Stalled? No cost

Regarding “Stalled vehicles get free tows” (Page B5, Tuesday), kudos to the Houston-Galveston Area Council for its “Tow and Go,” a program that focuses on citizen safety and convenience, which is what a public service ought to do.

This contrasts dramatically with the last public effort to remove stalled vehicles from our roads, the former Mayor Bill White’s 2005 “SafeClear” program, which allowed politically connected towing companies to confiscate your stalled vehicle simply by getting there first, then charge aboverate towing fees and mandatory storage fees. Mandatory fees were removed in response to public outrage but were restored In 2011 by former Mayor Annise Parker.

SafeClear has always been a public money grab that preempts the rights and options of private citizens. “Tow and Go” appears to fix all that. Looks like third time is the charm. Pete Smith, Cypress