(a)  Any member of any police department or the owner or person in control of private property may order the removal of any abandoned or unattended vehicle, or any member of any police department, upon completion of a vehicle survey report, as defined in this chapter, may order the removal of any abandoned vehicle of no value by a certificated tower and may instruct the certificated tower to remove the vehicle to its own place of storage.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-3

  • Abandoned vehicle: means (i) A vehicle that is inoperable and more than eight (8) years old and is left unattended on public property for more than forty-eight (48) hours; or (ii) A vehicle that has remained illegally on public property for a period of more than three (3) days; or (iii) A vehicle that has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than three (3) days. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2
  • Certificated tower: means a carrier possessing a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the public utilities administrator for the purpose of transporting vehicles by tow-away method. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2
  • Legal owner: means the person who has obtained ownership of a vehicle by any legal means but has not caused the vehicle to be registered with the division of motor vehicles. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Police department: means the police department of a city or town or the Rhode Island state department. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2
  • Registered owner: means the person recorded in the division of motor vehicles as being the one to whom the registration of the vehicle was issued. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2
  • Unattended vehicle: means any vehicle other than an "abandoned vehicle" or "abandoned vehicle of no value" that meets the following criteria:

    (i)  Left unoccupied in a place or for a time period prohibited by law or municipal ordinance or so as to cause traffic congestion or hazard; or

    (ii)  From which the operator or owner thereof has been removed by any member of a police department in the performance of his or her official duties; or

    (iii)  Left on public or private property without the consent of the owner or person in control thereof, or one having the exclusive right to the use thereof. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2

  • Vehicle: means any motor vehicle as defined in § 39-12-2. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-12.1-2

(b)  The last registered owner and/or the legal owner, or the person who left a vehicle in a position so that the vehicle becomes abandoned, abandoned and of no value, or unattended shall be liable for all reasonable costs of recovery, towing, and storage in accordance with the certificated tower’s tariff.

(c)  Any member of a police department observing a vehicle on or near a public way that appears to be abandoned, abandoned and of no value, or unattended shall tag the vehicle by affixing securely to the vehicle a colored form or by using an easily observable sticker. The tag or sticker shall show:

(1)  The date and time of tagging, and the name and telephone number of the police department;

(2)  That the vehicle will be removed pursuant to this chapter unless the vehicle is removed after forty-eight (48) hours; provided, however, the police officer may order the immediate removal of the vehicle without prior tagging as provided in this section if it is parked illegally, causes traffic congestion or hazard, or when the operator is not allowed to continue to operate the vehicle after having been detained for operating in violation of the law.

(d)  No person in possession of a vehicle that, in the opinion of the police officer in charge of the scene, needs to be removed to another location, shall be denied the right to have any certificated tower of his or her choice attend to the removal; provided, however, that allowing the choice of certificated tower does not cause a continuation of traffic congestion or of a hazardous condition on the highway that the police officer is able to eliminate by other means. When the hazardous condition has been eliminated, the person’s choice shall be employed to remove the vehicle to the place selected by the person in possession.

History of Section.
P.L. 1994, ch. 328, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 326, § 114.