(a) The Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may establish, within its patrol jurisdiction, a rotational system for summoning licensed wrecker operators for the purpose of towing or transporting motor vehicles which are disabled, inoperative or wrecked in the event the owners or operators of such vehicles are incapacitated, unavailable or leave the procurement of wrecker service to the officer at the scene of an accident or the location of a disabled vehicle. Any such licensee may participate in such system, provided (1) his operators fulfill certain qualifications, including certification by the Towing and Recovery Association of America or a certification program approved by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and his equipment meets safety and mechanical standards established by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, and (2) his business is located so as to provide prompt and efficient service.

(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall grant variations or exemptions from, or approve equivalent or alternate compliance with, the provisions of this section where strict compliance with such provisions would entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship or is otherwise adjudged unwarranted, provided any such variation, exemption, approved equivalent or alternate compliance shall, in the opinion of said commissioner, secure the public safety.

(c) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 concerning the operation of such rotational system and the removal from the system of wrecker services which fail to comply with the requirements specified in such regulations or any provision of the general statutes or a regulation concerning the operation of a motor vehicle repair, towing or storage facility or the operation of a motor vehicle.

(P.A. 83-166; P.A. 98-138; P.A. 11-51, S. 134.)

History: P.A. 98-138 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), adding provision requiring certification of wrecker operators and including Commissioner of Public Safety as standard-setting authority and deleting provision allowing the commissioner to adopt regulations and added Subsec. (b) authorizing commissioner to grant variations from strict compliance with the section and new Subsec. (c) re adoption of regulations; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Department of Public Safety” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.