City Council has made a $AFEclear decision:
Houston’s City Council decided today to give motorists with flat tires and empty gas tanks a break: Instead of paying $75 for mandatory tows, drivers stranded on the shoulder with easy-to-fix problems will be able to get free short-distance tows away from Houston’s busy freeways.
The city will pay for tows under a mile by deducting it from the money that tow-truck drivers pay the city to participate in the Safe Clear program. If the city’s tab reaches more than $75,000 for three months or $150,000 for six months, the City Council will have to revisit the issue.
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Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs failed in her bid to completely rescind the Safe Clear program, garnering only the support of Councilwoman Addie Wiseman.
“We can’t put a Band-Aid on this situation, and there is no such thing as a free tow,” she said at today’s council meeting. “It is not a crime to have a flat, and it is not a crime to run out of gas.”
Wiseman failed to push though at least a six-month moratorium, calling Safe Clear an “illegal seizure of people’s personal property” and an “atrocity.”
“We’re toying with people’s livelihoods,” she said. “I’m offended by that.”
Saying that the city government is inciting panic among its citizens, Wiseman cited Monday’s death of a 77-year-old man killed when he ran across several lanes of traffic as a Safe Clear wrecker pulled up to his disabled vehicle. Police said Lawrence Kahng had run out of fuel on the East Freeway and was getting a can of gasoline when he ran into traffic.
Wiseman especially objected to towing cars not just from moving lanes of traffic but also from the shoulder. The amended ordinance approved today still requires motorists to pay for tows from lanes of moving traffic but allows the free short-distance tows if drivers manage to get their cars on to the shoulder.
RELATED: KPRC-2 coverage
UPDATE: KHOU-11 and KTRK-13 have posted stories on the city council approved changes to $AFEclear. It appears, as best I can decipher, that if your car breaks down in a traffic lane you will be charged $75. If you are involved in an accident, the tow will cost $124. So, get your car over to the shoulder, for that “free” tow! And as Dan Patrick reminds us, if you have a flat tire outside the city limits, be sure to drive on your rim until you get inside the city limits so Houston will pay someone to change your tire for you.
