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Rampant price-gouging, reckless driving prompts Ontario to propose tow truck regulations

The city is looking at the idea of getting a tow truck to move disabled cars off roadways during rush hour.

I wonder if the long, harsh winter Canadians just endured has anything to do with the Ontario government's move to crack down on the province's tow-truck business.

Plenty of drivers probably found themselves on the hook, so to speak, after sliding off some icy road or finding their vehicle had simply chilled out.

Whether the timing's coincidental or not, Ontario Consumer Services Minister Tracy MacCharles has announced changes to the Consumer Protection Act to impose regulations on the towing and vehicle storage industries aimed at eliminating price gouging, the Toronto Star reports.

There's always been a Wild West element to the largely unregulated tow-truck business, with drivers racing each other to reach crash sites and holding illegally parked vehicles for ransom after they're towed.

[ Related: Killed tow truck driver's friends praise tabled move-over law ]

Globe and Mail automotive columnist Peter Cheney, writing last November, described tow trucks lurking near Highway 401 on-ramps "like carrion birds circling above the Serengeti during migration season," listening to police radio so they could dash to snatch up a broken-down or crashed vehicle.

“I think the towing industry is worse than those guys in Somalia,” Doug Nelson, executive director of the Provincial Towing Association of Ontario, admitted to Cheney.

“At least the pirates let you know what they’re up to. They stick a gun in your face and take your ship and your money. When it comes to towing, you don’t even know you’re getting robbed until you see the bill.”

Everyone hates tow-truck drivers, unless you need one, and then you're more or less at their mercy.

"Some people have reported being faced with demands for hundreds of dollars in cash at the scene of an accident before the service was even provided," said MacCharles, according to The Canadian Press.

"We've had so many reports about inflated prices by some, not all, but some tow truck drivers, and that is driving up the cost of collision repairs and storage costs, so that's what we're trying to get at on the fraud side."

According to the ministry's news release, the proposed new regulations would require permission from a consumer or someone acting on their behalf before charging for towing or storage services.

Operators would have to post their prices and other information, be required to accept credit-card payments and provide an itemized invoice listing the services provided and the total cost.

The government also wants to add tow trucks to the province's Commercial Vehicle Operator's registration system (surprised they're not already included) to improve road safety via government monitoring and enforcement.

MacCharles noted tow-truck drivers have a collision rate of 20 per cent, compared with one per cent for other commercial vehicles and three per cent for private passenger vehicles.

It's caused "in part by aggressive driving in an attempt to get to collision scenes first," she said.

The additional regulation would help cut down accidents and reduce insurance premiums, she said.

[ Related: Tow truck driver's death on Trans-Canada a 'freak accident' ]

Several municipalities regulate and license tow trucks, CP reported. MacCharles said the province will work with them to see if they want to adopt the new provincial regime or continue regulating the industry themselves.

Not everyone's keen on regulating the towing industry.

A 2012 editorial in the Ottawa Sun argued against the nation's capital imposing municipal regulations.

"Regardless of the problems with tow trucks, we absolutely do not need to introduce regulations," the Sun opined. "This city needs less red tape, not more.

"If you feel a tow truck company has been unethical, call the Better Business Bureau on them. If you feel they’ve been criminal, call the cops. We don’t need to regulate yet another industry."