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[LEGAL] PERSPECTIVE rates be raised across the board to reflect increased costs. The DPU did amend the regulation, but it took almost four years – until June of 2017 – to issue the final amended regulation. The 2017 regulation made various changes to acceptable maximum tow rates and also cleaned up the structure of the regulation, eliminating confusing “Note” adjustments and clarifying some definitions. Among the major changes in the regulation were the following: The maximum allowed charge for a basic tow for either a commercial or noncommercial vehicle was raised from $90 to $108. A basic tow does not require any extraordinary services and includes towing of up to five miles and up to one hour of “service or waiting time.” Service or waiting time is the time spent by the tow carrier’s service vehicle at the scene of a tow waiting to provide service, winching or using the service vehicle’s industry standard tools or equipment. If service or waiting time exceeds an hour for non-commercial vehicles, the rate for additional waiting time went up from $35 to $42 per half hour. This charge cannot be made for trespass or snow removal tows. If a tow is longer than five miles, the maximum charge for each additional mile was raised from $3 to $3.60 per mile for non-commercial vehicles and from $4.25 to $5.40 per mile for commercial tows. As before, mileage is generally measured on a roundtrip basis from the carrier’s garage and back. If the service vehicle is dispatched from a different location, the one-way mileage may be doubled. If more than one non-commercial vehicle is transported between cities or towns, and if mileage is more than five miles, the vehicle’s GPS system is to be used instead of using the old MILO Mileage Guide to calculate the mileage, doubling a one-way mileage measure to reach the roundtrip charge allowed. When additional labor is needed to remove a non-commercial disabled vehicle from a scene, the maximum rate per man hour (or part thereof) went up from $32 to $38.40. Additional labor time may be charged from the time the person leaves the carrier’s garage until he returns. If an additional service vehicle is needed for a non-commercial tow, then the maximum charge for the additional vehicle now cannot exceed $108, up from the prior $90 allowed charge. This is another charge that cannot be made for trespass or snow removal tows. For non-commercial vehicles, if extraordinary or additional services are needed that are beyond the capabilities of the carrier, then the carrier may charge for those services at their actual cost. Such services may include renting cranes or bulldozers, employing specialized labor or utilizing HAZMAT services.
44 April 2018
New England Automotive Report