TITLE 49

MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 18

TOWING AND STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

49-1809.  TOW PROCEDURE HEARING. (1) Whenever an authorized officer initiates the tow or storage of a vehicle pursuant to the provisions of sections 49-1804 and 49-1805, Idaho Code, the agency authorizing the tow or storage shall provide the vehicle’s registered and legal owners of record or their agents with the opportunity for a tow procedure hearing to determine the validity of the storage.

(2)  In order to receive a tow procedure hearing, the owners or their agents must send a request for hearing in writing, to the department, within ten (10) calendar days of the date of the initial notice, pursuant to section 49-1807(1)(c), Idaho Code. Any such hearing shall be conducted within forty-eight (48) hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing, as long as the hearing officer is not the same person who directed the storage of the vehicle.

(3)  Failure of either the titled or legal owner or his agent to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the tow procedure hearing requirement as to that person.

(4)  The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles removed from posted property pursuant to section 49-1806, Idaho Code.

(5)  The agency employing the person who authorized the tow shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the hearing that reasonable cause for the tow and storage cannot be established.

History:

[49-1809, added 2025, ch. 218, sec. 2, p. 1030.]