The following definitions will apply throughout this
chapter:
(1) "Chief" means the chief
of the Washington state patrol.
(2)
"Department" means the Washington state department of licensing.
(3) "Designee" means a person designated by
the chief of the Washington state patrol.
(4) "Director" means the director of the
department of licensing.
(5)
"District commander" means the commanding officer or designee of a geographical
area established by the Washington state patrol.
(6) "Emergent move" or "emergent movement"
means a law enforcement directed movement of any vehicle by a tow truck,
utilizing any safe means, for the purposes of clearing the roadway in the
interest of safety and/or for the reduction of congestion.
(7) "Highway" has the same meaning as
provided in chapter 46.04 RCW.
(8)
"Initial tow" means services provided including, but not limited to,
collisions, incidents, disableds, and impound requests, as a result of an
original call, on a particular vehicle, that the tow operator receives from the
patrol using a copy of a current rotational call list for the particular
zone.
(9) "Inspection certificate"
means an inspection report and a tow inspection summary report completed by an
inspector.
(10) "Inspector" means a
commissioned officer of the Washington state patrol who has been designated as
a tow truck inspector by the patrol.
(11) "Letter of appointment" means a document
issued by the Washington state patrol and signed by the patrol and registered
tow truck operator that authorizes the tow operator to tow and store vehicles
for the patrol on a rotational or contractual basis in a specified area. The
letter of appointment contains a rotational tow rate cap agreement that
specifies the maximum tow rates that may be charged for services provided as a
result of patrol originated calls.
(12) "Owner/operator" means an owner of a
towing business who is active in the general management of the
business.
(13) "Patrol" means the
Washington state patrol as defined in
RCW
43.43.010.
(14) "Place of business" means a building
located in an assigned tow zone that the registered tow truck operator
occupies, either continuously or at regular times, where tow business books and
records are kept and tow business is transacted.
(15) "Registered tow truck operator" or "tow
operator" means a person who engages in the impounding, transporting, or
storage of unauthorized vehicles, or in the disposal of abandoned
vehicles.
(16) "Secondary tow"
means towing services from a tow operator's storage facility or place of
business to another location designated by the owner/agent of a vehicle, when
the initial towing services were the result of a call from the
patrol.
(17) "Section" means the
section designated by the chief of the Washington state patrol to coordinate
the tow truck inspection program, maintain tow truck files, and issue letters
of appointment.
(18) "Section
commander" means the commanding officer or designee of the section.
(19) "Special event" means any event that
causes an unusually large number of impounded vehicles and/or tow calls in a
short period of time and which is declared as such by the district commander or
designee.
(20) "Special event
storage area" means an area used for temporarily storing vehicles
impounded/towed from special events. Approval for such areas must be obtained
from the department, the patrol, and appropriate city and county
jurisdictions.
(21) "State
recognized holiday" means a legal holiday as outlined under
RCW
1.16.050.
(22) "Storage area" means the approved yard
and buildings (primary and secondary) where stored vehicles are kept. The
storage areas and fencing must comply with the requirements established by the
department and local zoning rules and regulations. Both primary and secondary
storage areas must be physically located within the tow zone assigned to the
tow operator under a letter of appointment.
(23) "Tow truck" has the same meaning as
provided in RCW 46.55.-010.
(24)
"Tow truck number" has the same meaning as provided in
RCW
46.55.010.
(25) "Tow truck permit" has the same meaning
as provided in
RCW
46.55.010.
(26) "Tow truck service" means the towing,
moving, transporting, or impounding of vehicles, together with personal effects
and cargo, by a registered tow truck operator utilizing equipment approved by
the patrol.
(27) "Tow zone" means
that specific geographical area designated by the district commander for the
removal of vehicles as defined in Title 46 RCW and this chapter.
