TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The terms, conditions, services, benefits, prices, policies and procedures of STAR Towing are subject to change at any time. STAR Towing has the right to refuse service if it feels the situation is dangerous, or fraudulent. STAR Towing is not liable for any further damage caused to property or person during service calls.
STAR Towing (Snowmobile Towing, Assistance & Recovery)
These Terms and Conditions describe the services available to you from STAR Towing. Please carefully review and familiarize yourself with these Terms and Conditions so that you may fully understand the limitations in which STAR Towing must adhere to.
SERVICE CALLS
Your Service call entitles you to certain Trailside Assistance Services (here after referred to as “Service Call(s)”). Unless stated otherwise in these Terms and Conditions, all towing, battery boost, fuel delivery, minor trailside repairs, recovery or winching services mentioned in this document and rendered by our team are each accounted for as a ‘Service Call’. If more than one service is needed at the same time, STAR Towing has the discretion as to whether to consider it all as one service call, or as separate calls. For example, if the requested call were for Fuel delivery, and upon arrival, fuel did not solve the problem, then STAR Towing may need to charge additional amounts if other tow/recovery equipment now needs to be brought in.
VEHICLES COVERED
STAR Towing only provides services for Motorized Snow Vehicles as described by the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, R.S.S 1990, c. M.44. These services are not provided to an ATV, UTV, Argo or any other vehicle which does not have a pink Motorized Snow Vehicle registration slip.
The Motorized Snow Vehicles covered by the service call must be legally plated with a current validation tag, have valid insurance, have a valid O.F.S.C trail pass permanently affixed to the vehicle in order to be eligible for service. The vehicle registration and proof of insurance needs to be present at the time of the service call.
DATES SERVICE IS OFFERED
STAR Towing is not authorized to break any laws and therefore will only operate on OPEN O.F.S.C trails as indicated by O.F.S.C. Due to this limitation, services will only be rendered when there is enough trails open to make traveling to your location legal and safe. Trails open each season at different times due to weather and grooming efforts. STAR Towing will begin offering services on December 30th, and end on April 30th. If the trails are open prior to December 30th, STAR Towing, at their own discretion, may choose to begin sooner if the resources are available (this will be communicated on our website if we begin operating sooner in the season). If trails are not yet open as of Dec 30th, the service will be delayed until sufficient snowfall and grooming has occurred to open the trails. When the trails close at the end of the season, the service will no longer be offered even if this occurs before April 30th.
AREA COVERAGE
It is the intension of STAR Towing to expand to offer services on more and more O.F.S.C trails in the years to come. In the early years of the business, the area where services are available will be limited based on the availability of equipment and operators in the area. As STAR Towing acquires more equipment and can hire more operators, the service coverage areas will grow. The area is subject to grow or shrink as deemed necessary at any point of the year. The current coverage will be posted on the STAR Towing website at www.snowmobiletowing.ca.
WAIT TIMES
Due to the nature off-road recovery, wait times will vary significantly based on road distance and trail distance needed to travel to your location. STAR Towing will dispatch the team immediately upon receiving your call. If there have been several calls come in around the same time and all rescue teams in the area are busy, they will be notified to work as fast as possible on their current call to get to you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, STAR Towing cannot guarantee a maximum wait time, but will guarantee that all effort will be put towards rescuing you out of the cold as quickly as possible.
DRIVERS
At the time of a service call, the driver of the Motorized Snow Vehicle must have a valid driver’s licence/Snow Vehicle Operator’s Licence for operating that vehicle on the O.F.S.C trails. The licence can not be suspended or expired and will be asked to be presented at the time of the service call for reporting purposes. The driver is to not be impaired by alcohol or other drugs. If a team member suspects the driver is impaired in anyway, it will be their obligation to alert the proper authorities. The driver must follow all other legal obligations to operate a Motorized Snow Vehicle in Ontario.
PASSENGERS
STAR Towing will cover the rescuing of one rider (the driver). If there is a passenger present on the vehicle, this information needs to be clearly communicated at the time the service call is placed. Please note, the rescue team may be limited in the ability to rescue more than one rider at a time. STAR Towing will only service the driver on single seat vehicles and will do their best to accommodate up to one additional passenger granted the vehicle is a two-up seating configuration. Additional effort offered by the team member to rescue more than the prescribed number of persons listed above will be at the discretion of the team member and an additional expense may be needed if it requires more time or travel trips to accommodate everyone. Due to the type of service call and the type of equipment sent on the call, the available seating capacity is the limiting factor to ensure the safety of all those involved.
