You might sometimes find out a car that has been parked in your street for several days without being attended to. It is highly likely that such a car is a stolen one and it has been left over there by the culprits. Abandoned cars that do not look very good can be an eyesore. Other that being unpleasant to the sight, they have another disadvantage. They can take up the valuable parking space in crowded residential area. Such a car can be particularly a nuisance if it is parked in or blocking your parking space and therefore creating problems for you.If you ever have to deal with such a situation, here is what you should do to cope with it.
Determine whether the car can be classified as ”Abandoned Vehicle”:
First thing to do is to see whether the car can be declared as abandoned car. Depending on your local laws, a vehicle is usually declared ”abandoned” after it has been parked unattended for 72 hours (3 days).
Determine Whether the Car is Stolen One:
Abandoned cars are usually the stolen ones. Therefore the second thing you need to do is to determine whether the car is a stolen one. The car is likely to be a stolen one if you can see that its locks are broken.
Look for the owner in the neighborhood:
If you are not sure whether the car is stolen one, you should try to look for the owner in the neighborhood. Ask your neighbors if the car belongs to them or to someone they know. It might be possible that one of your neighbors who is not aware of the local parking laws has parked it there.
It should be kept in mind that anyone can park a vehicle at any public place as long as they comply with the parking laws such as observing street sweeping regulations. Depending on the local laws, you do not have any more right than anyone else to the parking space immediately in front of your house.
Call the Local Police:
If you cannot find the owner of the vehicle, you should call your local police. When reporting such a vehicle, the police will likely ask you details about the make and model, exact location of the vehicle, and license plate number (if available).
The police will try to trace the owner and check whether the vehicle has been reported stolen. If they can find the owner, the owner will be asked to move the car. If the owner cannot be located, the police might tow the vehicle and move it.
Contact a towing company:
It will depend on the local laws whether the police has the authority to move the car. The local laws will also determine whether the police is responsible for towing the stolen vehicle or the owner of the property will be responsible.
If the law states that the owner is responsible and you are owner of the property where the car has been parked, you might have to hire towing services of a towing company. The tow truck will move the vehicle to a warehouse or scrap yard.
