[sjfidsfkds]

I live in a neighborhood with impacted parking that’s poorly served by the local government. People keep parking in front of my driveway and blocking me in. If I call the cops they ignore me. If I call the tow company they come and tow away the offending car. Is this bad?

Suppose someone decided my front yard is a good place to store their belongings and dropped a shed there. Should I be able to hire movers to dispose of the shed? Or the police should be my only recourse?

I share the feeling that towing companies can be abusive and that’s not right. I think a better response is to regulate the towing companies and provide remedies. For example, make abusive towing practices illegal with heavy penalties (eg. if they tow illegally, they owe you $1000 per day you lose access to your vehicle). If it’s unfair to tow a vehicle after two minutes, make that illegal.

[dieselgate]

I’ve had my fair share of getting towed and it sucks but I lean towards your opinion with this one.

[ilyt]

> If I call the cops they ignore me. If I call the tow company they come and tow away the offending car. Is this bad?

Yes. Here in Poland they'd get ticketed at the very least. It's easy money for them, pads their stats, and actually helps people. If it is somewhere where it blocks traffic (whether to house, pedestrians or otherwise) it would most likely also be towed. The company is contracted by city but they just do the towing, not law enforcement.