Council Tow Truck Dropping Car?

Council Tow Truck Dropping Car?

Author
Discussion

uber

Original Poster:

855 posts

169 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
For the last week we have been watching Glasgow City Council lift cars from our office windows and it seems they have a pattern they like to go for which involves picking the newest most expensive cars first then hitting the normal stuff.

Based on a chat we were having in the office and after to much time arguing if it would be legal does anyone know what would happen if you left your car and undid all bolts apart from a single one which would hold the wheel in position when stationary.You would also have a note on the window saying do not lift etc The hiabs seem to use scooping mechanisms which make it very quick to lift the car but I would also think would create enough pressure to snap the last bolt and make the car fall to the ground.

In the case of it working who would be to blame and would the owner get into serious trouble? You will not only be solving an office argument here but I'm sure someone in the office has an old car and a gopro wink

Davie_GLA

6,521 posts

198 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Tell me. What do you think is going to happen when you remove all but one bolt?


TheEnd

15,370 posts

187 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
I get the jist of it.

There is a video of some hiab dropping a car, I'm sure someone said that every bulb in the car was blown, and the council had to pay for all the repairs.

505diff

507 posts

242 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
If you leave a car on the public highway it must in a road worthy condition, so I would suspect if it fell apart when someone went to tow or lift it, roadworthy it would hardly be, so any damage to it or council equipment would be down to you

spikeyhead

17,192 posts

196 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Just how many cars are on your office windows?

paintman

7,665 posts

189 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Could be an interesting exam question.
Could removing or slackening the nuts constitute damaging or being reckless as to whether damage was caused to your own property?
Clearly driving a vehicle in such a condition would cause damage to the wheel or when the wheel falls off whatever parts of the car hit the ground.
Would allowing the vehicle's weight to rest without being correctly supported cause damage - no matter how slight - to any part of the vehicle?
If the operator of the lifting truck was killed as a result of the damaged vehicle falling could it be argued that your action could be regarded as "reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered".
Maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

Criminal damage Act 1971. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/48

dacouch

1,172 posts

128 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
spikeyhead said:
Just how many cars are on your office windows?
Commonwealth Games are on so I guess the council are busier than normal

SV8Predator

2,102 posts

164 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
dacouch said:
Commonwealth Games are on so I guess the council are busier than normal
And school's out for summer now.


7mike

3,004 posts

192 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
dacouch said:
spikeyhead said:
Just how many cars are on your office windows?
Commonwealth Games are on so I guess the council are busier than normal
Bored with parrots

ging84

8,789 posts

145 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
i like the new whoosh cat

lbc

3,211 posts

216 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
uber said:
For the last week we have been watching Glasgow City Council lift cars from our office windows
Are there any vacancies for doing this window watching job rolleyes

BlackCup

1,231 posts

182 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Surely it's less effort to park in a correct manner than to remove all but one wheel bolt from your own car!

red_slr

17,093 posts

188 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Just put a load of HAZMAT stickers on the boot.. problem solved smile

ging84

8,789 posts

145 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
red_slr said:
Just put a load of HAZMAT stickers on the boot.. problem solved smile
I have genuinely wondered about this
what do you do if a car has a sticker on it for something the tow truck is not legally allowed to carry but the car driver maybe

red_slr

17,093 posts

188 months

Tuesday 29th July 2014
quotequote all
Not saying they wont, but my understanding is HAZMAT should not be lifted by Hi-Ab.

NoNeed

15,137 posts

199 months

Tuesday 29th July 2014
quotequote all
I believe it would be better to add so much weight that it can't be lifted as hiabs have quite a low capacity. I remember a case mentioned don PH where a rolls Royce was ticketed daily as it couldn't be lifted but the owner just considered it a reasonable price for a nice space right outside his office.


You could re-enforce the suspension a little and add a few ton lol

Just had a thought about the total weight. Usually the biggest car transporters are 7.5 ton max weight I do't know if that is just the load or the lifting truck as well.


I am sure somebody on PH will have better details on these matters.

Edited by NoNeed on Tuesday 29th July 19:30