TITLE 49

MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 18

TOWING AND STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

49-1802.  PRESUMED RESPONSIBILITY. (1) The abandonment of any vehicle shall create a prima facie presumption that the last registered owner of record is responsible for the abandonment and is thereby liable for the costs incurred in the removal, storage, and disposition of the vehicle, less any amount received from the disposition of the vehicle.

(2)  The owner of any vehicle removed pursuant to this chapter is presumed responsible for the vehicle and is thereby liable for the costs incurred in the removal, storage, and disposition of the vehicle, less any amounts received from the disposition of the vehicle.

(3)  If a vehicle is found abandoned or found under extraordinary circumstances and is removed at the direction of any authorized officer and is not redeemed by the owner or lienholder within seven (7) days of the tow, the last registered owner of record is guilty of a traffic infraction, unless the owner has filed a release of liability with the department pursuant to section 49-526, Idaho Code, in which case the transferee shown on the release of liability shall be guilty of a traffic infraction.

(4)  Vehicles towed under the provisions of this chapter cannot be disposed of without a title or a junk certificate.

(5)  If a law enforcement agency places a call or requests a tow company to remove a vehicle, it shall be classified as a law enforcement-directed tow and the provisions of this chapter shall apply.

History:

[49-1802, added 2025, ch. 218, sec. 2, p. 1027.]