SHREVEPORT, La. — A local tow truck company owner has asked the Shreveport City Council to revise its parking regulations after one of his drivers was ticketed for parking a commercial vehicle in his own neighborhood.
Kenneth Crawford, owner of a local towing business, told council members on Monday that the driver had the truck parked at his house because he was on call to respond to police accidents.
Under Louisiana law, tow truck drivers must arrive at accident scenes within 45 minutes of a dispatch. Crawford said current city parking restrictions make it difficult for drivers to meet that window if they cannot keep their vehicles at home.
Crawford requested that the council consider an exception to the ordinance specifically for drivers who are actively on call.
"It's unnecessary because, you know, these trucks don't really take up any much more room than a full-size pickup truck and that we're not asking for it to be done all the time," Crawford said. "Just the time that those calls and those drivers are on call. So, I think that it would be certainly a benefit to the city. It doesn't tie police officers up as long."
There are currently 13 towing companies on the Shreveport Police Department rotation list. According to Crawford, most of those companies only have one driver on call at a time.
Councilman Grayson Boucher agreed to look into the issue following Crawford’s comments. Boucher stated that the Public Safety Committee will review the existing ordinance to determine if changes are warranted.