Morning Poll: Doing Their Job or Preying on You?

Towing in Arlington has again been in the news lately.

Last week a driver with Advanced Towing hooked a car at the CVS parking lot on Columbia Pike, before realizing that there were children inside. The driver unhooked the car but the car’s owner still told his story to a local TV station.

After that story came out, other towing complaints have emerged in our comments section and in our forums.

Towing has historically been a hot topic in Arlington. Last year we reported that food delivery vehicles were being towed off private property by Advanced. In past years it was towing fee increases, towing disputes and crimes against tow companies that have made headlines.

Then, last night, more towing drama: ESPN sportscaster Britt McHenry had her car towed by Advanced during dinner in Arlington. She was not happy about it.

Just got towed after eating dinner at an establishment in Arlington. How corrupt is Advanced Towing?

— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) April 6, 2015

@ARLnowDOTcom in the Hunan parking lot, where I ate dinner. On a Sunday night!

— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) April 6, 2015

Apparently McHenry wasn’t the only television personality to be towed from that lot in Clarendon recently.

@ARLnowDOTcom @BrittMcHenry – that lot is totally criminal. @Autria_Godfrey got towed from that lot while we were AT Hunan!

— Jummy ABC7 News (@JummyTV) April 6, 2015

Throughout it all, there’s typically a debate: are tow truck drivers predators who employ shady methods to tow your car away and collect your cash? Or are they simply doing the job that they’re hired to do: protecting private property owners from drivers who park on their lots against the property’s rules?

Inherent in that question is another question: when the towing company does mistakenly tow a car that parked without violating the rules, is it an honest mistake or a cynical “mistake.”

Putting aside the above cases in the Hunan lot, sometimes the emotions of being towed can cloud a simple fact: that you were, in fact, violating the property owner’s parking rules, no matter what was in the car or how short your intended stop.

What do you think?