Is it possible to tow a car without license plates?
Do they have the right to tow a car without license plates?
A vehicle can be towed to an impound lot for a huge number of reasons . But for several years now, traffic violations such as unpaid or incorrect parking have been steadily taking the lead in this area.
Those motorists who have already experienced all the hardships of evacuation (the main disadvantage is a large fine) strive with all their might to avoid it, which is why they resort to a wide variety of tricks. One of them is hiding or removing license plates.
A natural question arises: can a car without license plates be towed? Discussion of this topic is quite popular on specialized forums and websites, so in this article it will be discussed in as much detail as possible.
Why rent rooms?
Such a simple way to prevent the evacuation of a car seems innocent and simple. But is this really so?
It’s interesting that they started hiding license plates since digital locks appeared . Hairdryers, a device that records the speed of a moving car, have caused some drivers to remove their identification plates.
One of the first means in the fight against them was hairspray and women's tights. Such means blocked the reflection of light, so they did not allow the number to be recorded. However, such ancient means are absolutely powerless in the fight against evacuation .
If due to this the radar could simply not record the data, then the inspector may well notice and then identify a violation of the law, manifested in the form of falsification or concealment of the license plate.
It is worth admitting that even removing the plate with numbers and taking it with you or leaving it in the trunk is not so easy. To do this, the driver must always have with him a tool that allows him not only to dismantle, but also to mount the license plates back.
At the same time, it is important to learn how to perform such actions without unnecessary noise and as quickly as possible, since otherwise passers-by may suspect a crime and call a traffic police inspector.
But why do some motorists still resort to these tricks? Where did the tradition of removing numbers or hiding them using a special film, a layer of dirt and other “screens” come from?
There are several possible answers to this question:
- Many paid parking lots are equipped with special mechanisms, parking signs, that read the number. Thanks to this information, the car owner is obliged to pay for parking. If the device cannot determine absolutely all the digits of the numbers, you can really save money;
- similar equipment is also installed in the coverage area of most prohibition signs. As in the case of paid parking, its purpose is to read license plates and transmit information to charge fines to negligent drivers;
- and finally, current legislation prohibits the towing of a vehicle without license plates. Drivers who hide their license plate count on traffic police inspectors to strictly comply with this rule.
However, unfortunately for car owners, traffic police officers are well aware of such tricks . That is why they have developed a number of measures that allow them to counteract dishonest drivers.
Is it legal to tow a car without license plates?
Have you noticed cars without license plates in impound lots? Do they have the right to tow a car without license plates? It is necessary to proceed from the circumstances of each specific case.
Let us remind you that the current law does not provide for the evacuation of a car without license plates, but despite this, the capital’s services have increased security during the period of international events, so more than a dozen cars with disguised license plates went to the impound lot.
Can a car without license plates be towed from a paid parking lot? It is prohibited to evacuate cars without license plates from paid parking lots, since this area is private property.
So, a tow truck has no right to drive there without the permission of the owner of the parking lot, much less take away the vehicle. This rule makes it possible for offenders to escape from justice.
It is interesting that a walking traffic police inspector cannot give the right to evacuate, but he classifies the lack of license plates as an offense, so the owner of an unregistered car will have to bear responsibility.
It should be noted that at present the Moscow authorities are seriously addressing this issue in order to reduce the crime rate in the city. There are even proposals to tighten or improve the law for resourceful drivers.
"Fair" evacuation
If a car owner parks his “iron horse” without license plates under a “Parking is prohibited” or “Stopping is prohibited” sign, MADI inspectors will not waste precious time on further clarification of the circumstances of this act.
They have the legal right to tow a car to a parking lot for illegal parking. In this case, the inspector will not figure out who owns the car.
Since he does not have the right to clean the dirt from the license plate or rip off the special film (by law, such actions can be classified as property damage or violation of the inviolability of private property), he will rewrite the visible numbers and then send the car to the impound lot.
If a cunning driver has completely removed the license plates, then only he will have problems, since he will not know what to do next, where to look for the car, or to which parking lot it was evacuated. This may well waste a lot of mental energy and precious time.
Recently, you can see the evacuation of cars without license plates under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
The vehicle is removed from a 400-meter zone from the MCC, surface vestibules of stations, metro structures, ground transport stops, transport hubs, parks, as well as other public places where a large number of people accumulate.
According to the new regulations, such cars are moved to specialized parking lots, where they are checked by law enforcement officers.
