Utah Code 41-6a-401.9. Authority to remove and dispose of vehicles and cargoes of vehicles involved in accidents
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(1) As a result of a motor vehicle accident, a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction may, without the consent of the owner or carrier, remove a vehicle, cargo, or other personal property that:
Terms Used In Utah Code 41-6a-401.9
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Department: means the Department of Public Safety. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- Highway: means the entire width between property lines of every way or place of any nature when any part of it is open to the use of the public as a matter of right for vehicular travel. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Law enforcement agency: means the same as that term is as defined in Section
53-1-102 . See Utah Code 41-6a-102 - Motor vehicle: means a vehicle that is self-propelled and a vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- Right-of-way: means the right of one vehicle or pedestrian to proceed in a lawful manner in preference to another vehicle or pedestrian approaching under circumstances of direction, speed, and proximity that give rise to danger of collision unless one grants precedence to the other. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- Roadway: means that portion of highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Tow truck motor carrier: means the same as that term is defined in Section
72-9-102 . See Utah Code 41-6a-102 - Truck: means a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except a mobile carrier, as defined in Section
41-6a-1120 , or a device used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
(1)(a) has been damaged or spilled within the right-of-way or any portion of a roadway on the state highway system;
(1)(b) is blocking the roadway; or
(1)(c) is otherwise endangering public safety.
(2) The Department of Transportation, a law enforcement agency, or an authorized tow truck motor carrier shall not be held responsible for any damages or claims that result from exercising any authority or the failure to exercise any authority granted under this section provided they are acting in good faith.