Broken Arrow, OK Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Section 7-264 sits in Article XI of Chapter 7, the wrecker services article, and it governs every company holding a Broken Arrow wrecker contract. Section 7-260 bars anyone from dispatching or operating a wrecker to provide service to the City of Broken Arrow without that contract. The one carve-out: no contract is needed when the vehicle's owner or operator specifically requests a named wrecker service that has no city contract.

Availability comes first. Under subsection (a) a contractor provides immediate wrecker service, 24 hours each day, seven days per week. Subsection (c) backs that with staffing: unless the contract says otherwise, a contractor keeps at least two wreckers and two drivers, every vehicle meets the article's equipment standards, and at least one driver is on duty around the clock. Subsection (d) stops a company from telling the police department it will send a unit unless a wrecker and driver are immediately available when the call arrives. Subsection (b) requires prompt answers, and a driver who will be delayed more than 20 minutes from dispatch to arrival must tell the company dispatcher, who then contacts the police dispatcher for further instructions.

At the scene, the driver clears all debris the accident left on the street (e) and secures the steering wheel of every towed vehicle with a tie-down before towing (f). Subsection (g) protects the owner's belongings: the police officer, not the driver, prepares an inventory of all visible personal possessions and equipment before the vehicle is removed, the driver gives his or her name for the vehicle impound sheet, and the inventory does not authorize opening locked containers without a Broken Arrow police officer present.

For owners trying to get a car back, subsection (j) is the key rule: the contractor must have employees on call or otherwise available to the public so that towed vehicles can be recovered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Subsection (k) is the limit on that access. When a Broken Arrow police officer decides the secured status of an impounded or stored vehicle must be preserved and tells the wrecker service to place a hold, the operator cannot release the vehicle except under applicable police procedures or a court order.

Neighboring sections finish the picture. Section 7-261(6) requires bid specifications to include an agreement that the city is not liable for fees on impounded vehicles, and that a vehicle impounded at the city's request is released at no cost to the owner when the city determines it was impounded through city error. Section 7-267 limits storage of towed vehicles to parcels zoned C-4, I-1 or I-2. Section 7-266 requires a written report to the chief of police within seven calendar days when a tow involves damage or alleged damage to the vehicle, or loss or alleged loss of personal property. Sec. 7-264 was last amended by Ord. No. 3738 on 6-20-2022.