People on this site are obnoxious.

maybe not 50, but certainly 40 or more.

I've added my own suggestion. They can drive the speed limit.

Why is this issue closed already? This is a real issue. The tow trucks are terrible - they drive at excessive speeds, and often drive the wrong way down one-way streets. They bully everyone and act recklessly. They are a terrible menace to the neighborhood. The police just give them a free pass, too, which is upsetting in its own right.

this happens on mechanic as well, while plenty of schoolkids are in the area. they travel so fast, it sounds terrifying.

the cops leading them at this speed should be ashamed, and reprimanded.

Why is this issue closed? There's barely been any discussion, and it's still a problem.

Yes, this is an issue. Tow trucks are breaking the law, and being led to do so in an unsafe way by police.

Tow trucks need to get to the cars before people move them . The sweeping commences in different parts of the sometimes posted designated areas.
( 1'st & 4th Tues. on even sides, 1'st & 4th Wed. on odd sides) they'll just blast onto Mechanic st at 7:30 am one day , then start on Canner another day at 7:30 am - the few metal signs remaining say "7:30 am - 3pm"
And we often saw them come back onto an already swept street at 2 , for more towing , maybe the piggy people who threw litter out of their car windows after they left confuses the whole entourage.
Maybe we can all do a better job of letting our neighbors know of this frenetic tag / tow / then push the dirt around op.
- sad was when i warned one Lady who was parking her car that they would tag it etc. she replied
" but i see other cars " she was nailed
(thanx Ben for the good job at Clix Fix)

Sounds like Maureen and some others had their cars towed.....
50 MPH (and even 40) is hardly possible for the tow trucks-let's get real. These narrow streets and bumpy roads simply won't allow a tow truck driver to negotiate the streets at this speed. Seems more likely that the people complaining have an axe to grind...

NEVER had my car towed. Just trying to cross streets while walking my dogs. It is hazardous as they don't even bother to stop at Stop signs, never mind crosswalks. Since when does "towing someones car" earn a pass on basic traffic regulations?

Why is this about tow trucks ?
The issue must be seen as an issue for the NHPD as they "lead" the way.
Did anyone get a car # of the police car ? They certainly know who's driving it.
How about some info before we just babble on here about tow trucks.
Any NHPD out there ?

They drive like maniacs after towing a car so they can come back and get another one real quick. They love taking money from YOUR pockets. I agree , something should be done about their reckless driving. They think they own the road. I just slow down in front of them to @#$% them off. And the cops are NOT leading the way at that speed. Its when they are rushing back to pick your pocket somemore that is the problem.

Tow operators always are thought to be driving at a high rate of speed because the transmissions in those vehicles are different. The noise , as they accelerate to the speed limit of 25MPH, is a deceptive indicator of their actual speed. The larger the tow truck, the more noise you get.
As far as obeying traffic laws, they are held to a strict standard. The same standard as any citizen. They would be removed from the tow-list if they didn't.
I , almost always gave drivers a pass on a rolling stop. If I didn't, I'd be hampered in by ability to truly serve the city.
I am not saying that some Officers don't blow a stop sign now and again, but it certainly isn't a practice that is encouraged nor is moving through a residential neighborhood at 40+ mph. That claim is almost certainly sensationalized.

I have seen several speeding tow trucks just in the past week. I called one into the NHPD but there was no response.

I don't think that these trucks are hitting 50mph, but they do drive pretty fast and loose. It's obviously not the best thing for quality of life when have a whole fleet of noisy trucks trying to tow cars as fast as possible.

FYI, the trucks aren't "rushing" to get another car..they follow a strict rotation of trucks, and each tower gets the next car. I don't know if they are impounding vehicles now, or just bringing them back...can anyone shed light on that?

FYI, the "tuesday,wednesday" etc. schedules are no longer accurate. Street sweeping is now "as-needed" and no longer strictly according to the signs (which they should just take down). The signs that you need to follow are the paper ones they post the night before.

Anyone care to videotape this in action? Visual proof of what's happening I think can shed a lot of light on the situation.

The drivers do speed, blow traffic lights, stop signs and do u-turns in the middle of the street at a speed far exceeding the limit. The Officer that is leading the way is ticketing the cars and the next driver in line gets the car...Once the driver hooks the car they speed to their garage and speed back to the towing site in order to hitch another car. They may not be driving 50 miles per hour but they are certainly breaking several motor vehicle laws. I was cut off several times on the ETGBLVD on street cleaning days. NHPD should be notified of this practice and make the lead officer responsible for letting these drivers that they must follow the laws.

They speed away alright , but not to the garage with the hooked car. They stop on the way , right out of that particular district where they drop that car and turn back for more . Then later they will take all of the hidden vehicles to the tow yard , that's why sometimes when you call it's not ready and you get the ole run around..... like when snappers are hitting , as fast as one can unhook the fish and get the line back out there , the quicker you can catch another one.
Yes in East Rock it is still 2'nd tues and 2'nd wed
then 4th tues on even side,4th wed odd ...
Big money maker, some Tow operators were paying to play . I wouldn't be surprised if the Players playahs don't come on-line a defend the actions

Watch out, neighbors, because summer is construction time in New Haven. And if there is construction on one street (No parking) and Street Sweeping on the cross street (No parking) ... sucks to be you. Even if there are no signs for 3 blocks near where you parked, even if you appeal your $50 ticket (after already paying the fee to retrieve your car from the tow yard) - the officer who ticketed you will claim that there were signs. (Two weeks later now, sans evidence, and his word still automatically trumps mine? When I'm the one who lives here, and has to drive around every fortnight looking to park legally?)

Seriously - insofar as municipal street-sweeping is needed at all, it's in the winter months, when leaves and grit clog gutters and curbsides . Of course, there's no street-sweeping Nov-April. They save that for the snowless, leafless summer months, when there is barely a grain to be swept up by the sweeper-trucks. This is routine, shameless extortion of well-intentioned residents, on the thinnest of pretenses.

I've seen this, too. I was riding my bike into work on State Street and had a couple of tow trucks blow straight through a stop sign to turn left on state. One very nearly mowed me down.

I yelled at him, and he opened his door as if he wanted to get out and go toe-to-toe with me (tow-to-toe?), but he wound up just aiming a string of profanities in my direction before taking off again.

What @#$% me off was that he was acting as if it was somehow my fault.

Just an addition to the PD comment about tow truck transmissions. The trucks do indeed have a extra low 1st gear, for the power needed when pulling away with a car attached - but I used to drive big trucks with a lower 1st gear and know the difference between the extra noise that comes from a first gear that can easily wind out at 3500 rpm and that which results from a driver punching the accelerator. The noise is from the latter most of the time when I hear the trucks going. And yes, probably not 50 mph, though I have easily seen 35-40 as a regular practice (along with blowing through stop signs).

Lets help this situation by obeying the posted signs re: street sweeping.
If they have no cars to tow. There won't be a problem like you see.
Obey the traffic signs yourselves and those you complain of won't have any cars to tow.
It;s really really simple .

Fixed.
Valencia came up with the best solution

Really, that's the solution? Tow trucks can ignore safety and laws as long as some people don't see the street sweeping signs? It seems unlikely that people are deliberately ignoring street sweeping notices and challenging the NH police. On my street these are posted one, maybe two, days ahead of time (the permanent signs were taken down last year). If you happen to be out of town or not parked in the right stretch of the street where the few signs are posted - you may not see.

Bottom line - tow trucks should obey traffic laws, for everyone's safety. Doing their towing job should not be a free pass to ignore rules the rest of us are expected to abide by.