Mississippi cracks down on predatory towers who target commercial vehicles with passage of bill
Mississippi lawmakers passed a bill that will provide new protections for commercial vehicle drivers from predatory towers.
On April 19, 2024, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed SB 2635 into law.
The new law increases protections for commercial vehicle drivers during nonconsensual tows and regulates how much truckers can be charged for towing services.
Under the new legislation, a Commercial Vehicle Towing Advisory Committee made up of law enforcement and tow and trucking industry stakeholders will establish statewide maximum towing and storage rates for nonconsensual tows, including those for private property, to be reviewed by the committee each year.
Here’s what else the law will do:
- Guarantees truckers “reasonable” access to their truck after a nonconsensual tow.
- Guarantees truckers the right to request a specific tow company unless the company is unavailable.
- Makes it illegal for law enforcement or members of the Commercial Vehicle Towing Advisory Committee to receive compensation from a towing and recovery service for the privilege of being included on the tow list.
- Requires tow services to document the condition of the vehicle and the reason for the tow prior to towing.
- Forbids towing a truck from commercial property without written permission from the property owner.
- Tow companies cannot tow from private property unless the property owner has posted proper signage.
- Tow and recovery companies cannot use vehicle immobilization devices (like a boot) unless directed by law enforcement.
“Predatory towing is an egregious practice that not only disrupts our state’s supply chain, but also costs Mississippi truck owners thousands of dollars for each unwanted tow,” said Mississippi Trucking Association President Hal Miller. “We are grateful to Mississippi legislators for listening to our concerns about this unfair tactic, and we thank Governor Reeves for swiftly signing this bill into law. We look forward to our continued partnership with our state’s leaders on commonsense reforms that promote justice, fairness and safety.”