TITLE 49

MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 18

TOWING AND STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

49-1804.  Removal of abandoned vehicles by authorized officer. Any authorized officer within the jurisdiction in which a vehicle is located, who has reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle has been abandoned, may remove the vehicle from a highway or from public or private property to a garage or nearest place of safety.

Upon discovery of an abandoned vehicle which is not within the class of vehicles defined under "extraordinary circumstances," an authorized officer shall attach on the vehicle, in plain view, a notice that this vehicle will be towed away at the expiration of forty-eight (48) hours as an abandoned vehicle. The notice shall contain the name of the officer who prepared the notice; the name of the agency employing the officer; the time and date of attaching the notice; the time and date after which the vehicle will be removed; the telephone number and address of the agency where further information can be obtained. A reasonable attempt shall be made to notify by telephone the owner of any vehicle which has current license plates and registration as shown on the records of the department, prior to the expiration of the forty-eight (48) hour notice period, of the location of the vehicle and the time and date of intent to remove the vehicle. The inability of an officer to notify the owner shall not preclude the removal of the vehicle at the expiration of the forty-eight (48) hour period.

Any vehicle which does not have current or any license plate attached may be immediately removed to a safe place of storage.

History:

[49-1804, added 1988, ch. 265, sec. 422, p. 794; am. 2010, ch. 171, sec. 6, p. 350.]