Subject: VA tow trucks to ply in DC<br/>
Date: Jun 13, 2003 @ 12:45<br/>
Author: L. A. Nadybal (&quot;L. A. Nadybal&quot; &lt;lnadybal@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-1557526692">The governor of Virginia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia<br/>
came to an agreement to let tow trucks from the Virginia Department of<br/>
Transportation come onto the DC bridges over the Potomac to more<br/>
quickly remove stalled vehicles.  Inbound breakdowns in morning rush<br/>
hours  usually generate massive backups, sometimes for 10 - 12 miles<br/>
long, because DC tow trucks have to come out of DC, find a place to<br/>
turn around, then fight their way through the jams onto the bridges,<br/>
all of which are within DC.  <br/>
<br/>
People here can&#39;t believe it took so long and what the big deal was. <br/>
The politicians cite licensing and liability issues, and DC officials<br/>
in particular had some pains with enabling legislation due to the<br/>
District&#39;s status as not a state, or under federal aegis, or some such.<br/>
<br/>
The DC tow truck have to &quot;violate&quot; Virginia to turn around, and I see<br/>
DC police cars in Maryland occasionally, trying to locate the first<br/>
breaks in the freeways where they can maneuver to get back to DC, so<br/>
alll of this seems like burocracy.   Maybe it is only that the tow<br/>
trucks and the police can&#39;t perform official acts in the neighboring<br/>
jurisdiction (except the police, I guess, in hot pursuit)<br/>
<br/>
LN</div>