Thanks to this, they can determine whether the car poses a terrorist threat or whether it is wanted. After this check, the evacuated cars are returned to the owner or his legal representative.
Towing a properly parked car
Is it legal to tow a car without license plates that is parked without violations?
As we have already noted, special services can evacuate a car without identification marks only in extreme cases.
For example, if the vehicle is in the area covered by a prohibitory sign . However, if the car was parked in a yard where there are no parking restrictions, then traffic police inspectors usually do not touch it.
However, this rule also has a number of nuances. For example, if a driver left a car on a section of the road under which there are underground communications (water pipes, gas pipes or a sewer network), then it may be evacuated to a penalty area.
The fact is that in an emergency, certain services must have quick access to all communication facilities . If there is a car above them, access to them remains blocked.
Responsibility for car owners
So, according to the above, despite the fact that in most cases the evacuation of a car without license plates is prohibited, the legislation provides for a number of exceptions that do not allow you to be completely sure of this.
Therefore, removing or hiding a license plate often makes little sense.
It is worth admitting that license plates are not something to joke about, since here you can easily either lose your license or run into a hefty fine, there are several options.
Here is the punishment for cunning drivers in 2019:
- They will take away your license. You run a high risk of losing your license for six months or even a year if you travel with deliberately false license plates: from another car or simply fake ones.
- They will issue you a fine or, again, deprive you of your license. If you cover your license plates while driving: with a rag, a net, an accidentally stuck sheet of wood, a plastic bag, paper, special inclined frames, filters, films - this is punishable by law in the form of a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights (for 1-3 months).
- They will be fined. If you attach false license plates to a parked car, you face a fine of 2,500 rubles.
- They scold you and let you go. If the license plates are simply dirty, the inspector can issue a fine of 500 rubles or issue a warning, although the numbers must be read at night from 20 meters. In this case, it is important not to be rude to the inspector, but simply wipe the number with a rag. If the sign is wrinkled or its paint has worn off over time, promise to make a duplicate.
According to the above, the fine for parking a car without a license plate is small . But still it is several times more than paying for parking.
In order not to expose yourself to unnecessary expenses, it is better to always pay for parking. In addition, paid parking protects your car from theft and other troubles.
It also makes absolutely no sense to remove or hide identification marks so that the car is not towed as a result of violating traffic rules.
After all, the car will be taken away anyway, but, in addition to a fine of 2,500 rubles, you will also have to pay for her stay in the impound lot.
It is much more economical and practical to try not to break the rules and park the car only in the designated place.
Video: In Moscow they began to evacuate cars without license plates
Are cars without license plates towed away?
Detaining cars and moving them to a specialized impound lot is one of the measures to combat traffic rule violators.
In order to return movable property from the impound lot, the driver must not only obtain permission from the relevant department of the traffic police, but also pay the cost of evacuation and storage services, which quite often amounts to large sums of money.
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To avoid evacuation, many drivers leave their vehicles without license plates. Is it possible to evacuate a vehicle without signs? Read on.
Reasons for drivers removing license plates
License plates are assigned to a vehicle after it is registered with the traffic police. By these distinctive signs you can determine the owner of the car, since the traffic police has a single reference network that takes into account all registered vehicles.
Vehicle owners hide/remove registration plates for several reasons:
- to avoid imposing an administrative fine for traffic violations. Most often, offenses are recorded using photo or video cameras located on the roadway. It is by the numbers that the owner of the car who receives the fine is identified;
License plates can be hidden by owners with special protective films or improvised means, for example, using hairspray.
If a vehicle does not have registration numbers, then the traffic police inspector cannot determine the owner of the car, and, consequently, detain the vehicle.
- so as not to pay for paid parking services. In most cases, special reading devices are installed in paid parking lots - parking sensors, which identify the owner of the car precisely by the registration plate installed on the car.
It should be noted that deliberate concealment of car license plates is illegal and is punishable under Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses with a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of a driver’s license for a period of 1 to 3 months.
Do they take
Is it true that a vehicle without registration numbers cannot be towed? Let's consider several standard situations.
If a car without license plates is parked in the area covered by the “Stopping and Parking Prohibited” sign, and an additional sign indicates that a tow truck is operating in the area, then traffic police officers have the right to:
- wait for the car owner (driver) to arrive to find out the owner of the vehicle;
- evacuate the car in the presence of the owner (driver).