DISCRIMINATION
STAR Towing does NOT discriminate offering service to any individuals based on Age, Gender, Race or Ethnicity, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Language or Religious Beliefs. However, some limitation may arise due to certain scenarios. Some examples are, but not limited to, the person’s age must be old enough that they hold a valid operator’s permit to drive the vehicle. The language used by STAR Towing is English and the customer must be able to communicate clearly with the team member in order to ensure a proper understanding, even if this means using a translator. The person being transported by any of the team members must comply with the size and weight restrictions of the vehicle used to transport them (for example, STAR Towing can not mandate the team member overload their recovery vehicle’s safe operating load limits if a person is in excess of size or weight.) If you feel that you have been discriminated against by any of the team members, please contact STAR Towing immediately to report the incident. All STAR Towing team members are to make all reasonable effort to accommodate where possible.
HELMETS
The driver and all passengers needing to be picked up and brought to safety must have their own properly fitting D.O.T approved helmet. STAR Towing does not authorize any of its team members to transport passengers who do not wear a D.O.T approved snowmobile helmet as described in the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, R.S.S 1990, c. M.44. The team members will NOT provide helmets due to sizing variances and health concerns.
SERVICE UNDER SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS
When severe weather conditions prevail, service arrival times may be delayed because of heavy demand for trailside assistance. Under these conditions, towing service may be limited to the nearest repair facility or nearest safe location. In these extreme conditions, if the team member states they are unable to bring you to your desired location due to other riders stranded in the cold, all effort will be made to finish your tow at the first available opportunity. We put priority on getting people back to safety first and towing the vehicle second.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
STAR Towing strives to provide the finest trailside assistance through our network of team members. However, since some of these team members are independently owned and operated, STAR Towing does not assume liability for any loss or damage to a customer’s vehicle or personal property, for loss of time or inconvenience, for rental or replacement of vehicle, for personal injury or any other special, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, howsoever caused. The team member is to take all possible precautions to avoid any further damage or injury while recovering the rider and the vehicle. If any damage or injury has occurred to your vehicle or your persons, please contact the STAR Towing management immediately. Any such loss or damage should be reported immediately to the proprietor of the facility that rendered the service and/or to your insurance company before any necessary repairs are carried out. STAR Towing assumes no liability if you engage in fraudulent or unauthorized use of the services or engage in illegal behaviour.
INJURY
STAR Towing does not in anyway claim to be an emergency response team with any formal training in CPR or other life saving skills. STAR Towing simply sends a team member to bring people back to a safe warm place, and to tow the vehicle as needed. If any injuries requiring medical attention have occurred, the first call should be made to 911 to dispatch trained medical rescue teams. STAR Towing can then later be called to pick up the uninjured persons and/or the vehicles.
WINCHING/RECOVERY SERVICE
STAR Towing will attempt to winch/recover your vehicle from any stuck location, provided it has become stuck in an area immediately adjacent (about 30 feet) to an open O.F.S.C trail and can be safely reached with the snowmobile recovery equipment. STAR Towing will not attempt to recover vehicles which were purposefully traveling off the groomed trail, or on closed trails at the time of the incident. STAR Towing is not obligated to travel on private land, on closed trails, or cross rivers that may be deemed unsafe for the weight of the recovery equipment.
TOWING SERVICE
STAR Towing will tow your Motorized Snow Vehicle to any destination of your choice located within a reasonable distance within the service coverage area. The cost of towing will depend on a few factors. This towing distance will be a combination of trail towing and on road towing. STAR Towing is not obligated to travel on private land, on closed trails, or cross rivers that may be deemed unsafe for the weight of the recovery equipment.
