It's a city wide crackdown on wreck-chasers.
"Racing to the scene, and, we believe police and fire are the emergency operations vehicles. Tow trucks, while they're important, there's no reason for them to be going 70 miles per hour or blowing through red lights," Deputy Commissioner John Gaittens said.
Until now it was a free-for-all with tow trucks converging on accident scenes, and sometimes fighting over the job.
They are supposed to be on a rotation system.
But, when they hear the call over police radio, they're off to the races.
Now, with radio silence, the dispatcher determines if a vehicle needs a tow.
"And, if that is the case, then, immediately, the next person on the list in the rotation towing program is notified. So, they're basically getting notified as the same time as the officer," Gaittens said.
So far, tow truck operators say the police tactic appears to be working.
The tow operators say the war between just two rivals is ruining a system that has worked for decades.
They often make good money by getting accident victims to sign agreements before they talk to their insurance companies.
Tow operator Joseph Avive says most operators are honest and try to avoid violent confrontations with each other.
He says the new police rotation communicated by computer will be costly.
"It hurts me to see that so many people are going to get affected off of it, so many body shops and so many families are going to get laid off," Avive said.
The police say let the chips fall where they may. Public safety comes first.