Recently, especially in large cities of the Russian Federation, vehicles without license plates are towed on a general basis.
The reason for this phenomenon was the fight against terrorists. Within the framework of the adopted legislation, every unidentified object, including a car, is considered potentially dangerous and is subject to seizure to clarify all the circumstances.
If the reason for the detention was alcohol intoxication, the vehicle will be detained and moved to a special parking lot regardless of the presence/absence of registration plates, and the fine imposed on the driver will accordingly increase by 5,000 rubles .
A similar situation arises with violations provided for in the following articles of the current Administrative Code:
- 12.3 (the driver does not have the package of documents required by the traffic rules);
- 12.5 (driving a vehicle with a faulty brake system, clutch or steering);
- 12.26 (driver’s refusal to undergo a medical examination prescribed by a traffic police officer);
- 12.27 (use of illegal drugs, including alcohol, after a traffic accident, but before undergoing examination);
- 12.21.1 (violation of the rules established by law for the transportation of large or heavy cargo);
- 12.21.2 (violation of the rules for transporting dangerous goods).
From paid parking
Can vehicles without license plates be towed from a paid parking lot? In accordance with current legislation, it is impossible to evacuate a vehicle without license plates from a paid parking lot.
It is these rules that guide drivers, who not only completely avoid the detention of vehicles, but also do not pay for the services provided by the parking organization.
However, unlike traffic police inspectors, parking employees have the right to independently remove items that cover one or more digits in the registration number, which leads to the need to pay for the services provided by the parking lot.
That is, in this situation, it is possible to avoid the detention of vehicles, but it is impossible to avoid paying for the services provided.
Traffic inspectors also have the right to evacuate a vehicle from the yard in the absence of license plates. However, there are emergency situations in which the law establishes the right to detain vehicles without license plates.
These include parking lots:
- on gas pipelines;
- on city sewer systems;
- on water supply networks;
- on electrification systems;
- at any place that prevents the access of special services to eliminate the accident.
Employees of the relevant special services can call the traffic police and have the vehicle evacuated if an emergency occurs while the car is parked (cable break, pipeline system break, etc.).
In this situation, the car owner will have to pay for the services of a towing service, car storage and a fine for the lack of registration plates.
Read about the fine for towing a car in 2019 in St. Petersburg here.
Legality of towing a car without license plates
So, is it legal to tow a car without license plates? In accordance with Article 27.13 Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the detention of a vehicle is provided only in the listed cases.
There is no evacuation for the absence of license plates in this law, as well as a fine for parking a vehicle without license plates.
This means that, in accordance with the Administrative Code, the evacuation of vehicles without registration plates is not legal.
However, due to the increasing incidence of terrorist attacks in each region of the Russian Federation, a decision was made by the anti-terrorism commission, which allows vehicles without license plates to be evacuated as an unidentified object.
Due to differences in current legislation, each situation must be considered separately.
If the owner of the vehicle believes that the vehicle was towed illegally, then it is necessary to file a complaint about the unlawful actions of the traffic police inspectors with the prosecutor's office.
The complaint shall indicate all aspects related to the situation under investigation:
- date, time and place of evacuation;
- the reason for the decision indicated in the protocol;
- Full name of the law enforcement officer who made the decision to detain;
- testimony from cameras or video recorders confirming the owner’s innocence, and so on.
30 days are allotted for consideration of the complaint. As a rule, decisions by law enforcement agencies are made fairly quickly. If the decision made does not suit the car owner, then you can go to court to assert your rights.
Judicial practice in such cases is twofold, since there are significant differences in existing laws.
In order to be more likely to succeed, it is necessary to involve a qualified motor vehicle lawyer in the consideration of the issue.
What threat can such vehicles pose?
After purchasing a vehicle, the owner is given 10 days to complete registration actions, that is, within the specified period of time, the car must be registered with the traffic police.
According to law enforcement agencies, vehicles that are not registered in the prescribed manner and within the established time limits, as well as vehicles that do not have registration plates or are equipped with unreadable license plates, can be a means of carrying out a terrorist act.
It is for this reason that in large cities, especially near crowded places (cinemas, theaters, subways, etc.), unidentified vehicles are evacuated.
Is there an administrative penalty for leaving a car without registration plates?
In accordance with Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences, a fine may be imposed in the following situations:
Thus, there are no penalties for parking a vehicle without state registration plates.
The question of the legality of towing a vehicle without license plates at the present time remains without a clear answer, since the current legislation is ambiguous, and the adopted regulations contradict each other.
