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Commission keeps emergency-wrecker zones as-is, orders data report and defers new applicant
Summary
After testimony from Metro Police and industry, the commission voted to retain existing emergency-wrecker zone assignments, directed staff to assemble data and report back by the September 2026 meeting, and deferred STR Towing's new-application to the next annual hearing.
The Transportation Licensing Commission voted to keep Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County's emergency-wrecker zones unchanged for now, while directing staff to gather data to support a future equity and safety review and deferring a new applicant's request for a zone.
During the annual public hearing, Lieutenant Taylor Schmitz of the Metro Police Department said current emergency-tow operations are "working very smoothly" and that the department has had relatively few complaints. Jonathan Massey, Metro Police liaison at the vehicle impound, emphasized safety goals—reducing secondary crashes and clearing wrecks to restore traffic flow—and said the county's towing-zone map has not been reexamined in decades.
Industry representatives urged caution about remapping. James Weaver of Holland & Knight, representing TROPro, told commissioners the existing zone holders represent local small businesses and warned that changing zones without material evidence could harm operators who make capital investments in heavy tow vehicles.
Commissioners asked staff what data is available to measure equity and response performance. MNPD and staff said basic statistics (tow counts, complaint numbers and mileage per zone) were provided in the packet, but precise response-time data is not easily extractable from current dispatch records; Lieutenant Schmitz said "that data is just not available right now" without additional extraction work.
On a motion by Commissioner Rogers to approve the zones as they currently exist, the commission voted in favor on a voice vote. Commissioners then adopted a motion asking NDOT/TLC staff to assemble the available data and report back to the commission by the September 2026 commission meeting so commissioners can consider equity, convenience and public-necessity factors in a future review. The commission also approved a motion to defer STR Towing and Recovery's new-zone application to the next annual hearing while staff collects the requested data, noting that because current zones were retained there is no opening for a new assignment today.
What happens next: NDOT/TLC staff will gather available data—mileage, tow counts, complaint records and any extractable dispatch timestamps—and report findings at the September 2026 commission meeting. STR Towing's application will be carried to the next annual hearing for consideration.
