Re: Taking Pictures of PPI Signs ? ?

[rreschran]

There's plenty of forum banter about illegal PPIs and posted signs. When you're actively evaluating towing from private property, do you take any pictures of posted signs to include with your digital (photo) review?

As an example, one gigantic San Diego commercial property has this sign at the far east fenceline; another property include the No-Pee sign, but no LE phone number or vehicle code number is present.

 

My guys take pictures of proper signs at the physical location to avoid that, "I didn't see no signs" comments told to the judge.

 

What's your practice or does it even matter?

[someotherplace]

Sign regulations vary greatly from state to state and I'm also guessing even at the county and city level in some places.  Texas is pretty specific about what constitutes legal signage for PPI towing.

 

For a while (years ago) we used to take pictures of the signs on the entry gate every time we would enter a property to tow.  This was due to a high number of sign tear-downs for a while; these things seem to go in phases where a video or social media post might be making the rounds and goes "viral" and people begin copying the behavior.  The sign picture (date/time stamped) would be included on each ticket along with the violation pictures, in the event of a dispute.

 

It's a habit I personally have fallen short on in the past few years because the sign tear-downs have been minimal.  Paying attention that the signs are there when you go in is still a priority.  At some of these properties they are very busy and the driveway just off a busy street, so stopping to get a clear picture of signs every single time can prove to be tricky, as you can cause a momentary traffic jam, endangering the vehicles behind you, and also running the risk of causing them to start honking, drawing unnecessary attention to your arrival.

 

Your paint and sign crew has to be on point to keep up with the legal requirements of sign posting, and some companies are better about it than others.  Thankfully most of the people I've worked with understood the importance and respond quickly when we have some that need to be corrected.  Our current crew (in-house) is top notch and I'm happy to have them working with us.

 

Richard