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I live in Arlington, VA, in an apartment complex where tow trucks patrol and take away "unauthorized" vehicles. Long story short...my girlfriend got her car towed away yesterday morning. Don't like it, but I understand why. She's more upset that the driver entered her vehicle (the only reason I could see was to get the invalid visitor's pass). 1)Was this necessary? I don't see any reason for them to enter the vehicle, especially just to retrieve the pass. 2)Is this legal? If they don't have a valid reason to enter the vehicle, I don't see how it could be. Any light anyone could shed on this issue will be greatly appreciated.

~thanks
First of all it sounds more like you should address this question to the local PD, second your make a long story short isn't telling us enough details. Did tow operator unlock car or was it locked and if it was a invalid pass, was it a illegel pass or out of date? Did he have a wrecker or rollback? Was cars parking brake on and he unlocked door to check as not to damage the vehicle? Was car a stick shift, in gear and he unlocked car as to not to damage? There's alot of??????
A tow driver will often enter a vehicle in order to tow it. First and formost, a driver must secure the steering wheel with a supplementary locking device when the vehicle is towed with the front wheels on the ground.

It's also likely that he entered the vehicle to release a parking brake, or to shift the vehicle into neutral for towing. Most vehicles that which have a shifter that locks in park, will also have an emergency release lever that allows the vehicle to be shifted into neutral for this exact purpose.

To answer your question, There is no law against entering the vehicle for this purpose, as long as no damage or theft occurred.

Hope this helps.
Quote (Singlehook Towing @ Feb. 17 2004, 2:45 pm)
First of all it sounds more like you should address this question to the local PD, second your make a long story short isn't telling us enough details. Did tow operator unlock car or was it locked and if it was a invalid pass, was it a illegel pass or out of date? Did he have a wrecker or rollback? Was cars parking brake on and he unlocked door to check as not to damage the vehicle? Was car a stick shift, in gear and he unlocked car as to not to damage? There's alot of??????

Quote
Did tow operator unlock car or was it locked and if it was a invalid pass, was it a illegel pass or out of date? Did he have a wrecker or rollback? Was cars parking brake on and he unlocked door to check as not to damage the vehicle? Was car a stick shift, in gear and he unlocked car as to not to damage?


The car was locked. The pass was out of date, so I changed the date (Yeah, I know this was wrong, but the rental office was closed. I had little other options.). The car's an automatic. As far as the other questions, I don't know.
In the state of Virginia, it is lawful for the towing company to enter the vehicle to insure safe towing of that vehicle (as Bill stated previously.) Most people would rather the tow operator enter the vehicle to release the parking brake or secure the steering wheel than to risk damage by leaving it on / unsecured. (Granted, most people would rather their car not be towed, but since it has been, it's best that it's done properly.) :cool: