Calgary approves changes to crack down on predatory tow truck drivers

Calgary’s Community Development Community vote in favour of bylaw amendments on Thursday that take aim at predatory tow truck behaviour.

The amendments make changes to the traffic and street bylaws which would impose several rules on tow truck operators, including a 200-metre buffer zone at the scene of a collision, unless a towing service is requested.

Violators could face a $10,000 fine.

Coun. Andre Chabot says first responders have noticed a growing trend where some operators show up at accident scenes uninvited, interfering with police and EMS who need to help the victims.

“And then they started doing their sales pitch, ‘We need to get you off the road, we need to get you to a secure location,'” he said. “Using fear and maybe the shock of the accident to prey on innocent victims.”

From there, Chabot says contractors are charging exorbitant towing and impound fees.

“I’ve heard of instances where the tow charge alone was in the thousands of dollars, not in the hundreds of dollars,” Chabot said.

The city says in some cases, contractors were found to be charging up to 11 times more than a typical 50-kilometre towing charge.

There’s also been repeated instances where fire crews say they’ve been impeded and harassed by these contractors, according to Chabot.

“It certainly does have an impact on those people who are in those tough situations and we’re trying to prevent that, not to mention ensuring that the sites are safe and secure,” Chabot added.

The councillor says the hope is the fine is enough of a deterrent to dissuade aggressive tow truck operators.