See the page for reasons for evacuating a car from the yard.
Find out about the evacuation of a car to a parking lot for illegal parking in 2019 in Moscow from this information.
Video: In Moscow they began to evacuate cars without license plates
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Debunking myths about evacuation: are cars without license plates taken away?
MADI inspectors sent 4.5 thousand cars without license plates or with closed signs to impound lots in 2016. The pace of evacuation is going to be increased by increasing the number of inspectors who work on the streets. However, according to the law, hiding the license plate number of a parked car is not a violation; you just cannot drive such a car. Also, MADI inspectors cannot evacuate cars with removed license plates from paid parking lots. TV channel “360” found out from MADI and an independent auto lawyer what scheme the tow trucks use, what they do with camouflaged vehicles, and whether inspectors have the right to remove “fig leaves” from license plates?
Myth No. 1: Cars without license plates are not towed
Automotive expert Sergei Radko assures that drivers have every right to remove license plates while parked: “If the license plates are unreadable or, moreover, missing, then there can be no evacuation for this; the Supreme Court made the corresponding decision back in 2014 year. If we consider a reason such as the fight against terrorism, then this is also not within the jurisdiction of the Department of Transport.”
Indeed, MADI and traffic police inspectors themselves do not have the right to evacuate a car from a paid parking lot if it does not have license plates.
According to the law, inspectors have a different work scheme.
“If there is no license plate on the car, the inspector transmits the information to law enforcement agencies for further inspection of the vehicle,” said Anna Pivovarova, a specialist in the press service of the AMPP State Public Institution.
A police squad examines the car and makes a decision: to evacuate the suspicious object or inspect it on the spot, and issues an appropriate order. After which, in the best case, the tow truck still takes away the car with all that it entails in the form of “tolls” and a fine when the owner does show up.
How to find a towed car without license plates
No laws prohibit inspectors from towing a car without a license plate if it is stopped outside the permitted parking zone - under a prohibitory sign or in a pedestrian zone. This makes drawing up a protocol somewhat difficult, but such cars are taken away without hesitation and with legal justification.
“If a car is under a prohibitory sign, a MADI inspector draws up a protocol and calls a tow truck, even if the car does not have a license plate. Owners of such cars receive additional inconvenience when they try to return their cars from specialized parking lots,” the AMPP press service says.
In such cases, the car is searched only by make and color, so the search takes much more time and you will have to do a lot of running around. The owner must describe the car to the MADI call center and indicate where it was parked. They will try to identify it by model and color.
Then, most likely, they will name several addresses of impound lots where you need to find the car. The misadventures will not end there - you will have to prove that the car belongs to you by checking the VIN numbers. Then payment for evacuation and a fine for violation; for twisted license plates of a parked car, the Code of Administrative Offenses does not provide for punishment.
Myth No. 2: The inspector has no right to remove items from license plates
Inspectors have every right to free the car number from foreign objects: paper, disks, stickers. Of course, if no act of vandalism is committed, that is, nothing will have to be broken. If it is impossible to open the room without breaking into the room, evacuation is carried out according to the rules of the first point.
Fines for driving without license plates
A parked car can do a lot, but once it has started driving, unreadable or altered license plates mean a fine of up to five thousand rubles (depending on what you did with the plate). Or deprivation of rights for up to a year if you changed letters and numbers or attached someone else’s numbers on top. But in general, MADI notes that this year 30% fewer motorists began to disguise or change their license plates.
Can a car without license plates be towed away?
Many drivers are interested in whether a car without license plates can be towed away. Some believe that the lack of state registration plates on cars does not allow traffic police inspectors to call tow trucks, but in practice the situation is different.
Why do drivers rent license plates in parking lots?
The most common reason for removing license plates is the desire to avoid administrative liability for traffic violations. Drivers unscrew them completely, or use “camouflage means”: films, curtains, etc.
For some time, hairsprays were even used to create an invisible film that prevented automatic fixation devices from reading the data. Now this method is no longer relevant, because The traffic police and other authorized bodies use the most modern devices.
Some drivers mistakenly assume that in order to avoid evacuation for violating parking rules, it is enough to twist the license plates. Whether this is so, we will consider further.
Can a car without license plates be towed?
