Last year, my aunt parked her car outside her son’s apartment on campus to help him move-in. Her car was towed in under ten minutes. She was handed a staggering fine and a series of absurd fees and stipulations. Even though she beat the tow truck to the impound lot, she still had to pay a storage fee. This situation exemplifies a larger issue: the predatory nature of the towing business, especially around college campuses.
Getting towed is an all-too-common occurrence, with millions of Americans going through the ordeal each year. It is not a pleasant experience to say the least, and there are a variety of factors that can make it even worse, such as your car getting damaged or being towed unfairly. Unfortunately, there’s simply not much you can do about it.
Given the nature of the billion-dollar towing business, especially on college campuses where victims are students with minimal disposable income, it is time to change the many inherently unfair qualities of the towing process.
Towing typically occurs in one of two ways: A property owner or the police can call a towing company requesting vehicle removal or tow trucks can find vehicles in violation of posted parking regulations on patrol. Vehicles can be towed for minor infractions like being slightly over a line or parked in an ambiguous spot. In some cases, towing companies have towed residents from their own homes.
Many states — including Michigan — allow any third party, whether that be a property manager or an employee, to receive kickbacks from towing companies for calling in violations. Such a system encourages third-parties to enforce parking rules to absurd extremes, sometimes flouting them altogether. In some cases, towing companies have hired “spotters” to watch lots and report even the most minute violations. It is possible to get towed in just a few minutes.
Getting towed, especially in Ann Arbor, is not cheap. A sample towing bill obtained by The Michigan Daily shows how tack-on charges can add up — the final price tag racked up to a whopping $365. This is much higher than the average towing bill in the United States of $165. And as an additional hassle, many towing companies only accept cash.
College towns like Ann Arbor are environments ripe for predatory towing practices. Most students live in off-campus housing, and many of these apartments are notorious for malicious towing. When moving into an apartment or dorm, public parking is often very far away from the premises.
For students balancing tight budgets and demanding coursework, a sudden towing fee isn’t just a financial burden; it can lead to missed classes, late rent payments and significant stress. Research shows that 37% of people in the United States can’t afford to pay $400 for an emergency expense without first selling something or borrowing money. It is unsurprising that towing leads many into debt, low credit scores and financial ruin.
Additionally, there are not many protections for those towed under false pretenses. Victims have limited recourse, as the tow yard can hold your vehicle hostage until you pay, even if you have reason to challenge it. If you win the dispute in front of a judge, you will be reimbursed, but to get there in the first place still costs a $75 filing fee. It is simply not practical to contest a vehicle towing most of the time, even if the towing company is in the wrong.
Of course, there is a genuine reason for legitimate towing practices. Parking and road rules need to be enforced in some capacity to limit obstructions and allow for roadways and parking lots to be used effectively. Insufficient consumer protections, however, erode the social value of towing services in the first place. In this case, it is cash-strapped college students who are footing the bill.
There are several actions that cities and states can take to make towing fairer. States can create laws requiring clear tow-away signs. They can also require towing companies to take pictures of vehicles before towing — an absence of a picture makes it very difficult to prove if a car was towed incorrectly. Finally, states can prohibit towing companies from patrolling private property. Michigan does none of these things. In fact, it ranks 33rd out of all 50 states in terms of citizen-friendly towing laws.
Protections can be implemented on the city level as well. Detroit City Council passed an ordinance in 2021 requiring towing companies to accept all forms of payment and stop a towing if an owner returned to their vehicle before it was removed. However, the ordinance only came after a former council member was arrested in a federal case for taking bribes from a towing contractor.
We need to park predatory towing practices for good and shift gears toward fairness and accountability. By implementing clearer regulations and ensuring transparency, policymakers can drive out these exploitative tactics. Let’s stop students from having to dodge tow trucks and create a campus environment where education and community, not towing fines, take the front seat.
Hayden Buckfire is an Opinion Columnist who writes about American politics and culture. He can be reached at haybuck@umich.edu
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