As a small business owner, I feel that the BTRO’s proposed regulations will not help the towing industry or benefit the public. With the proposed regulations the industry will be affected immediately and I feel it will do a disservice to the residents of Virginia. However, there are some regulations I agree with such as, employee background checks, TRAA training, and possibly licensing fees. We as an industry must be very careful about regulation because once it starts there is no stopping it, and those that are suggesting some of the guidelines do not represent the small towers in the state. I also feel that the July deadline is not a realistic deadline for most of us to meet. If the proposed regulations are approved then my suggestion is that they are implemented in stages throughout the next few years to give us time to understand and abide by the changes. As this will cost all towing businesses some additional expenses, I know that it will affect the citizens of Virginia by raising rates and fees, especially if some companies are forced out of business. Again I must stress that I am not against all of the imposed regulations but we must consider the affect it will have on all the towing companies in the Commonwealth. As far as the Safety towing Guidelines I feel that they are completely unreasonable and unfair to many companies who are not equipped to make the necessary changes to comply. It appears to me and many others that this is an attempt for some large companies to secure their police towing contracts by eliminating some of their possible competition. I think that it should be up to the jurisdiction to enforce the regulations for their towers to comply with. It seems awfully difficult and irrational for a company to purchase two or three, 25 or 35 ton wreckers to become a Class “A” tower. If this board was created to look after and help the citizens of Virginia then I feel that these regulations are not going to do what they are intended to do and they will have a negative impact on the citizens.