According to current legislation, citizens are prohibited from operating vehicles without license plates, with the exception of cases of purchasing a car at a car dealership if it is being driven to register with the traffic police. If we are talking specifically about parking, then it is not prohibited without license plates, but in a situation where the car is parked in violation of traffic regulations, it can be towed.
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There are also laws that allow traffic police officers to evacuate cars in order to prevent terrorist acts. If the police department receives a report about a suspicious vehicle parked without license plates, it is immediately checked by specialists, and if there is no suspicion of the presence of an explosive device, it is delivered to the impound lot until the circumstances are clarified.
Thus, a car without registration plates can still be towed, so there is no need to waste time twisting license plates. This only complicates further searches for drivers, because, having discovered the absence of transport, they will have to look for it in all impound lots. If there are signs, just call the traffic police and get information about its location in a few seconds.
Car in paid or private parking
Most cities have paid parking lots equipped with barriers. They belong to organizations as private property, so evacuation in this case is carried out only with the consent of the parking lot owners.
To evacuate a car, the owner of the parking lot must call the traffic police, but the procedure is carried out only if there are grounds. For example, they can take him to the impound lot if he stands with violations and interferes with the passage of other vehicles. If we are talking about parking owned by a private person, his desire to remove someone else’s car is sufficient.
The car is parked incorrectly
Incorrect parking means the location of the vehicle in the area of prohibition signs, pedestrian crossings, as well as on bridges, tunnels, etc. In this situation, the traffic police inspector has the right to evacuate the car in case of violation of traffic rules, or as part of anti-terrorism security. He can also wait for the owner and draw up a report against him.
If the driver arrives on site before the vehicle is loaded onto a tow truck, the towing must be stopped. If the car is already loaded, you will have to pay for the work in full.
The car is parked correctly
If a vehicle is parked in accordance with traffic regulations, but does not have license plates, it cannot be taken to the impound lot.
An exception is the need for emergency evacuation due to utility accidents on underground or surface communications: in this case, evacuation is carried out at the request of housing and communal services, which need to provide access to the site for work.
Let's look at a practical example:
The man bought a car and parked it next to his yard. There is a sewer well under the vehicle. The car was parked without license plates for several days, and one day an accident occurred at its location. Housing and communal services employees arrived there, and after an examination it was determined that in order to gain access to the well, the vehicle must be removed.
A corresponding appeal was sent to the traffic police. After some time, a tow truck arrived at the address. Having discovered that the car was missing, the owner called the traffic police and, having given the address, received information about the impound lot, because The employees already had information that a car parked without violations was taken from a specific location.
In a situation where the car is parked without traffic violations, but it has to be evacuated to avoid accidents or to eliminate their consequences, the municipality will bear all costs of evacuation and storage in the impound lot. If the car violates the rules while parking, the owner will have to pay everything.
The car is parked in the yard
In many regions, there is a program for getting rid of junk cars, when residents of apartment buildings can apply for old cars that have been occupying parking lots for several years in a row and are standing idle. If a car does not have license plates, it cannot be towed.
The same applies to new vehicles: in the absence of license plates and traffic violations, evacuation is not carried out.
If the vehicle is in the yard, but the traffic police or police department receives information that it may contain an explosive device or residents consider it suspicious for other reasons, employees have the right to evacuate it after a preliminary examination, even if it does not have license plates.
The absence of license plates does not prohibit the towing of a vehicle if it is parked illegally or is located in a private parking lot. Sending to the impound lot is carried out by order of the traffic police, but finding it will be problematic for the owner, therefore, in an effort to avoid liability for non-compliance with traffic rules, it is still not worth unscrewing the license plates.
A car without license plates: can a car without license plates be towed in 2019?
Russians are famous throughout the world for their ingenuity. Anything they can come up with to save money. The same applies to Russian drivers and car owners. Neither the administrative code nor fines stop our compatriots who, with various tricks and inventions, are trying to avoid administrative liability and fines. Paradox? More likely no than yes. This is where the issue price comes into play. A driver who has at least once encountered the rescue of his “iron friend” from evacuation captivity knows that this is a very expensive undertaking in terms of money and time. Therefore, some economical drivers decided that it would be cheaper to take risks by hiding license plates (it is not a fact that it will happen) and specifically remove the license plates from the car if they leave it in places where this is prohibited. Such actions are due to the fact that many do not know the exact answer to the question: “Can a car without license plates be towed?” Read on for details.