ACCIDENT TOWING
STAR Towing will tow your Motorized Snow Vehicle from the accident scene to any destination of your choice located within a reasonable distance within the service coverage area. The cost of towing will depend on a few factors. This towing distance will be a combination of trail towing and on road towing. STAR Towing is not obligated to travel on private land, on closed trails, or cross rivers that may be deemed unsafe for the weight of the recovery equipment. Additional fees may be associated with the clean-up of an accident, storage/impound fees and/or any delays in performing the service at the scene of an accident if the authorities prevent the recovery from commencing right away upon arrival. If any additional fee will apply, the team member will advise the customer before the service is performed.
BATTERY BOOST SERVICE
STAR Towing will attempt to re-start your vehicle by boosting the vehicle’s battery. If the vehicle will not start, a tow will be provided to any destination of your choice located within a reasonable distance within the service coverage area.
FUEL DELIVERY SERVICE
STAR Towing can arrange delivery of an emergency supply of fuel. The delivery of the fuel, and the cost for the fuel will be the responsibility of the customer. All effort will be taken to ensure the proper grade of fuel required for your vehicle is delivered. However, due to limitations and supply, the correct grade of fuel may be unavailable. In the event that fuel can not be brought to you, or if the correct grade of fuel is unavailable, STAR Towing will tow you to the nearest available fuel. If the customer requests a lower grade fuel than what is carried by the team member, the customer will be required to pay for the grade of fuel that is on hand, or may have additional costs associated with STAR Towing retrieving the correct grade of fuel. It will be most common for a fuel grade of 91 Octane to be carried by the team member.
MINOR TRAILSIDE REPAIRS
STAR Towing can arrange for minor trailside repairs such as changing a drive belt, spark plugs or light bulbs granted the member has the spare components with them. This service is to get the member back to riding sooner than if a tow is needed to go to a repair shop. If the spare components needed are not present at the time of the call, or the spare components do not resolve the drivability issue and the repairs can not be performed, a tow will be provided any destination of your choice located within a reasonable distance within the service coverage area. These calls should only be for minor repairs which have rendered the vehicle not drivable while on the O.F.S.C trails and can easily be performed on the trail with minimal tools. STAR Towing has the right to refuse performing trailside repairs if they feel it does not constitute a minor repair which has currently left the customer stranded. All other repairs should be carried out by an authorized snowmobile repair facility.
Any request from the customer to have the team member locate and purchase spare parts and bring them to their location for repairs will be at the discretion of the team member and the availability to do so. Up front payment will be required for this service. These requests should only be for minor repairs which have rendered the vehicle not drivable while on the O.F.S.C trails and can easily be performed on the trail with minimal tools. (Examples of this would be if all headlight bulbs are not functioning during the night time due to being burnt out and simply changing the bulbs would allow the member to continue riding after repaired. If the headlights do not work due to a more complex electrical problem, the vehicle will simply be towed to have the repairs done by a repair shop.)
WATER RECOVERY
STAR Towing does NOT perform any recovery efforts for vehicles which have gone through the ice. Whether partially or completely submerged. The team member in your area may decide to help if there is a way to safely secure the recovery equipment off the ice and then assist with the recovery. STAR Towing does not have any experienced dive teams. STAR Towing does not authorize its team members to endanger themselves to go out on thin ice, or unknown thickness of ice.
SERVICES NOT COVERED
STAR Towing is devoted to rescuing stranded snowmobilers from the O.F.S.C trails by following all applicable laws.
WE DO NOT:
- Provide towing or trailside assistance services where prohibited. All laws must be able to be followed for the team member to respond to a call.
- STAR Towing will not respond to service calls where travel on closed trails is required. If the team member can not legally travel to your location, the call will not be able to be answered.
- Pay for the cost of any incidental expenses such as accommodation, meals, vehicles, rentals, etc. as a result of your vehicle’s breakdown.
- Provide service to any vehicle other than a Motorized Snow Vehicle, to any vehicle used for competition, or any unlicensed vehicles, impounded or theft-recovered vehicles unless directed to do so from law enforcement.
- Recover any vehicle which has gone through ice whether partially or completely submerged.
- Provide service to an unattended vehicle. A licenced driver must be present when service is being rendered unless the service call comes from law enforcement.
FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY
In any of the services outlined above, if fraudulent, criminal, or malicious activity is suspected, STAR Towing retains the rights to pursue appropriate legal action including refusing to render the service set forth in the terms and conditions, charging for the expenses incurred, and contacting the appropriate legal authorities.