In many U.S. states, a car left unattended or parked for more than 72 hours on a public street could become eligible for abatement and removal by towing. Some other jurisdictions give only 24 hours before a parked car is considered abandoned and be towed away before it becomes an extreme blight or safety concern. If in case your car stalls while along a highway, do not leave your vehicle, but instead, ask assistance from a towing company nearest your location.
What Could Happen if You Leave a Stalled Vehicle Along a Highway?
Most towing companies today provide not only towing services but also roadside assistance such as refuelling, replacing a battery or jump starting a vehicle regardless of size. That being the case, you have no reason to leave your car along the highway, as the state highway police could immediately put your vehicle under abatement.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the state highway patrol is responsible for keeping the highways, including the clear-zone on either side, free from any obstruction. As far as public streets are concerned, the responsibility of keeping the roads free from abandoned vehicles falls on the local or state authorities.
Reasons Why Local and State Governments Consider Abandoned Cars as Health Hazards
Local and state governments impose strict rules in making sure that the streets in their communities are rid of abandoned vehicles. Mainly because abandoned automobiles often come with a larger problem, usually in relation to motor vehicle registration, unpaid parking tickets, or in numerous cases, involvement in criminal activities.
Abandoned cars are safety concerns because they attract negative elements, including rodents and other wild animals seeking shelter. Once these nuisance animals find harbourage inside cars, there is no stopping the creatures from invading nearby homes where they are able to discover points of entry.
If you have a junk car in your property it would be best to get in touch with a towing services company and have the car towed away before rats and other rodent species use them as a hiding place. In recent years, these animals have developed a particular liking for electrical wires because cables now come in soy-based coating.
Abandoned automobiles use up space, which becomes a huge piece of junk that presents risks for the environment and public health. Derelict cars have deteriorating components that tend to discharge or cause oil, lubricants or battery acid to leak. Such substances are pollutants to a community’s surroundings as they can be carried elsewhere by water runoffs
Residents of a neighborhood may report a vehicle as abandoned, if it has remained immobile in the same spot for more than the prescribed period. Although in California, state laws require that before addressing any requests for towing, it must first be determined whether the vehicle in question is a non-operational or an abandoned vehicle before it is considered eligible for towing.
The state Department of Transportation recommends that for vehicles parked for more than 72 hours (3 days), the vehicle must have been observed and properly documented during the 3-day period, for them to qualify as a non-operational or abandoned vehicle. Mainly because there have been cases when a reported vehicle has been moved several meters away from its previous location during the 3-day period, which could make the act of towing the vehicle illegal.