Reasons for the absence of government license plates
All drivers who voluntarily remove license plates from their car or hide part of them using special devices (films, stains, curtains, etc.) pursue one specific goal. And this is saving money in the form of non-payment of an administrative fine for committed traffic violations. If you hide part of the number or remove it, you can avoid a fine that could “arrive” from photo-video recording devices. This is due to the fact that if in the photo from the government camera. the vehicle license plate is unreadable, unidentifiable or the image is blurry, then such photos are selected by the operator as unidentified. Accordingly, car owners cannot be held accountable. To prevent the car from being forcibly evacuated to a impound lot and to avoid paying at paid car parks, some drivers purposefully remove license plates from their cars. How much does this comply with the law?
Can a car without a license plate be towed?
We can safely say that those car enthusiasts who deliberately remove state registration from their cars. numbers, in order to avoid administrative punishment, do this knowing that they will violate the law in the form of existing traffic regulations. Is it worth doing this? Indeed, can a car without license plates be towed away?
The law states that the operation (traffic) of vehicles without state registration plates (GRP) is prohibited. But there is not a word in the law that parking of vehicles without license plates is prohibited. It can be assumed that this is the basis for the fact that the evacuation of cars without a fire protection protection is prohibited. Indeed, a car without state identification marks. signs, you cannot take it to a parking lot except in cases where the car is under signs prohibiting parking and stopping together with the sign “Tow truck operation”. However, other by-laws that ensure the country's anti-terrorism security contain opposite instructions in this regard. Namely: all suspicious vehicles without a license plate are subject to mandatory evacuation. Also, the inspector of the State Traffic Inspectorate may decide to evacuate a car without license plates if it is located in an area where underground or surface communications are located, as well as if the car is blocking the passage of special services. Any emergency situation may require the urgent transportation of vehicles that interfere with the movement of rescue services.
Car in paid parking
Paid car parks are territorial properties owned by private individuals or organizations. Therefore, to evacuate vehicles that are located on their territory without a state protection zone, the consent of the owner of the car park is required. Only under this condition can the traffic police force forcibly transport any vehicle (with or without state license plates) to the impound lot. It often happens that it is the owners of parking lots who call the police to evacuate the freeloader’s car, realizing that the car owner is not going to pay for the parking space. At the same time, if parking is fully automated, then freebie lovers quite often get a trick with removed or partially covered license plates. In principle, a car without license plates in a paid parking lot can save money if you don’t have any remorse.
Car in the yard
As a rule, the traffic police rarely carries out raids to identify ownerless vehicles parked in the courtyards of apartment buildings for the purpose of evacuation. Most often, vigilant residents report such phenomena to the local police officer or immediately to the traffic police. If the car does not violate any current traffic rules, then they have no right to tow it. At the same time, if the car interferes with the work of public utilities or there is an emergency in the yard, then the car can be moved to an empty space or taken to the parking lot. But at the same time, the city will cover the costs of evacuating the vehicle. If the car is parked in violation of traffic rules, then in the event of an emergency man-made disaster of local significance, the costs of evacuation and all related expenses will be paid by the car owner.
Incorrectly parked car
If a vehicle is parked within the coverage area of prohibiting parking signs, then the State Traffic Inspectorate employee has the right to:
- wait for the car owner or driver to find out the circumstances of the incorrect parking of the vehicle in person. Based on the results of the conversation: evacuate the car or issue a fine on the spot without evacuating;
- evacuate the car by filming the process on video camera or with the involvement of two witnesses for anti-terrorism security purposes.
Next, the owner of the towed car will face unpleasant and expensive measures to search for and rescue the car without a license plate (search is possible by VIN) from the impound lot.
Correct parking of the car
If you didn’t just abandon your car without a license plate, but parked it in accordance with all the rules and regulations of the traffic rules, then it can be towed due to the necessary access to communication systems that are located in the parking area. In this case, communications can be underground or above ground. If they are blocked by a properly parked car, it can still be taken to the penalty area or moved to another free space. Another reason for towing a car that does not violate parking rules may be the fight against terrorism. If the car is without state license. license plate is parked in crowded areas, near public transport or metro stops (but at acceptable distances), or simply arouses some suspicion among the traffic police inspector, he may decide to evacuate it and check for a terrorist threat.
