CHAPTER 454
Abandoned Vehicles
454.01 Applicability and scope.
454.02 Abandoned vehicle defined; exception.
454.03 Removal of vehicle by or at direction of police.
454.04 Designation of approved storage garages; bonding, towing and storage.
454.05 Payment of towing and storage charges.
454.06 Reclamation costs.
454.07 Records of vehicles removed and impounded.
454.08 Restrictions upon removal of vehicles.
454.09 Conflicts of law
454.99 Penalty.
CROSS REFERENCES:
Storage of motor vehicles - see TRAF. Ch. 450
Removal of vehicles from public ways - see Vehicle Code Sec. 3352
Removal of vehicles from private property by owner - see Vehicle Code Sec. 3353(c)
Authority to provide for impounding of vehicles - see Vehicle Code Sec.
6109(a)(22)
Abandoned vehicles and cargos - see Vehicle Code Sec. 7301 et seq.
454.01 APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE.
This chapter is enacted under authority of Section 6109(a)(22) of the Vehicle Code and gives authority to the Township to remove and impound those vehicle which have been abandoned or are not legally entitled to operate or park on the streets and highways of the Commonwealth under authority of the Vehicle Code.
(Ord. 586. Passed 9-19-84,)
454.02 ABANDONED VEHICLE DEFINED; EXCEPTION.
(a) A vehicle, other than a pedal cycle, shall be presumed to be abandoned under any of the following circumstances, but the presumption is rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence:
(1) The vehicle is physically inoperable and is left unattended on a highway or other public property for more than forty-eight hours.
(2) The vehicle has remained illegally on a highway or other public property for more than forty-eight hours.
(3) The vehicle is left unattended on or along a highway or other pubic property for more than forty-eight hours and does not bear all of the following:
A. A valid registration plate;
B. A certificate of inspection; and
C. An ascertainable vehicle Identification number.
(4) The vehicle has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than forty-eight hours.
(b) Vehicles and equipment used or to be used in construction or in the operation or maintenance of highways or public utility facilities, which are left in a manner which does not interfere with the normal movement of traffic, shall not be considered to be abandoned. (Ord. 586. Passed 9-19-84.)
1997 Replacement
454.03 REMOVAL OF VEHICLE BY OR AT DIRECTION OF POLICE.
(a) Outside Business and Residence Districts. When a police officer finds a vehicle in violation of any of the provisions of Section 3351 of the Vehicle Code, relating to stopping, standing and parking outside business and residence districts, the officer may move the vehicle, or cause the vehicle to be moved, or require the driver or other person in charge of the vehicle to move the vehicle, to a position off the roadway where the vehicle will not interfere unduly with the normal movement of traffic or constitute a safety hazard.
(b) Unattended Vehicle Obstructing Traffic. A police officer may remove or cause to be removed to a place of safety any unattended vehicle illegally left standing upon any highway, bridge, or causeway, or in any tunnel, in such a position or under such circumstances as to interfere unduly with the normal movement of traffic or constitute a safety hazard.
(c) Removal to Garage or Place of Safety. A police officer may remove or cause to be removed, to the place of business of the operator of a wrecker, to a nearby garage or to another place of safety, any vehicle found upon a highway under any of the following circumstances:
(1) A report has been made that the vehicle has been stolen or taken without the consent of its owner.
(2) The person in charge of the vehicle is physically unable to provide for the custody or removal of the vehicle.
(3) The person driving or in control of the vehicle is arrested for an alleged offense for which the officer is required by law to take the person arrested before an issuing authority without unnecessary delay.
(4) The vehicle is in violation of Section 3353 of the Vehicle Code, relating to prohibitions in specified places, except for overtime parking.
(5) The vehicle has been abandoned.
The officer shall comply with subsection (d) hereof and Chapter 75 of the Vehicle Code relating to abandoned vehicles and cargoes.
(d) Notice to Owner Prior to Removal.
(1) Prior to removal of an abandoned vehicle bearing a registration plate, certificate of inspection or vehicle identification number plate, by which the last registered owner of the vehicle can be determined, the Police Department shall send a notice by certified mail to the last registered owner of the vehicle informing the owner that unless the vehicle is moved to a suitable location within seven days of the date notice is mailed, the vehicle will be removed under this section and held at a suitable facility where it may be reclaimed by the owner in accordance with Section ‘7306 of the Vehicle Code relating to payment of costs upon reclaiming a vehicle. If the abandoned motor vehicle does not bear an identifiable registration plate, certificate of inspection or vehicle identification number plate, the notice may be secured to the vehicle.
(2) If the owner so requests, within the seven-day period, he or she shall be given an opportunity to explain to the police officer or the Police Department why he or she believes the vehicle should not be removed, If the police officer or the department determines that the vehicle shall, nonetheless, be removed, the owner shall be given an additional forty-eight hours to remove the vehicle, to have it removed or to demand a bearing, which shall conform to the requirements of 2 Pa. C. S. Ch. 5, Such. B, relating to practice and procedure of local agencies. The police officer or the Department shall inform the owner of the right to a hearing by delivering to the owner a notice warning the owner that unless the vehicle is removed or a hearing is demanded, the owner shall be subject to the provisions of Section 7306 of the Vehicle Code, If, as a result of the hearing, it is determined that the vehicle will be removed, the owner shall be given an additional forty-eight hours to remove the vehicle or to have it removed. The hearing shall be before a civilian officer or employee of the Municipality in which the vehicle is located.
(3) The provision for notice in this subsection is applicable only if the vehicle is abandoned upon a highway and is not in violation of paragraph (d) (2) hereof or Section 3351(a) or 3353(a) and (b) of the Vehicle Code. Notice under this subsection is in addition to any other notice requirements provided in the Vehicle Code. (Ord. 586, passed 9-19-84.)