Mayor Peduto looks to reform car-towing procedures in Pittsburgh

The city of Pittsburgh plans to assign one towing company to work each of the six police zones under a proposal designed to “bring safety and customer protections to towing procedures” involving vehicles disabled on its streets, the mayor’s office announced Friday.

Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration does not want towing companies to race against each other to reach accident sites, according to a press release.

So it is seeking proposals from companies, which would set towing rates, and require that the firms maintain tow pounds that are within two miles of the city. The pounds would have to be accessible every day, including weekends. Tow truck drivers would be required to be licensed and insured.

Interested companies have until March 8 to respond.

Vehicle owners could still choose other towing companies to retrieve their vehicles, according to the press release, which added that the administration’s Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Public Safety have been studying the towing situation

for months.

The announcement follows an incident last Saturday in Homewood.

Two tow truck drivers argued on Washington Boulevard near Shetland Avenue after multiple tow trucks responded to an accident. One driver pulled a baseball bat from his truck, and the other drew a gun and shot the first, according to police.

Two years ago, Pittsburgh police complained publicly that the rivalry between tow truck drivers had reached the point at which fights at accident scenes were occurring monthly. Police Lt. Ed Cunningham then cited a similar example of a tow truck driver pulling a gun on a competitor.