Abandoned Vehicles; Removal; Sale. (a) No person may abandon a vehicle on a highway, or upon public property, or upon private property without the express or implied consent of the owner or person in lawful possession or control of the private property. (b) The Director of Public Safety may remove or order a licensed garage-man to remove the vehicle from public or private property under any of the following circumstances: (1) When any vehicle is left unattended upon any bridge where the vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic; (2) When any vehicle is parked or left standing upon a highway in such a position as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic or in such a condition as to create a hazard to other traffic upon the highway; (3) When any vehicle is illegally parked so as to block the entrance to a private driveway; (4) When the person or persons in charge of a vehicle upon a highway are by reason of physical injuries or illness incapacitated to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its custody or removal; (5) When an officer arrests any person driving or in control of a vehicle for an alleged offense; (6) When any vehicle is parked or left standing upon a highway for 72 or more consecutive hours; (7) When any vehicle is parked or left standing upon public property for 72 or more consecutive hours; (8) When any vehicle is found on private property and the owner or person in lawful possession of the private property notifies the Director of Public Safety to remove the vehicle; (9) When any vehicle is found on private property and a report has been made that the vehicle has been stolen; and (10) When any vehicle is illegally parked on public property in locations where signs are posted giving notice of violation and removal. (c) Any vehicle so removed shall be stored in either a police parking area or garage or a licensed public garage. (d) The abandonment of any vehicle shall create a presumption that the last registered owner is responsible for the abandonment and is thereby liable for the cost of removal, storage, and disposition of the vehicle. (e) Within a reasonable time after an abandoned vehicle has been removed and stored, the director shall send a notice by certified mail of the removal and storage to the legal owner, if any, as shown in the records of the bureau. The owner or legal owner shall have 10 days after the mailing of the notice to reclaim the vehicle upon payment of all accrued towing and storage charges.
(f) If the vehicle is not reclaimed within the 10 day period, the director or his authorized representative shall appraise the vehicle. If the vehicle is appraised at a value of $100 or less, the director may sell the vehicle to any junk dealer without the necessity of public sale. Any such sale shall be for junk or salvage purposes only, and not for further registration or operation as a vehicle. If the vehicle is appraised at a value exceeding $100, the director may sell the vehicle at public sale after giving 10 days notice of the sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the Commonwealth. The proceeds of that sale shall be remitted to the General Fund. Any balance, after deduction for the cost of sale, towing and storage charges, shall be paid to the owner or legal owners of the vehicle, provided a claim is made therefor within six months after the sale. Source: PL 3-61, § 1 (§ 568). Commission Comment: With respect to the references to the “Director of Public Safety,” see Executive Order 94-3 (effective August 23, 1994), reorganizing the executive branch, changing agency names and official titles, and effecting other changes, set forth in the Commission comment to 1 CMC § 2001.