary to remove the vehicle to the nearest
safe shoulder. The owner or operator of such a vehicle may contact a
law enforcement agency or other public agency on behalf of a
motorist, but may not refer a motorist to a tow truck owner or
operator, unless the motorist is a member of the motor club, the
motorist is referred to a tow truck owner or operator under contract
to the motor club, and, if there is a dispatch facility which
services the area and is owned or operated by the motor club, the
referral is made through that dispatch facility.
   (2) A tow truck operator employed by a law enforcement agency or
other public agency.
   (3) A tow truck owner or operator acting under contract with a law
enforcement or other public agency to abate abandoned vehicles, or
to provide towing service or emergency road service to motorists
while involved in freeway service patrol operations, to the extent
authorized by law.

Last modified: February 22, 2013