237—Removal of vehicles
(1) If a vehicle has
been left on a public road or place, or on local government land for at least
24 hours, an authorised person may place a prescribed warning notice on
the vehicle.
(2) After
24 hours has expired since the placement of a prescribed warning notice,
an authorised person may have the vehicle removed to an appropriate place.
(3) The regulations
may provide that subsections (1) and (2) do not apply, or apply with
prescribed variations, in circumstances or a class of circumstances prescribed
in the regulations.
(3a) To avoid doubt, a
vehicle parked or left standing on a public road in a manner that does not
contravene a law regulating the parking or standing of vehicles on
public roads will be taken not to have been "left on a public road for the
purposes of subsection (1), unless the vehicle has, in the opinion of the
authorised person, been abandoned.
(4) The council must
ensure that the owner of the vehicle is notified of the removal of the
vehicle—
(a) by
written notice in the prescribed form—
(i)
served on the owner personally; or
(ii)
served on the owner by the use of person-to-person
registered post,
as soon as practicable after the removal of the vehicle; or
(b) if
the owner is unknown or cannot be found—by public notice published in a
newspaper circulating generally in the State within 14 days after the
removal of the vehicle.
(5) If the owner of
the vehicle does not, within 1 month after service or publication of the
notice relating to the removal of the vehicle—
(a) take
possession of the vehicle; and
(b) pay
all expenses in connection with the removal, custody and maintenance of the
vehicle and of serving, posting or publishing the notice,
the council must, subject to subsection (6)(b), offer the vehicle for
sale by public auction or public tender.
(a) the
vehicle is offered for sale but is not sold; or
(b) the
council reasonably believes that the proceeds of the sale of the vehicle would
be unlikely to exceed the costs incurred in selling the vehicle or the costs
incidental to removing or holding the vehicle, or those costs combined,
the council may dispose of the vehicle in such manner as the council thinks
fit.
(7) The council must
apply any proceeds of sale of the vehicle as follows:
(a)
firstly, in payment of the costs of and incidental to the sale;
(b)
secondly, in payment of the costs of and incidental to the removal, custody
and maintenance of the vehicle and of the notice served, posted or published
under this section;
(c)
thirdly, in payment of the balance to the owner of the vehicle.
(8) If after
reasonable inquiry following sale of the vehicle the owner of the vehicle
cannot be found, the balance of the proceeds of the sale is to be paid to the
council.
(9) If after taking
reasonable steps the council cannot return property found in the
vehicle—
(a) the
goods will be taken to be unclaimed goods for the purposes of the
Unclaimed Goods Act 1987 ; and
(b) the
council will be taken to be a bailee of the goods under that Act.