Legislative regulation of evacuation
The detention of a vehicle, that is, its forced evacuation, is regulated by Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The evacuation of vehicles due to the lack of identification registration plates, as well as the parking of vehicles without them, is not described in any of the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Therefore, referring to the Administrative Code, we can say that such an evacuation is illegal. However, for the purposes of state security and within the framework of the fight against terrorism, each subject of the Federation has adopted regional regulations of a corresponding nature. In particular, in each region there is a Decision of the Commission on Combating Terrorism, which describes the grounds for the evacuation of vehicles without a license plate, since they can be potentially dangerous. In other words, any car that is parked correctly or in violation of traffic rules, with license plates, and especially without them, can be towed under the pretext of a terrorist threat.
Basic evacuation rules
First of all, the State Traffic Inspectorate inspector must identify a car that is subject to forced detention and sent to a penalty area. Identification includes legal justification. The authorized inspector then calls a tow truck. If there is a special evacuation raid, the tow truck is already in place. Next, a protocol on the detention of the vehicle is drawn up in two copies. Filling out the protocol and loading the vehicle occurs in the presence of witnesses (two people) or using video equipment. The survey can be carried out by the inspector himself.
According to the law, if there are people (passengers, driver), any animal inside the car that is subject to detention, or if the driver approaches the car before the tow truck starts moving, then the inspector is obliged to interrupt the evacuation. In this case, the important conditions will be:
- the driver has documents for the car;
- the driver must be sober and not arouse the inspector’s suspicion of alcohol or other intoxication;
- the vehicle must be in good technical condition.
Truck towing
Legally and procedurally, the evacuation of freight vehicles is no different from a similar event regarding passenger cars. The only difference is that forced transportation of trucks is carried out by large-sized special equipment. The car can be towed on a rigid hitch, can be completely loaded onto a platform using a crane, or can be partially placed on a tow truck, and partially (with its rear wheels) it will drive along the road independently.
Evacuation of abandoned vehicles
A car without license plates parked in the yard for a long time will sooner or later attract the attention of vigilant neighbors or employees of the management company. It should be noted right away that the traffic police only evacuates those cars that are parked in violation of traffic rules. If a seemingly abandoned car without a road protection license has already grown into the ground, but is parked without violating traffic rules, the State Traffic Inspectorate is powerless. The police (Ministry of Internal Affairs) will also not help, since all issues of identifying, transporting and disposing of abandoned cars should be dealt with by the municipality.
The situation is complicated by the fact that in order to evacuate an abandoned vehicle, several legal requirements must be met, based on the situation:
- Search for the owner and demand that he remove the car.
- If the car owner cannot be determined and if the owner refuses to voluntarily move the vehicle, the vehicle must be evacuated to a parking lot. After three months, go to court to recognize the car as ownerless property. After the court's decision, the future fate of the car will be decided. The exercise of ownership rights of municipal authorities to property implies its restoration, sale, disassembly for spare parts or physical destruction (disposal) and other actions.
Car Owner's Responsibility
Many motorists think that it is possible to park in violation of the law and to break the state license. numbers on your car, put the keys in your pocket and rest assured that it will not be towed. As practice shows, this is not at all true. In fact, if a car without a seal is towed away, then all the measures to return it will cost a tidy sum, namely:
- the owner of the car will be fined for operating a vehicle without license plates (5 thousand rubles). For a repeated violation, he faces 1 to 3 months of deprivation of his driver's license. At the same time, a fine for parking without license plates is not provided for by the current legislation;
- tow truck operating costs;
- expenses for storing the vehicle at the impound area according to the city price list;
- fine for traffic violation.
Conclusion
In fact, a driver who deliberately removes his license plate. numbers from his car so that it does not have to be towed, the risk of not finding it in the parking lot is much greater than he thinks. Renting rooms does not mean ensuring the integrity of your “iron horse”, but quite the opposite. A car without license plates attracts the attention of the police as an object of a terrorist threat. It is under this pretext that the traffic police and other state law enforcement agencies can tow away any car that arouses suspicion, and even more so, a car without identification marks. And if a car without license plates is forcibly driven to a parking lot, then the driver will have a difficult journey to get it out. Finding a car without a license plate is much more troublesome; the only identification criterion will be the VIN number. Then do not forget that you will need to pay a fine for violating traffic rules, the work of a tow truck and the cost of storage at the impound area. In our country there is no administrative penalty for a parked car without license plates, but there is a fine for operating a car without license plates. signs. Therefore, if a driver is caught driving such a vehicle, he will have to part with five thousand rubles. As a result, it turns out that there is no saving from twisting license plates, and the driver of a car without a license plate becomes an offender.