Found yourself in a standoff between you and a tow truck? Sitting in your car might seem like the ultimate life hack to stop it from being towed. After all, a tow truck operator can't legally tow a vehicle if anyone is physically inside it. For all intents and purposes, it's illegal (not to mention extremely unsafe) for a towing company to move a vehicle with someone inside. You'd be hard-pressed to find a jurisdiction anywhere in the United States where this isn't the case.
That said, there are some
serious flaws in this seemingly foolproof method: Just because a tow operator can't drag your car away with you sitting in it doesn't mean you've somehow absolved yourself. This isn't some "Grand Theft Auto" scenario where you can just break the law, wait it out, and get away with it. (And improving your driving record is going to be a lot harder than reducing your wanted stars.)
In fact, staying in your car to block a tow might land you in more trouble than the original violation. In most states, refusing to get out of your vehicle or otherwise blocking a tow truck driver from doing their job qualifies as interference, meaning the tow truck driver can just call the police on you and have them handle it instead.
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Interfering With A Tow Will Only Make Your Problems Worse
Once a tow truck starts getting ready to tow your car, there's (legally) nothing you can do. If they're having an especially bad day, even touching your own vehicle at that point could be enough for the operator to involve the police. While you're not technically committing theft or vandalism — it's your car, after all — you could still be breaking the law by keeping someone from legally performing the job they were contracted to do.
This is why sitting in your car isn't some legal loophole. Sitting inside the vehicle simply means the tow company can't do what they were hired to do. It doesn't have any impact on the violation that led to them being called in the first place. To put it in the most black-and-white terms, you're delaying a legal course of action, and that puts you in more trouble, not less. (Especially if you're in one of the states with the worst towing protections.)
What To Do Instead If You Don't Want To Be Towed
So, if sitting's not the way to do it, what should you do instead if you don't want to see your car get hauled off? For starters, let's state the obvious: Don't do anything that would warrant a tow in the first place. Private property, public roads, parking lots, parking in someone's reserved spot; they all have rules and regulations that need to be followed if you'd like to avoid consequences.
If you still find yourself with a tow truck on your case, it's important to stay calm and avoid escalating anything, especially if you think you're being wrongfully towed. In this case, shift your attention to documentation and compliance. Make sure to get an itemized invoice from the tow truck driver and take plenty of photos of the area where you were parked. No matter what, though, don't be stubborn and sit in your car. This won't protect you and it'll only delay the inevitable — which could cost you a lot more in the long run.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
