Your towing rights

AUSTIN (KXAN) - You can expect to see the streets filled with parked cars during the Austin City Limits festival and tow truck operators looking for violators. Before you get towed, one man wants you to know your rights.

"We have wrecker drivers out there that you won't find in the front row of church on Sunday, that will take advantage of people," said Pat Johnson, a former tow truck company employee and creator of a towing watchog group. 

On Johnson's website, he alerts people to towing laws that can help a person seek damages if their vehicle is towed illegally.

"You have to see the sign whenever you pull into a parking facility, off a public street," he said.

According to Texas towing law, a "no parking" sign must be the state law mandated red and white, have the international towing symbol at the top, warn drivers that they're vehicle will be towed at their own expense and include the phone number of the wrecker company assigned to impound the vehicles. The sign must be clearly positioned in the lot for drivers to see.

In addition, if you come back to a lot and see a tow truck operator loading up your vehicle, you can have it back for free unless it is fully loaded and ready to drive off the lot.

"If it is fully loaded, then they can charge a disconnect fee," said Sgt. Scott Perry, with APD.

When it comes to parking in neighborhoods, police will be out in full force looking for those parking illegally. The neighborhood off Barton Springs and Robert E. Lee will be closed off by police in order to prevent cars from blocking the road to emergency vehicles. Patrol officers will be driving through other neighborhood streets, looking for anybody parked in front of a fire hydrant or blocking a driveway.

Johnson recommends avoiding the towing troubles altogether and finding an alternate route to the festival.

"If you're gonna go to the Austin City Limits music festival, park in one of the garages and take the shuttle," he said. "It's a lot less pain and heartache."